“YOU have mail, Sam!,” my cousin Jenny gleefully told her two-year-old daughter.
A look of surprise and excitement came upon my niece’s face. “Mail?,” Sam grinned. “For me?”
She then excitedly opened the letter together with her Mom. She was thrilled because her concept of getting a letter must have been limited to what she saw on “Blue’s Clues” (”We just got a letter, we just got a letter, we just got a letter, I wonder who it’s from!”). Having her own letter to open and read was a big moment for her!
It made me think back to the last time I received snail mail. And I don’t mean bank statements or even holiday cards with just the signature of friends affixed. I’m talking real snail mail — letters with stories and anecdotes written by hand. It has been a long time since I’ve received and written a letter.
E-mail is such a wonderful way to get in touch so easily. But while you can personalize it with fonts and colors, nothing beats the scribble of a loved one’s penmanship in blue ink on white paper. A piece of the sender is with you. Sometimes they still even carry the scent of the sender. It’s quite an intimate way of sharing a part of yourself with another.
I remember having a ton of penpals when I was a tween. I enjoyed corresponding with boys and girls my age around the world. There was no e-mail then and so correspondence was always through the post office. I loved seeing the different penmanships of my friends — some were huge and loopy, others small and hard to read, others grand and feminine. I loved guessing each penpal’s personalities through their writing. Sometimes we’d send each other coins, stickers and stationery along with our letters — what quaint gifts! And it was always a joy to come home after school and see a bunch of letters from all over the world in the mail. I’d receive ten to fifteen letters a week at most, prompting our mailman to ask, “Is there a celebrity living in this house?”
Gradually my correspondence with my penpals faded. I keep in touch with several of them through e-mail now though. While I miss the thrill of seeing their letters in the mailbox, I am happy that we get to interact more often now through the Internet. (Thank you Facebook!)
But still, I hope the art of letter writing hasn’t died. I am certain there are still those who would prefer this more personal brand of communication but have given in to the swiftness of the Internet and text messaging. I’m definitely one of those people. It sure would feel good to receive a long sincere letter. I’d definitely react the same way my two-year-old niece did.
Maybe it’s something we should revive, starting with our loved ones across the miles. Who knows? Maybe they’ll write you back.
February 3rd, 2008 at 6:58 am
I was in high school in the late 1950’s when pen pal writing was a popular hobby. I can still remember how excited I was in receiving a letter from my pen pal. However, now in my 60’s and far away from home, I welcome and enjoy e-mailing. This way I am able to connect with relatives and friends from many far away places more often and faster.
February 1st, 2008 at 7:18 am
i totally agree! I love letter writing, even postcard writing for a quick note to say hello.
It’s personal and you really know the sender took time to write his thoughts (hard to delete once you’ve written it down
)
Nothing says I’m taking the time and thinking of you like writing a note and sending it via snail mail
January 30th, 2008 at 9:01 pm
You made me miss my penpals. I had lots of penpals when I was in high school, too. Tues and Thur are days that the postman delivers mail to our place. In the summer months, when I am at home, I would listen to the sound of his motorcycle (I was familiar with the sound already!), listening if it would slow down near our gate.
I would prefer writing by snail mail, too. There’s some magic in receiving them that email can’t bring.
January 29th, 2008 at 5:29 am
Hi. I’ve always wanted to write about the lost art of letter-writing. You beat me to it. But thank you and congratulations.
I wholly agree with you. I get nostalgic of the good ol’ days (I was a child of the 1960s, too) when I looked forward to receiving something in the mail. I gave my school address since I knew I would readily find my letter in the La Salle Brother’s office (I was “malakas” with them) and pick it up.
Other than culture exchange, each mail brought in an addition to my stamp collection (although I had only one foreign pen pal, a Japanese). It was also a good exercise in writing in your best English (although I thought I was condescending enough by using only the simplest English when writing to my Japanese correspondent).
Cheers,
Ricky
January 29th, 2008 at 3:49 am
I agree with you.
Gone are the days where we would be writing our friends from all over the world and can’t wait till you get the reply back.
My very good friend and I started writing each other back when we were both in the Phils (she was in Bicol, I live in Makati). Now she is based in New York, and I am here in Virginia. 2008 marks our 30th year.
We would still write each other letters (although not as long as we used to back when we were younger). Also, she just recently became tech savvy, so every once in a while, we would email each other. Her being a mother too plus she working as a nurse does not give her much time to write, well that’s her excuse.. haha.
I still have all her letters to me (in a shoebox back in the Phils) it is like our diary coz we have in those letters all the stories we have shared with each other.
It was fun and I agree with you… I miss those times too.