meaning of "A new ribbon had been needed for a decade" and "plow through life"

[kjc0123]

What is the meaning of "A new ribbon had been needed for a decade" and "plow through life" in the following sentences?

 

The envelope was addressed to Professor N. Ray Atlee, University of Virginia School of Law, Charlottesville, Virginia. The e's and o's were smudged together. A new ribbon had been needed for a decade. The Judge didn't believe in zip codes either. 
The N was for Nathan, after the general, but few people knew it. One of their uglier fights had been over the son's decision to drop Nathan altogether and plow through life simply as Ray. 

[woofgang]

The typewriter ribbon had needed replacing for 10 years, ie it was really old and useless.

What this says about the judge who typed the envelope is that he is living in the past, still used a typewriter instead of a computer, didn't change the ribbon and never used a zip code.

Plow through life just means "live" but there is an implication that life isn't easy and that it takes effort to get through...like ploughing a field. "Plow" is the American spelling of the English "Plough"

[rampart]

kjc, you did not ask about the "N" for Nathan, but I wanted to share something with you on it. The story in your book is set in the South. Years ago, Southerners often named their male children (and cities and counties) after Confederate generals. Nathan Bedford Forrest was a Southern general, and had quite a reputation. I bet the reference to Nathan in your story means that the parents fought over the name Nathan because it had to do with this general.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nathan_Bedford_Forrest