My father-in-law–a USMC Vietnam combat veteran—recently required a trip to the VA hospital at Mather Field for a battery of quasi-urgent tests. We picked him up at his rural home, transported him to Mather and waited in the ER lobby with him for a considerable length of time. We shared the waiting room with several other veterans of advanced years, all of whom appeared about 80% deaf. This wasn’t a surprising fact, given their former line of work; my father-in-law has been mostly deaf most for some years. This affliction, however, didn’t seem to stop intriguing stories from being shared by the regular to anyone who’d listen. My husband soon struck up a conversation with a hopeful patient seated nearby which helped to pass the time, albeit a bit loudly.

Strangely, the possibility that elderly veterans might have substantial hearing loss did not seem to occur to the staff and nurses of the hospital. Each time of the staffers breezed through the doors to call out a name it was like watching an Abbott & Costello routine, almost too coincidental in nature to be believable: one of the well-meaning RNs–in a thickly-accented English no less–would emerge, look around and call out someone’s name in a small voice quavering with uncertainty. Even my husband—whose hearing is fine—had to lean forward and concentrate in order to make out what was being said.

Repeating the name didn’t help, however, hilarity ensued when the veterans realized one of the staffers was talking; they’d look blankly at her, at each other and then the responses would begin:

“What’s that?!”

“They call Robinson?”

“Who are you talking to?”

“Speak up darlin!”

“You already took my blood!”

“Did she say cookies?”

And this was only the first round. Next, the RN would try to get better results by giving out just a first name, a strategy doomed to failure with the more common names like ‘John’ or ‘Chris’.

“Chris?”

“I’m Chris!”

“So am I!”

“Did she say Chris?”

“Is it me or him?”

“Where are the cookies?”

The fun continued for quite a few hours, with a recurring cast; some of the veterans had multiple tests, with substantial waiting periods between, so the low-question-loud-rebuttal drama repeated every few minutes. Once in awhile a male staffer would render much needed assistance to the tremulous-voiced announcers and bellowed out the name of the next in line. In these few cases no responses ensued and the person called was quick to be helped.

Midway through the afternoon the waiting room was treated to an impromptu lecture on the ER’s mysterious “Fast-Track” system. A very calm RN walked out to the middle of the lobby, turned down the TV’s volume (a fruitless act) and began by apologizing for the wait. She spent roughly ten minutes explaining that some of the patients—those not needing tests–could be seen over at a place called the Fast-Track area. The effect of this announcement on the veterans was interesting. The RN mumbled a bit, so all the audience heard was “fast” and “track.”

“This is the fast track?”

“Fast? I’ve been here five hours!”

“Jack? I’m Jack!”

“She said fast track!”

“Who are you talking to?”

“Speak up!”

Eventually my father-in-law was admitted and—at least for us–the show came to a close. If anyone has a hand-held PA or bullhorn laying around perhaps they could bring it by the VA Mather ER, though I must admit the show is pretty good the way it is. We might go again, armed with a picnic lunch, a translator and a video camera.

My aging laptop, a trusty and wonderful device–on which I’ve composed five novels, countless articles, poems and pieces—is nearing the end of its existence. I extended its life expectancy substantially by replacing various components as they wore out, namely the hard drive and battery pack, but still the Time Has Come to replace the device altogether.

Recently, while standing in line at a coffee-shop, I observed an individual place a roll-out rubberized keyboard on a small bistro table and then plug it into his smartphone. He put the android device on a small stand and began typing away like mad. This scene sparked a set of musings in my mind which have leaked out to much of my numerous contact lists this week and set me lurking about the web for related articles.

It seems many writers are in a bit of a quandary about which device to graduate to, should the need arise. I read a piece by Kimmo Linkama on the issue, voicing a similar question to mine: which of the ‘new’ devices are really work-able for writing? He admitted being hooked on his full QWERTY keyboard, asked his audience for “help” and got variety of rather vague replies. GottaBeMobile writer Will Shanklin wrote—way back in July 2011—that while tablet were OK for causal computing, for serious writers (and other content creators) they “simply would not do.”

Uncertainty continued to plague me. Yes, a tablet looks “fun”–and getting my email at a touch while writing certainly appeals–but is such a device practical for 6-8 hours of daily writing/editing? Do digital ‘pens’ really allow “natural” writing and digital storage without hampering the creative process? Is the laptop truly obsolete, or is it merely in a state of transition?

