Saturday, March 19, 2016

Writing Letters

Writing letters is becoming a lost art. The computer age has replaced letters with e-mail, just as informative, but less personal, and texting has lost all sense of grammar and spelling. 

Writing a letter means you have a tangible item that will find its way to a friend or loved one far away. The letter you send will carry your message of love or hope or condolence to some one you may not have seen in person for a while.  I have a collection of letters written by my grandfather to my grandmother beginning in 1888 and ending with their marriage in 1893. It is sentimental and revealing and filled with hints and facts and suspicions most of which I will never prove. But each letter is precious. I like to picture her when she received it and him as he struggled to convey the depth of his feeling. It connects me to them in ways I never could have imagined. 

I write a few letters now, but somehow, I don't feel the magic I used to about letters. Maybe the internet has taken the thrill out of it. My E-mail box fills up everyday and I delete most of them without even a second glance. Getting a letter in the mail is still pretty special. Of course sometimes we call, but a letter is different. It required thought and preparation, and I can share it with others. It can last for many years and reveal the special message somebody sent me. 

Maybe it is still the best way to receive a message from a loved one who is far away.