Thanks to just enough caffeine in some chocolate ice cream I ate too late last night while Lisa and I played dominoes, my attempts at sleep were foiled and I ended up in the study for some reading and then sorting through old papers in my file cabinet. The most interesting folders I unearthed contained letters I still had from the years just after college--that time in my personal history when I was just starting to keep in touch with friends all over the country and the world that fell right before the widespread use of email. A couple of observations:
1. It is really great to get a real, hand-written letter. I should write more of them myself.
2. Reading old letters is a moving experience for me, reminding me of things about myself and friends that I had forgotten. Overall, a very uplifting experience--you should try it.
3. Some people have really bad handwriting, or write way too small (I know I did). One point in favor of email.
4. I found some photos in there, too. My mid-90's fashion sense was something to behold (or not).
In the end, I pitched some of the correspondence archives, but kept a bunch of the rest for another time, near the end of a furlough, when I need another dose of entertainment and a reminder of God's gift to me of good friends through so many seasons of my life.
3 comments:
Scotty, how true that is! I love to read old letters (if they can be read, which takes us back to the handwriting thing...)
Reminds me of Caedmon's Call song lyrics...
You know, I ran across an old box of letters
When I was bagging up some clothes for Goodwill
And you see I had to laugh about the same old struggles
That plagued me then, are plaguing me still...
Scotty,
I have been the fortunate recipient of two hand written letters from a dear friend in the last month. I am so grateful for a friend who has taken the time to pick up her pen and write, and I'm eager to resume a real old fashioned correspondence with her. But I'm wondering - I think better at the keyboard, so do typed and printed personal letters count?! At least you can read them!!
scotty & lisa, i love letters! just the other day i pulled out all the cards that i've saved from my best friend sarah. there were 47 in all. that's a gift. keep writing....
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