Coworker had a fountain pen!
 

He told me he used to have a fountain pen when he was eight years old, and hearing that made my day until he told me he threw it away after he stopped purchasing ink for it. It was a limited edition too, so it made my heart sink even lower. I would have liked to see it if he had it still, and since it was so long ago, he can not recall the model of pen it was. Neither do I. How he got his hands on one at such a young age is beyond me, but perhaps it was a gift. Sure, not a lot of people I know know wha fountain pens are, but there are people who do, like the one guy in the government who spent a bunch of tax money to purchase fountain pens for others.

Anyways, I was like "Dude, that's awesome!" when he told me he had a fountain pen, and I jokingly told him I was not going to talk to him anymore because of his misdeed. He is a swell guy, so of course I'm not onna stop talking to him.

-looks at ever-growing pile of stationery-

I can’t stand the thought of ever throwing something away.

-Blinks at the thought of Espy's ever growing pile of ationary-

I can, but there are some things I don't think should be thrown away.

Uh, I got a fountain pen for starting elementary school. It's a broad custom here in Austria (or at least it was when I went to school). We were not even allowed to use ballpoint pens, because everyone said they would screw up our handwriting. The teacher okayed pencils for maths - where we learned addition and subtraction by drawing little squares or crossing them out - and also in case we were out of ink, but fountain pens were our primary tool. Is it different in other countries?

Granted, most of us had cheap models aimed specifically at kids. Nowhere near a Montblanc limited edition or similar.

There are, or were, parts in the UK that gave students fountain pens, but over, they do not give students fountain pens... as far as I know. Migh be a regional thing in the U.S. A friend of mine received a fountain pen upon graduation high school in Australia as well.