We have a plethora (a plethora, I tell you) of means to communicate these days: email, social networks, instant messaging, texting on cellphones… you name it. It’s gotten to the point where a) a lot of us have thumb injuries and repetitive motion issues in our wrists and b) the language consists of the modern version of that old advertisement “F U cn rd this, U cn gt a jb” for Speedwriting(tm).
What comes in the mail consists mostly of advertising and bills.
When was the last time you got something fun in the mail? When was the last time you got a letter? Let’s put it this way: 50 years from now, no one (and I do mean no one) is going to put out a book (electronic or on paper) entitled “The Complete Collection of Newt Gingrich’s Tweets.” There will also not be an excited headline reading, “Steven King’s Grandson Finds Lost Blog.”
There are no secret diaries, letters, or hidden boxes of little bits and pieces now. We are splayed out for all to see. The only way to keep something hidden is to write it down and put it under the bed. Seriously. I cannot imagine what love letters are like now; I suppose they consist of a text reading “You?” with the reply of “Yes, you?” or something like that.
But this is a plea for the simple ‘sit down at the table, pull out a piece of paper (with or without lines), and envelope and stamp and write a letter. Chatty…heartfelt…funny…all the little things and happenings of the day. With drawings if you like, and enclosing a photograph (God help us – an actual printed on photographic paper photo. Egad), or a newspaper clipping, or a picture of a new dress ripped from a magazine with the words “I love this!” written on it. Or a sample of fabric.
Trust me – for people who have totally given up on finding the one gift that the other person does NOT have and will not get this holiday season, regular ‘snail-mail’ correspondence is the right size, the right color and will definitely please.
(WARNING: PICTURE HEAVY) In the DH’s closet, there are two basic types of shirts: button-down shirts and what he refers to as ‘dress shirts’. Now, I only learned this recently, but the ‘button-down’ shirt (which really refers to there being a collar whose points are secured to the shirt itself with buttons) is actually not a US invention. One of the members of the Brooks Brothers family, on a European trip in the late 1800s, saw how polo players there did this to prevent their shirt collars from flying up into their faces during play; he obviously thought it was a neat idea because he brought it back and convinced the family company to start producing what they called ‘polo(tm) button-down’ dress shirts in 1896. These shirts were always seen as something rather sporty and casual until college boys started wearing them in the 1950s, (more…)
