The "O. H. P."

When I was a child, I was very interested with overhead projectors. They were more commonly referred to as the "O. H. P."s.

Perhaps it was because OHPs cast such clean shadows against the pulled-down screens, or that the technology was so seemingly simple, but impressively versatile. Or how the mirror on top must always be kept so clean and perfect and that it could be lifted open by the neat little lever on the metal cap.

I also intensely liked the transparencies that teachers gave out during group discussions. I liked the sound they made when they were handled, and I liked how they (at least the new ones) were clean and flawless.

The special marker pens for the transparencies that could be erased with a water-wet-tissue were quite cool too. Too bad that the teachers usually handed out only one to each group and that they too easily ran out of ink and that the felt tips were also too easily blunted and soggy from use. I felt that the group with the classmates who whipped out their private set of those markers (all 4 colours - black, blue, green, and red) was lucky to have them.

One of my pastimes was to try to re-create all that at home - all that as in the transparencies, the projections, all that.

First, I would sneak clear plastic bags from my grandmother's kitchen. I had to sneak around, because if I were to be found out, I would be told not to waste good plastic bags that could be better put to proper and practical use, for example, to keep food. Then, I would carefully slice the bags open into plastic sheets (usually with a scissors, or a penknife if I were feeling brave), and I tried my best not to wrinkle them too much.

I would write on these flimsy plastic things with a permanent marker - which were usually much fatter and less elegant than the proper transparency markers. I had to be extra careful not to make any mistakes because I couldn't undo any with a water-wet-tissue.

Next, I held up these sheets in front of a hand-held torchlight shining into the cupboard under my elder brother's fiberboard study table that I emptied beforehand. In this way, I "projected" the materials onto the back of the cupboard. The cupboard was small and had a fake-beechwood kinda finish. The opened cupboard door helped to shield my things from some light and the eyes of potential curious or ridiculing adults.

Actually, the projections kinda sucked. They weren't clear at all. The plastic bags were flimsy and murky and not exactly transparent. The torchlight was not bright enough, or perhaps the room wasn't dark enough. It wasn't really worth the trouble.

I probably read from the plastic ex-bag to pretend that I was reading off the images on the back of the cupboard.

Still, I remember doing this quite often. Perhaps, it was to add fun to studying for spelling tests.