Dear Gerry:
Sure, I accept. No hard feelings. Life too short is, right? I sure hope I can be of service to you and the Gojmerac again.
Cheers,
"Zits"
17 September 1975
Dear Mr. Groh:
I have been back in Cambridge for several weeks and have been unsuccessful in getting my typewriter repaired. No shop in the Boston area seems to have heard of it. Perhaps you have? It's a Gojmerac portable with a German keyboard. Very rare; I would get rid of the thing, but it has sentimental value. The problem is the ribbon-reverse system. Perhaps you're familiar with it? The problem is further complicated by the results of my occasional impatience with the mechanism. That is, after frequent rewindings, by hand, it appears that the little hooks, or flanges, or things that guide the ribbon, are bent. Too much force, I guess. Force is frequently the result of certain lapses in the human temperament. I fear that the system may now need new parts, and I shudder to think of the scarcity of Gojmerac stock. Students, colleagues and friends of mine have all recommended you as the only person they know who might share some of the Gojermac's secrets in America.
Owing to the fact that the ribbon has become tangled around the chassis of the typewriter (the machine fell, or was shoved, from a table), it is rather dirty to carry around and I will await word from you before I attempt to bring it in.
Hopefully,
Gerald Richardson
24 September 1975
Dear Mr. Richardson:
A Gojermac? A German keyboard? (Gerald, that was a masterful and charming letter, and I hope you will not think of your dignity as compromised by it.) The last Gojermac I saw around here seemed to have a similar problem. Very tricky business to replace those ribbon-rewind guide hasps. It is true that force is not good for them. (You have shown me a little class, Gerry, by that letter; I am impressed at how you've developed as a writer!) Perhaps if you were to bring in the machine, I could compare the guide hasps with other European models and come up with a working arrangment. I would discourage ordering Gojermac parts; it takes three months and it's cheaper to have a part made. Making a part for Gojmerac is not as delicate as you might think. The Gojermac is not exactly a precision instrument, not exactly your Jaguar of typewriters-- ha! (Richardson, you have redeemed yourself in my eyes. Baby, a good sport was the last thing I took you for!)
This will take only a few weeks. I suspect that our Standard Cleaning Service might result in the problem almost correcting itself.
Happy typing!
Z. Groh
P.S. I worry, G.R., that your "sentimental" attachment to this contraption is a forewarning of a deeper affliction. Why do you keep it? I know, you have a lot of letters between you-- ha! But, seriously, the problem may be graver than either of us knows. You said you were a writer-- whose last, or only, good work was composed on the Gojmerac? Such an ailment almost warrants a house call! Please, let us be frank.
To you meeting, I forward look.
THE END
