A VINTAGE OLYMPIA TYPEWRITER haunts my dreams. Unfortunately, that typewriter belongs to a friend of mine and I never had the chance to ask her if she'd sell it to me before she moved to the U.S. Those who never had to use a typewriter would probably never understand: I miss the rapid clickety-clack sound of the typewriter keys smacking onto the blank sheet of paper; the smell of new typewriter ribbon, and even the smudges it left onto my fingers.

Today, the world has moved on. Submitting a typewritten manuscript anywhere today would only earn you the ire of whoever's assigned to encode it into a computer. And yet, even though I've had to switch to using computers to do my writing, I find that my basic task has remained unchanged.

I am, essentially, a storyteller. And storytellers are, in a real way, keepers of our collective memories-hopefully the memories that matter most, and are most meaningful. And what are these memories but threads that make up the tapestry, the story of our race?

One story that I actually enjoy watching on TV is the story presented in, of all things, a commercial for a residential development. That Avida Land commercial just gets to me-it is, when you think about it, a distillation of the story of humankind and our collective aspirations for forever.

I can only wish the wife and I would stay as happy, as radiant with love and companionship as the elderly couple in the commercial-who are shown reminiscing about how they built their life and their future together.

Whoever invented marriage and family had the right idea. What better way to ensure the survival of our culture and civilization, our very species? Without marriage and family, we'd all be too busy with conquest, competition and instant gratification-all of which would end in futility. If we lived our lives without considering the impact on our children, who represent the next generation--then humanity is doomed.