I've been having this bad habit recently of falling asleep with my laptop turned on. Last night it happened again, and I woke up to find the article I had been working on erased and the piece of work below written in its place. I must admit to some confusion as to why the "insect" in question — as you'll see — refers to my laptop as an old typewriter and wonders why I don't own a computer. True, the laptop in question is ten years old and the keys are a bit stiff, but still...
Of course a cockroach, if my mysterious writer is to be believed in his claims about his heritage, would have difficulty operating the shift key. Holding it down and depressing the letters simultaneously would involve having legs a lot longer then I'd personally want to see on a cockroach. The solitary "I" is set as an auto correct by the software, which explains its existence, but I still think he's avoided using the punctuation only for effect. Not one of those keys involves the shift key to operate.
Anyway, I thought the novelty of his submission merited keeping it intact. I'm sure our readers will be able to discern his meaning without too much trouble and that his insights into one of the greater comic writers of the early twentieth century would be intriguing. So I'll just let him tell it in his own words...
boss I must tell you about this guy don marquis
but before we get started I want you to know how hard it is for me to type not able to use punctuation or the shift key as I'm forced to jump on each key with my head
why you are still using an old manual typewriter when everyone else has computers is beyond me
anyhow back to don marquis he was a newspaper guy back in the days when newspaper guys were writers as well as being journalists yes I know that sounds hard to believe but it was true back in the early days of the twentieth century
don was born in the real dark ages before electricity in 1878 and ended up in new york city writing for the newspaper trade in the teen years of the twentieth century
thats when archy the cockroach the reincarnated vers libre poet was first introduced to a disbelieving world
Article comments
1 - Melita Teale
Lovely, Richard!
2 - Katie McNeill
I have an'Archy And Mehitabel' from sometime in the 1940's that I came across in a book sale years and years ago now. I love Archy and Mehitabel. Your article is fanastic!
3 - Natalie Bennett
This article has been selected for syndication to Advance.net, which is affiliated with newspapers around the United States. Nice work!
You've found a great "voice" for this character.