The Writing on the Wall

On the wall of my office hangs a large blackboard. Not a whiteboard, mind you. It uses real chalk (although the writing surface is actually green, not black). One of my colleagues makes fun of me because I may be the only person in Western business society who has not yet made the switch.

The board does have some history. My dad bought it when we started our company 25 years ago. He and I used to solve database challenges together on that board. And when my wife was a physics teacher and would need a quick lesson before instructing the students, she would stop at his office and he would diagram out problems and solutions for her.

But since I'm not all that into chalk dust, I was ultimately inclined to agree with my colleague that a change is in order.

So to get into the 21st century, I visited my favorite office products website. My existing chalk board is rather large, so the white board needs to be at least as large in order to avoid any wall repairs. The cost would be about $300.

On top of the initial purchase price, there is also the special eraser ($12), plus the markers($7). Finally add the sales tax (I'll pick it up in the store to save the $25 shipping charges), and the total is about $341.

What will my company and I get for its $341?

• A clean white board with no chalk dust.
• The ability to draw in vivid color.
• A good buzz for everyone in the room every time a marker is uncapped.
• The concern that someone will use a permanent marker by mistake.
• A ruined marker every time one of my children visits and forgets to put the cap back on after drawing pictures.

Of course, when the markers need to be replaced, the old ones are discarded rather than recycled. The plastic parts of the marker will still be sitting in a landfill until the next millenium and then some. Probably right next to what's left of the board that was replaced.

Chalk, on the other hand, is naturally occurring, and upon usage fulfills the biblical admonition in Genesis 2:7 - For you are dust. And to dust you shall return. I'm also fairly certain that dust leaves no carbon footprint.

So upon further reflection, I have decided that my green board is greener than the white board in more than just its color. And it has better memories.

Footnote: The folks at Google are pretty clever. When my post popped up for the first time, so did an advertisement - for a new whiteboard!