Duotangs.

People are stalking them and talking about it on Twitter.

No, I don’t mean stocking. They’re stalking them from store to store because, apparently, they’re in short supply.

It’s not a word that has been part of my vocabulary for, um, a number of decades when my offspring were kids. This may be the first time I’ve used it in any context since then.

But it’s a hot topic among some on my Twitter feed, and it’s making me smile to see some autumn normalcy for parents in these worrisome times. It’s also making me a little curious: They’re still using loose leaf paper and duotangs in schools all these years later!? Are they still using fountain pens, too? Why haven’t laptops replaced all the sheets of paper and duotangs and textbooks and fountain pens?

But I digress. Kids have to learn how to handwrite, even if they will seldom do it when they fill the office spaces of the future.

For now, parents are still enjoying the hunt for school supplies in brick-and-mortar stores. I’m guessing it’s a little like trick or treating for them. It’s an annual ritual that has survived all these decades.

And that’s something to smile about at a time when people need all the smiles they can possibly get.

So to all the parents out there stalking school supplies and talking about it on social media, happy duotang hunting!

— Jillian