Readers sold on Karen Weekly, not so sure about my 1983 laptop computer | Adams

My inbox reflects the growing popularity of softball. Most of my literary contributors responded to a post-NCAA Tournament column on Lady Vols coach Karen Weekly.

But I also received numerous emails regarding my 1983 laptop computer.

Doug writes: Good article regarding Karen Weekly and other highly successful coaches who have not won championships or didn't until late in their careers.

One nitpick buried deep in that particular article: You said a story you were researching for the 82-83 NCAA Basketball Tournament was "snatched from your laptop" before you finished it. I wondered if you had a rich uncle in the tech industry in 1982 as laptops were not commonplace until much later?

My response: Both of my uncles were long dead by then, and neither was technologically inclined. But I started writing on a computer in the late 1970s.

I composed press box columns in Jackson, MS, on something called a Teleram. It was a suitcase-size computer that weighed about 30 pounds but had a tiny screen.

I remember toting a Teleram up the steps of Mississippi Memorial Stadium, which didn't have a press box elevator at the time.

The Teleram was soon replaced by Radio Shack’s Trash 80, which had a bigger screen and weighed about 20 pounds less.