I wondered at just how many writers will simply purchase a better laptop when theirs is kaput, verses trekking into the wild and wooly outlands of New Technology. Admittedly, when the iPad first came out, I was goggled-eyed with the possibilities it presented but–as of late—I’ve been cycling through web ads for sleek/light laptops, being I am already familiar with the design’s practical use for composing large-volume prose.

The practical side of my inner consumer was not alone, nor unrivaled. Many fellow writers, freelance colleagues, and several dozen members of the eBook community, replied to my inquiries on the subject with very helpful—and at times adamant—advice, revealing in detail what device(s) they’ve personally used to compose their own prose:

Bestselling suspense/thriller author Joshua Graham uses a full-sized Win7 laptop, supplemented with his iPhone for syncing documents to his Go app. Graham’s co-host on the Dialogue blogtalkradio show, bestselling author Susan Wingate, uses a Dell laptop with a docking system, and swears by its portability–and also its useability–for serious writing.

The words “serious writing” were bandied around the reply emails rather frequently, often after the words “My tablet is fun but…” Author, journalist & blogger Daniel Audet replied as follows:

“The most productive for me is an Alienware high end laptop with at least 6 gigs of ram, super fast hard drive, cutting edge sound and video cards and wi-fi capable with a security chip for wi-fi, HD or high res. screen and 9 hour battery. Sometimes I use a usb mini mouse. I’m using a biz class HP custom with most of the stuff I just mentioned however my next laptop 17″ or 19″ will be it.”

Attorney & Writer/Editor Guitta Karubian wrote: “I’d go for a tablet if I knew one that didn’t have the problems of the iPad yet had all the goodies. Problems: No usb port on the older ones and expensive plus costs of adapter (for usb port), etc. I’m drawn to the iPad, in part because I switched to Mac Apple laptops 5 computers ago after having owned and worked with 12 or more PCs. (I presently have a small PC which I try not to use.) I would – regardless of what else I add to my arsenal – stay with a laptop as my primary. I don’t think anything compares as a storage unit + portability + ease of use including larger screen and keyboard. It’s unquestionably the most dependable and versatile in these regards.”

Author Caron Kamps Widden offered a great insight into the device life of international/traveling writers, and like Joshua Graham uses her laptop in tandem with her iPhone:

“As an expat author living in Belgium, I use an HP Elite Book Laptop for writing, I also have the much smaller, HP mini, which is fine for email and simple tasks, but the screen is smallish, and keyboard tight, so it can be annoying to try to do anything advanced or prolonged. It does slip into a tote or larger handbag with ease. I use my IPhone for just about everything else when not near my laptop — email, calls, texts, Twitter, Facebook, Goodreads, my blog (but AT&T charges me an arm and both legs for roaming in Europe, despite paying extra monthly for added roaming and texting). I just bought the Kindle Fire — works great and the clarity is unreal for watching movies and favorite TV episodes. Great for accessing email and all of above (other than texting and calls). Does not work with ease when trying to connect to WiFi abroad. Best to download everything one needs, books, magazines, movies, TV shows to the device and not let it float in the ‘Cloud’ when traveling abroad.”

California author Caroline Gerardo’s response was short & highly practical: “Laptop hands down wins. Tablet and other smaller devices slow typing process. My eyesight is bad from years of working on computer and sun exposure. Small print means big typos for this girl.”

Indie Writer Jo Anne Benware: “My last three laptops were Dells and I have a Toshiba Netbook that I carry with me to my writer meetings and to the coffee shop when I need to get out of the house and write. I also use memory sticks so I can go between the two.”

A couple of writers surprised me by recommending using both a tablet and a laptop. Writer Pauline Jones uses her iPad (with a wireless keyboard) and supplements it with a MacAir:

“I’ve managed to get a (surprising) amount of mileage out of my iPad, but did add a Mac Book Air to my entourage. (grin) What the Air can’t always do: download email. Even with free wifi, can’t always connect when on the road, but I love working on it. And its so light and easy to tote around. I did a lot of work on my iPad when on the road last January and could connect even without wifi because it is 3G. The problem I had was porting my files back to my Mac and then switching to doc format. Sometimes the files got a bit hinky going from Pages to doc format. Which would be why I got the Air. I can do simple email on my smart phone, but anything too detailed is just not something I want to do. Of course, the smart phone is great for social networking. I can take a picture and upload it to FB or twitter. I have an iPad 1, so can’t take pictures with it. But my iPad has worked hard for me in the two years I’ve owned it. But for really intense writing, the Air works great. I use Drop box to move files between them and my desktop.”

