The Lost Art of Letter Writing

[Davey Do]

Remember that? Sending and receiving mail through the postal service? I use the term postal service because when I first heard it referred to as snail mail back in the late '90's, I found it derogatory. As if something is slow, it's no good. Out of date.

But I remember as a 7-year-old in the Summer of 1964 waiting by the mailbox for my Weekly Reader and oh what a joy to have something personally mailed to me that I could read and enjoy, and it had my name on it!

And the Summer of 1973 when I was 16 and my high school sweetie was on vacation with her family, and we would write Words of Love to one another. "Love Letters straight from your heart keep us so near while apart... I memorize every line, and I kiss the name that you sign".

Ahhhhhh! Letters!

Recently, I've been getting more into retro art- ink stamps, typewriting, etc.- posting them on the various websites I frequent. Today, I needed to communicate with the managing editor of one site and chose to do so via the postal service. What a charge! I sent him some necessary paperwork and included a comic:

 

 

I told one of my virtual online friends that I absolutely love to write. In days past, while others bitched and moaned about paperwork, I actually enjoyed it. I write and draw in my journals every day, sometimes for hours.

So I thought, "Wouldn't it be cool to exchange handwritten letters?!"

Anywho, I'm attempting to revive the Lost Art of Letter Writing.

 

 

[Davey Do]

I have a theory, a premise, that says society is more impersonally phrenetic as a result of advances in communication technology.

Writing by hand is an act whereby we transfer thoughts and emotions into symbols. It is a physical act which requires the manipulation of tangible media in order to communicate, which results in a tangible product. There is both a process and a product.

Most any artist will tell you that the actual process is the most satisfying in producing art. Sure, we love to gaze upon our works and study the results, but it's the aesthetics of the transitory which gives us our rush.

There is an artist in every one of us who loves to create and feel good doing it. Letter writing was available to every literate individual which involved a process and resulted in a product which we could touch and feel.

"I hold your letter close to my heart", as the song goes. The recipient of the written letter has a tangible something, produced by another human being. How many of us have "kissed the name that you sign" when receiving a text from a loved one? If you do, keep your Windex handy.

Back in the '90's, a sort of fad went on where families communicated through typewritten form letters. Basically, every now and then, a family member would type out a status report on their particular family, make copies, and send the report to other family members.

The previous generation believed this process to be an atrocity. "If you can't write me a personal letter, then send me nothing!" one old bird stated. "Okay", said the current adult generation of the time.

"Shoot me an email", a professional colleague wrote to me in a note, back in the '90's. "What the hell is an 'email'?!" I said out loud upon reading the note. "Oh, it's a method of communication which further separates us from our brethren", my Temporal Progeny replied.

Thar's enough for now. I gotta go WRITE some words, but this flow of consciousness is fun. For me.

[Davey Do]

[Davey Do]

@sirI

 

[Davey Do]

@tnbutterfly - Mary

 

[Davey Do]

[Tweety, BSN, RN]

I used to write long letters.  My mother says she has all the letters I wrote to her in the late 70's and early 80's.

That I think is what's lost more than anything is the ability to look through a stack of old letters from a loved one.

But time moves on and I think in the form of blogs, social media posts, texts and instant messages and emails, people still do write and communicate.  The modern day version of pen PALS are the people I've met on the internet.  Some of whom I've "known" for double digit years.  

 

[No Stars In My Eyes]

I have many, many of the letters I got from my mother over the years. I used to write to her while I was waiting for the laundry to launder or dry. When we got married, my mom gave us a washer and dryer as out wedding present. Then she said, "I guess I'll never hear from you again. ?" I asked her what she meant; that's when she told me that most of my letters to her were written while I was doing laundry.

When my sister was in private school (grades 9-12) we used to write very long and silly letters. She wrote one to me (I still have it) on paper from an adding machine----the whole roll, both sides!

[Davey Do]

SOMEBODY ELSE VOLUNTEERED TO BE MY PEN PAL!

I now have two pen PALS who are interesting, intelligent, and artistic!

Praises be!

[Davey Do]

I have composed and mailed my third pen pal letter and am basking in the ambulance.

Letter writing is such an enjoyable pursuit- the penning of words, the drawing of images, the stamping of ink stamps, and the typing of the typewriter.

Leaving to do errands and driving by our old metal country mailbox, I stopped the pickup to post the letter and my wife asked, "Why don't you just mail the letter from the Post Office? We need to stop there anyway". I did not give her an answer as I walked the few steps to the mailbox, retrieved yesterday's mail, and posted said letter, not wanting to spoil the magic of the moment.

I needed to put my hand-written letter in my mailbox and raise the little metal flag.  I needed to know my unseen mail carrier would pick the letter up and whisk it away, to be put it in the mechanism which would carry the letter to my pen pal.

[No Stars In My Eyes]

Okey-dokie, Davey-Do!

[No Stars In My Eyes]

I will BOLO (Be On the Look Out) in my mailbox.