Is the Art of the Letter Dead?

Today I took a sick day. Yesterday, I was up all night with a high fever and alarmingly numb arms and although I am much better today, I decided that it would be better to rest at home instead of taking the long trek into work. I lounged around reading Forbes magazine (yes, I do believe I am the only PCV who reads it) and came to an article that I thought would interest a friend. I ripped it out, stuffed it in an envelope and wrote a quick note. I’m not saying to whom it is going, so they will be surprised . It is someone who reads this blog (hint!) religiously. Letter writing is something I never did at home. When I asked my brother why he never responded to my letters, his response was, “Meghan, before you were in the Peace Corps did you every write anyone a letter?” After a short debate we decided that Thank-You notes don’t count. And so, the answer is no. Nobody of my generation writes letters. I have to admit that although I remember learning how to address a letter in Kindergarten, I still put the stamps on the wrong corner when I sent out a bunch of Thank-You notes in high school. I wonder if they even teach how to address a letter anymore. It is also dying out in my parents’ generation and they have lived more than half their lives without ubiquitous e-mail. In fact, the age of my most consistent pen pal is 90. My mom printed and mailed this blog to her and when she refers to it in her letters it is always “Blog (?)”. Even though I have regular e-mail access in Kindia, I have decided to write letters. I think they are more personal than an e-mail and writing them is something to do to pass the time in my electricity-less hut. For people I won’t see for 2 years, it is nice to have some sort of physical connection. I guarantee that every letter I have sent is imbued with at least a few droplets of my sweat. And when I get a letter, I think, “Wow! 6-26 weeks ago this paper was in America!”. While I have been here, America has developed an Oz/Disney World/Hogwarts/The Tombs aura. Or maybe I am just clinging to some romantic notion that 80 years down the road my grandkids will stumble upon a shoebox at the back of my closet and inside, tied with a ribbon, will be a stack of letters that I received as a young Peace Corps Volunteer. I sure hope they don’t say, “I’m not sure what these are, but I think we learned about them in history class.” Ok, so call me a romantic, but hanging out in your imagination is one of the top 5 pastimes for volunteers. And I know that I am not the only person that feels that way. A few months ago, as part of their “One Good Thing a Day” listserve, Good.is sent out an article about a letter service that for $5 a month will send you notes in the mail from celebrated authors. Of course, they will be digital reproductions of the original handwritten note, but for $5 a month, what can you expect? I think it misses the mark, but shows that there are people who want to find more than catalogues, coupons, and bills in their daily mail haul. So the point of this blog is to encourage you to write a letter to someone. It does not have to be to me, but to anyone who you think would enjoy it. I assure you that it will brighten their day. Now, how to deal with the fact that no one in my generation is in the phone book (landlines are another thing that's dying), well, just e-mail them for their contact info, but don’t tell them why.