NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Shared passions bring together all sorts of people, and one of those shared passions has brought together a local man and someone you just have to see for yourself.
Kirk Jackson is a writer. "Once you get used to typing on it, it feels almost like playing an instrument."
That instrument? It's called the Typosphere. "When you shift it, it says Coca. When you let it out, it says Cola," Jackson says.
Writers are often the group of people who love the history, the story behind typewriters. Kirk collects, restores, and sells at his business, Nashville Typewriter.
So in finding even more people in that Typosphere, he decided to send a letter to a well-known collector of typewriters. That certain well-known collector of typewriters wrote back and decided he'd like to drop by.
"My brain just kind of shut down. I started pacing the house," Kirk said.
The well-known collector was none other than Tom Hanks.
Kirk remembers the feeling when he saw that email. "I settled down a bit and I got really excited. What a kind thing for him to respond and reach out and share this thing we have."
The timing of Tom Hanks' visit comes at the end of a very hard 13 months for kirk. "COVID hit and the regular handyman and painting business that I'd been doing for years, it kind of dried up. I'm struggling for work and bills are still coming.”
At that time, it was the Nashville Typewriter business that kept Kirk going. So to have this visit, was a welcome kindness from someone in the Typosphere. And Hanks didn’t leave empty-handed.
"He left with a couple of Nashville typewriters," Jackson says but left memories that this father and son will remember forever.
"Tom Hanks took a selfie with my son holding my son's iPhone. That's pretty cool, man."