Anymore, this is really just a saying. When was the last time any of us really took pen or pencil to paper and wrote someone a letter? I would bet that we all have written a bunch of letters in our time. The obligatory thank you letters to grandmas, grandpas and in-laws for Christmas and birthday gifts; the letters to Santa Claus asking for all those special gifts; most of us even wrote letters to some elected official as part of our schooling.
As I shared, I’ve been going through some old boxes. I ran across a bunch of letters and was reading them to my daughter. I read one where my brother wrote to me when I was in college and asked me to forgive him for peeling out in my Camaro. You see, he had dropped me off at a friend’s house whom I was riding back to school with, and had shown off in my car as he left and broke the tires loose. (It was a sweet car!) This was in a letter I received about a week and a half later.
It hit me that this was the soonest he could’ve talked to me about it. Of course, we didn’t have cell phones back then. No texting. Long distance calls were expensive – like charged by the minute. My family and I would arrange to talk on the phone and would usually have at least 2 weeks between calls because it was so expensive to talk long distance. This concept was lost on my daughter. In these days of instant communication, the idea that it would have been this long before we could actually talk about it was unfathomable to my her.
Anyway – we could sure surprise some of our family or friends if we actually physically wrote them a letter and sent it to them in the mail…Think about it… it might be fun just for the reaction!
Great idea. I've been writing note cards to friends and family the last couple of years.
ReplyDeleteMost people only expect bills and junk mail, so it's a sweet surprise to get something personal for only 44 cents in stamps. (Where the heck is that 'cents' symbol - I had to spell it out!)
I loved writing letters to my 2 friends in PA when I was a kid. We only got to see one another 3 or 4 times a year when they were visiting their grandparents who were our neighbours. We only visited them a couple of times out there, not sure why Dad wouldn't take us more - it's only like about a 2 hour drive or less from Linden N.J. I wish that I had kept their letters, I only have 2 or 3. We had such cool stationary. They had some that looked like ham and swiss cheese and I had Kermit and Miss Piggy. I do still have all my letters from my friend Ricky who lived in Cuxhaven, Germany. She was an exchange student junior year.
ReplyDeleteI still send thank you notes, cards and little care packages (not that that counts) but there's nothing like getting a hand written piece of real mail. All through my school days I had pen pals. It was so much fun!
ReplyDelete@Marissa - At lest you didn't write 44 sense! That would've been funny!
ReplyDeleteI've also started writing thank you notes especially for my birthday gifts - 'bout blew my family out of the water... they all made a point of thanking me for thanking them for the gift they gave to me...
kinda funny...
@LaraAnn It's funny that nowadays there are so many MORE cool stationery's available, but the majority of what they are used for is scrap-booking! Cool that you do still have some of the letters, though.
Ally I never did have a pen pal - it does sound like it would have been a neat thing to do - and especially to be able to look back on the letters now.
I think it's funny how a lot of companies will address letters to you in a very handwritten font that makes it look like you got a personal letter. It's fooled me more than once.
If you want t get rich? Create a handwritten looking font that has a half dozen or so slightly varied options for each letter and then randomly uses them when printing. Seems like it would get jumped on by all of those companies. (Remember me when you're rich and famous) :)
I miss the days of giving and receiving letters!
ReplyDeleteSeems like a fast name-scribble on a Hallmark card is as close as it gets these days.
I'm willing to give myself up to modern communication ONLY because my handwriting is so disastrous!
My family would think they were getting letters from a serial killer if they got a note from me (-:
there was nothing like getting a letter in the mail back when a letter was often the only communication we had with someone we loved. these days there is no need for letters as a way to convey information because by the time the letter arrives i already know that my granddaughter came in first at the track meet. i love letters though so i like to write retro letters. i will write to make it sound like we are in another decade, sometimes 50s sometimes 60s even 1800s. its a lot of fun for me ;) i think the recipients like the letters too...
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