To answer one of your questions, Chandler, every time I pick up my fountain pen my cursive is different from the last time. Like riding a bike, my brain remembers how to write cursive, but my hands must recall how to work.

A heavy fountain pen is different than a cheap ballpoint or a pencil. The weight takes me back years to watching my grandmother write, and little by little my mind slows down to reflect rather than write an endless stream of words I will probably delete later :-)