For some reason, my mother insisted that I take typing in high school. I insisted that only girls would take a class like that, as they prepared for secretarial futures. I was wrong. Mom, a former secretary herself, insisted that everyone should know how to type and that it would certainly be a necessary skill in my post-high school endeavors.

At Branford High, Mrs. Viel was my teacher and one of my best friends sat beside me. Mrs. Viel’s most important point that she tried to drill into our skulls was that we should always keep our fingers on the “home row keys.” If you had typing in high school, you’ll know what I mean. In every class, we would be given speed drills where we would be able to measure our words per minute along with our errors.

“Ready, begin,” she would say and then a minute later, “Time is up.”

My friend and I would compete to see who could score better and most of the time I would win. During that quarter of school, I broke not one, but two fingers playing soccer and basketball. My right thumb and my left index finger were wrapped in splints and yet I was still able to pound away at the keys. I could still compete in the speed drills as well, and much to my friend’s chagrin I would still beat him in the competition. Often he could be heard muttering colorful words under his breath as I laughed, reminding him of my broken digits!

When I went on to college, typing came in very handy as I would pound out class papers on a borrowed electric typewriter or type out punch cards for a computer programming class. Today of course, young children can easily put my own typing skills to shame, hitting keys in a flurry as the computer and smart phones have become dominant in our society.

At work, I still bang on the keys all day long and am careful to make sure I keep my fingers on the home row keys. I often notice my co-workers using the hunt and peck method of typing and have to laugh. They must not have had Mrs. Viel for high school typing.

Mike Russo is a lifelong Branford resident and proud parent of two.