Q u a d r i l a t e r a l

I got a fountain pen for my Bar Mitzvah and another when I started graduate school. Those are almost the only pens I ever use. But sometimes I need a ballpoint. Fountain pens aren’t great for writing on unstable surfaces, using on planes, or signing carbon copies. And sometimes a fountain pen fails to strike the right note. Ballpoints make me feel like I’m cutting the crap.

I don’t know how I acquired this ballpoint, but it must have come through my parents’ house. It’s a Mopar auto parts giveaway from Golden Chrysler Jeep on Ridge Avenue in Philadelphia. A fter selling the brown Datsun station wagon to Jan’s mom, Golden is where my parents bought and repaired a series of minivans, usually red or maroon. The first minivan was a Plymouth Voyager and was probably from around 1986 (see image stolen from wikipedia , thankfully in the proper color).

Seeing an image of that car makes me feel light. It looks like my mother picking me up from school or a lesson. My brothers and I learned how to drive in these cars. No one I knew had a bigger car, so I always drove friends around in high school and college. I filled these vans with apartments full of furniture, books, CDs and plants, and drove back and forth to Connecticut , up to the Poconos, cross country several times, and all over Oregon . Daniel still has a van in Providence that he uses to drive around his sousaphone, his bandmates and their instruments.

Because I usually use fountain pens, this pen has lasted a long time. Its old enough that it has no website listed under the shop’s phone number. Its a Bic “Wide Body,” made in Mexico , with an incredibly satisfying rubber grip textured like a golf ball. The writing is creamy and the ink smells tangy, even though I’ve replaced the cartridge several times. A crack has recently emerged near the top, and sometimes the plunger comes loose, making the tip retract unexpectedly. I love it anyway. I wonder how much longer it will last. My parents still have a Chrysler minivan. If they still get it serviced at Golden, I’ll have to find out if the pens remain so reliable.