Only one responder had gone the way of a combo device–a thing both laptop and tablet–freelance writer Robert J. Medak.

“My convertible is a Dell,” he wrote. “It is smaller and handier than a Laptop. Since I work from home, I use my Desktop, and my Tablet the most. My tablet is used primarily for reading eBooks for review. The convertible is great for the times I am out and have access to Wi-Fi or just want to sit down and work with Word.”

Some writers, such as author and Speaker’s Assistant Yvonne Wu, responded that they use only the iPad/Fire/other tablet for writing, but–like other tablet writers–added that they accomplish all “serious writing” using a peripheral keyboard, whether plug-in, wireless or built into the tablet’s case. This add-on seems to be a common theme, even outside my writing contacts. After cruising the more popular writers forums, half of the posting Prosers appeared to be sticking with their laptops; the other half recommended their tablets, but always with that external keyboard caveat.

Despite the tablet’s soaring rise in the device realm, perhaps a Writer General’s warning should be pasted on the outside of tablet cartons:

“Studies show that writers may need to use a peripheral keyboard with this device to actually write.”

After much deliberation, I decided to spare the general internet blog world more trite platitudes on being thankful on Thanksgiving… though I am sorely tempted to. I have so much to be gratefully for, but alas, I cannot say it in a way more beautiful than have already been voiced, penned, shouted and sung.

Therefore, I can not think of a better way to express gratitude than by sharing my favorite, quick recipe for a savory classic. The ease of this dish will likely aid many and impress 97% of one’s guests.

Honey-Pepper Butternut Squash for a crowd: (up to 12 guests)

2 large butternut squashes (Try to get squash locally grown; the flavor is far, far superior; if not, get the ‘organic’ variety at the store.)

1 cube of butter (use Irish butter, if you can find it.)

Salt to taste (use sea salt for best results)

Fresh, ground black pepper.

½ cup honey. (I use super-market clover honey.)

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

With care, use a large knife and halve the squashes; this will take some arm strength but use a wooden cutting board and lever the knife point off it.

Scoop out the seeds and stringy-things entangled within. (Save the seeds; they are excellent cleaned and roasted on a backing sheet with olive oil and salt. Also, the roasted seeds are fantastic blended in hot milk and added to mashed potatoes for subtle flavor.)

Put squash halves cut-side down in a baking pan, or two pans if necessary, with about 1 inch of water in the bottom of the pan. (If you have a space issue, you can form your own slender pans with aluminum foil ‘boats’, for lack of a better word, to place on the rack around your turkey pan/pie pans/etc, if necessary. Don’t forget the water.)

Cover pans with aluminum foil and bake at 400 degrees for 1 hour and 15 minutes. If they are extra large squashes you may need to cook them a bit longer. Pock them with a long toothpick or fondue fork; the implement should go through the baked squash easily. If baking extra time, set the timer for 15 minute intervals to check it.

Let them cool until warm enough to mash easily but not hot enough to turn your hand while picking them up. Scoop the baked squash from the shells with a spoon into a large bowl; cut up the butter and drop it in; salt and pepper to taste. The pepper should be enough to put a ‘bit of bite’ into the squash, not make it hot. Stir in the honey; if you have a mixer or hand mixer give it a turn in that on high for a minute or two, just to smooth it out; this gives it a velvety texture. (Watch out for splatter; foil works well as a shield.)

Serve warm. Garnish with a mint leaf, or a sprinkling of dried parley leaves.

Enjoy.

I like this dish as it is sweet and spicy all at once, and can be made ahead of time and warmed up easily. The simple flavors will compliment the more complicated dishes well and pairs nicely with Chardonnay, Pinot Grigio and Viognier for the gastronomes out there.

Cheers; may your food fuel your writing and enhance your reading moments.

Meredith Greene