It’s
amazing how fast the mail can build up in the mailbox. Between junk mail,
bills, and donation solicitations addressed to someone who has never lived in
our apartment it makes you wonder how much money is being wasted everyday by
some of these people, companies, and organizations. I’m also surprised at how
much can be crammed into our little piece of real estate in the mail room.
The
real problem with so much mail is not necessarily the volume, it’s the fact
that I no longer look forward to the mail. Remember when you were a kid when it
was something special to get a letter in the mail. It didn’t have to be
anything particularly special it was just the fact that someone sent something
to you because after all at that age you are the center of the universe. It was
a time when you felt like you were getting your very own speedy delivery.
But
now it is just a mass of wasted paper and pleas for money that I am not willing
to hand out even if I had the money to give away. There is the occasional card
or letter but that is quickly disappearing and morphing into the empty void
that is email. Don’t get me wrong, I like email and I use it constantly
throughout my day but sometimes you just need to take the time, sit at a desk,
and pull out a pen. There is still something to be said for a signature on a
white page.
I
miss receiving letters from people. I miss having enough space on my desk to
write letters to people. I have always enjoyed the act of writing. Not just the
formation of thoughts on a page but the fine motor skills involved in the swift
flowing motion of a fountain pen as you watch the lines slowly morph into
letters, then words, and finally sentences until the thoughts are fully formed
and the ideas are bouncing around the margins. Think about it, when is the last
time you wrote a letter?
I
like seeing the personality in the handwriting. This is something that is completely
lost in the quick glance of a perfectly spaced email. And, in some instances,
tone can be lost between the ink on the page and the words on the screen. It’s
almost like an automatic cooling of the sentiment occurs as soon as technology
is put into play.
I
guess this is a long way of saying that I like getting a lot of mail as long as
there is a personal touch to the correspondences I receive. Maybe the best way
to start doing that would be to stop typing so much in my free time, break out
the fountain pen, and stain the good paper currently being segregated in the closet.
Who knows, maybe some of you will be getting a letter soon and some of you may
even read it before shredding.
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