Write Me a Letter: A Lost Art

What a lot we lost when we stopped writing letters. You can't reread a phone call.

*quote by Liz Carpenter*

In October 2010, the Carnegie Center celebrated the National Day on Writing by bringing back the lost art of letter-writing. Volunteers set up shop at bookstores, coffee shops, schools, libraries, and restaurants across Lexington, inviting patrons to write a letter then send it either to a Kentuckian serving abroad or to a friend/family member. With over 1,000 letters written and sent abroad, we were all reminded of the power of a real, thoughtful, tangible, pen-and-ink, handwritten LETTER.

Well, fast forward to Tuesday of this week. I opened my mailbox (my real mailbox - the one outside my front door) to find this...

It's a letter! For me! From a super wonderful out-of-state friend. I was so very excited :) I had a big smile on my face even though no one was around to see it. I almost didn't want to read the letter because I wanted to prolong that Christmas-morning feeling as long as possible. But of course I dove right in. My fingers tore open the envelope and felt the smoothness of the paper. And seeing my friend's very own handwriting allowed more of her awesome personality to shine through than would have in an email or text. Not to mention the content of the letter - part happy, part sad, part update, part curiosity, all honest and touching. Ahhh, the whole thing was just bliss. And if you think I'm exaggerating my excitement, think again. I truly was beyond happy (still am). In fact, the letter's still sitting - placed neatly back in its envelope - on the bar in my kitchen. It will probably stay there for weeks reliving the excitement, until one of you sends me another letter and I'll start all over again :)

inspire + explore : Write a letter. Now! It doesn't have to be long (but boy, that 3-pager was nice to read). And it doesn't have to be on fancy paper, either. Send it to someone who lives in another state. Or city. Or house. Bonus: Somewhere in the letter, perhaps as a footer, include your location (city, state, country). My friend did this, and in the case that someone in the next generation(s) runs across it - which is likely considering I tend to hold on to things like this - they'll be able to make a geographical connection. How cool is that? Now let's get to work bringing back this lost art!