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First Class Mail

Each generation has its own type of social media. It’s always interesting to look back and see just how drastically things have changed since those years when I was growing up.  The older I get, the quicker time moves. Our number one way to communicate when I was a pre-teen, teenager was letter writing.  I remember having a “pen pal” who lived in England. We would write letters back and forth to each other.  I surmise that that’s why handwriting was so important. I spent many hours perfecting my handwriting. There was something almost magical about getting a letter in the  mail. Waiting daily for the mailman was a ritual. I knew exactly when the mailman was expected and I would eagerly anticipate the possibility of receiving a letter, something addressed specifically to me – with MY name on it.  The summer my cousin Harriet came to stay with us, I remember her looking for a letter everyday from her boyfriend who was in the service at the time.  It was so nice to see that just about every day (excluding Sundays of course) she would get a letter.  That usually meant that on Monday she would get two letters! By the end of the summer she had stacks of letters secured with rubber bands to take back home to South Carolina with her. The letters always came in, what I considered, a special envelope. As I waited anxiously for the mailman to finish putting the mail in the box, I could spot that special envelope addressed to “Harriet Curry” with that familiar handwriting – return address from “Vance Clinkscales”.  I knew she  would be delighted to get mail. I would run upstairs and place it on her bed and have it waiting for her when she returned from work.  She would rush in, wash her hands and sit down to read her letter (oh what love!).  Her “soldier boy” never forgot her.  The beauty of it is that they subsequently got married when he returned home. This was in the 1960s and they remain together until today – some 64 plus years later. In my eyes, they had the storybook romance. Each night after dinner, she would sit down to write to him. My job was to make sure to mail the letter the next day – I never let her down!!! 

While clearing out my file cabinet a little while ago, I came across some letters that I kept from an “old flame”.  There were at least 10 of them.  I got such joy out of re-reading them. Just the thought that someone took the time to sit down, gather their thoughts and write them down. It took care and thought. You just couldn’t instantly “delete” a thought. You would have to start all over again just to get it right. The intentionality of letter writing is priceless.  Some of the letters were two or three pages long – WOW – imagine that!!!. Talk about feeling special. 

Now the kids have “Facebook”, “X”, “SnapChat”, “Tik Tok”, “Instagram” and probably some other social media avenues that I have no knowledge of.  The closest thing we had to social media when I was in Junior High School was this…. We would get a black and white composition notebook.  On the first page we would create a legend. We would write people’s names and then give them a number – let’s say I’m #1, someone else #2, etc.  Then on the subsequent pages throughout the book, we would write different people’s names as the header – let’s say “Jerome Peoples” on the first page, “Lillian Porter” on the second page, etc., and that would be his or her page.  Each page had a different person’s name. People would then write comments on a person’s page and put their number (according to the legend on the first page) underneath their comments.  The books would be passed around the school during the day and at the end of the day (usually in homeroom) you would get your book back and could read all the comments people wrote about you and others included in your book.  Sometimes, people wouldn’t put their numbers so you wouldn’t know who said what.  I tell you, those books caused so much trouble.  I can’t tell you how many fights broke out as a result of those books!!!!. That reminds me so much of social media these days because people can say mean things anonymously, oftentimes bullying and even threatening people and get away with it.  At school they had to wind up banning those books. Banning social media these days is an impossibility.  I marvel at how “out of control” things have gotten.  

As for me, in this year 2024, nostalgia settles in from time to time. I still do enjoy getting cards in the mail and I try to send cards to people I know as well. I have mounds and mounds of cards people have sent me through the years. Some days I sit down and read them. Unlike most young adults these days, I still look for the mailman everyday and I must confess that there are even times I long for a letter in the mail, addressed specifically to me, handwritten, in a special envelope with a stamp – sent with love. 

5 Responses

  1. This was such a heartfelt memory you shared. I have letters from old flames, I even have a journal. I still reread as well.
    I even have letter from my late brother when he was in the Army.
    Love this
    Keep em coming!

  2. This is so timely for me – as I am about to move from my home of the last 20 years, what do I take? What do I keep? I’ve never been one to sit and reflect on all the letters and pictures and cards of the past because with joy there is also sadness and regret. Regret sometimes for what was, as well as what could have been. Perhaps now is the time to focus on the sunshine.

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