Letters

The speed at which communication occurs today compared to forty years ago has had a profound effect on the meaning of those exchanges. The art of letter writing is lost, a form that usually took much effort and thought. Exchanges were rare and precious and the purity of well crafted expression in both structure and feeling seemed important. A letter delivered by a person to your door came unexpectedly at times or unpredictably at other times when anticipation of one was hoped for. Cell phones did not exist so calling was often out of budget and at any rate, a letter was a tangible object that smelled of the sender and sometimes contained lipstick or tears and if lucky, a stray hair. Whether the news was happy or sad it was a little piece of that person. A bit of their soul entered your hands and home that could be released when you wanted it to be. Sometimes the envelope would be torn from the mailman’s hands and ripped open with delight or angst before getting it back into your front door. Other times you could allow it to sit on the kitchen table unopened while you drank your morning coffee. A bit like an outing with an estranged friend in the moments before either of you began to open up like old times. They could be cherished objects that went into a special box or under a pillow or set on fire as soon as the content revealed itself. Letters were so important that even one from Ed McMahon was welcomed with a gentle laugh that you just might be the next millionaire. Never taken seriously and always discarded it was better than no letter at all. Now it would be considered spam in your inbox and emails are cold and digital without a trace of humanity no matter how heartfelt. They are not objects and smell like nothing. No tears, hair or lipstick, nor delivered by a human being to your front door. Just photons on a screen.

By Buckspinster

From: United States

Website: https://buckspinster.wordpress.com/