Quote of the day

This quote is attributed, on the Internet, to Sydney Smith, an English writer (1771-1845):

"Correspondences are like small clothes before the invention of suspenders; it is impossible to keep them up."

Of course, I wouldn't say correspondences are "impossible" to keep up, but it does take some work. In this project, I have found that it is easier to write a letter to a stranger, someone I've never written to before, such as the many letter writers on the the penpal sites, than it is to write to a friend or even an established penpal.

With my friends, I want to say something important, something meaningful, so I put off writing those letters until I have time to devote to the art of crafting a letter. With new penpals, or even just fellow snail mailers who may never become penpals, the letters are often simple letters of introduction, which are fairly easy to write.

However, I do believe, it is worth the effort to keep up the correspondences. Good friends are so important.

What a delight!

This weekend, I received a letter from a friend I've known for quite a few years. It was a surprise and a delight...I'm sure I owe her a letter, so I wasn't expecting anything in the mail from her.

But, here it was...just a letter letting me know that she was thinking about me. She mentioned a movie that she knew I'd like and a writer she's recently discovered.

That makes at least two "old" friends I've reconnected with through this letter-writing projects. In both situations, we still kept in touch intermittently, but we're now writing quite regularly. I've also made a lot of new penpal friends, and a few friends are now e-mailing more often!

What fun!

Prompt replies

Is there a letter awaiting your reply? Read what William Shenstone, an 18th Century English poet, had to say about answering letters you have received:

The best time to frame an answer to the letters of a friend, is the moment you receive them. Then the warmth of friendship, and the intelligence received, most forcibly cooperate.

~William Shenstone

Here's an idea!

Are you wondering what you would write in a letter if you were to write a letter?

How about writing about a childhood memory that you have about you and the recipient of your letter! Pick a childhood friend and sit down and write a letter to her (or him). Of course, let her know how you've been doing and ask how she is. Then, write about a special memory you have and how it makes you feel to look back on that memory, maybe even how the events in that memory have influenced your life.

Think about it this weekend, maybe even pull out some old photos to reminisce over or include with your letter. Don't forget to take time to write the letter...don't just think about it!

Happy Letter Writing!

Peaceful Pastime

I don't know about you, but nowadays I often feel overwhelmed with everything that's going on in the world. I'm a journalist, so I'm not blaming the media, but often it's just too much to handle...war, mass murder/suicides, economic woes, salmonella poisoning, and the list goes on and on.

But, last Thursday, our electricity was off at home for almost the entire day. It went off in the middle of our morning rush, after I had fixed breakfast but before I had dried my hair. We lit some candles and finished getting ready. After too many phone calls to the electric company, they finally showed up out on the highway to replace the pole that had broken off at the ground. (Best I can tell, the wildfire the week before had weakened the pole, which was never replaced despite being burned, and then high winds snapped the pole at the ground.)

When the lights went out, instead of creating panic or mayhem in our household, the sudden quietness enveloped our lives in a gentle peace.

Except for our voices, there was total quietness. No TV blaring out the tragic news of the day or the upcoming weather. No radio screeching the latest hits or telling me what they decided at the recent city commissioners' meeting. No hum from the computers. No rumbling or buzzing from the dryer. Things we never realize make noise (coffee pot, lights, etc.) were quiet.

The lack of things to compete with brought down our own level of chaos. No need to yell in order to be heard. No need to rush...there was much less to do. I couldn't dry my hair with the hair dryer; a quick brush would have to do — it would dry on the way to work. I couldn't check e-mail or the blog. Those would have to wait till later. There was no choice.

Letter writing can produce a similar sense of peacefulness. Writing a letter doesn't require electricity, Internet service or much of anything else. All you need is a writing utensil, some paper (sometimes, that's not really necessary -- you can mail a coconut with a message written/carved on it or a wooden postcard), an envelope (again, not really needed -- any piece of paper can be folded into an envelope or self-mailer), a postage stamp, and access to postal service.

Stamps can be ordered by mail (ask at your post office for a form). Depending on where you live, you should be able to drop your letter in a nearby mail box for the postal employee to pick up. Obviously, some places don't have door-to-door mail delivery (see this earlier blog entry), but I think most do.

I'm recommending that you take a few minutes, maybe more, today to sit down, relax and write a letter. Turn off the TV. Turn off the radio. Turn off the (yikes!) computer. If it's still daylight and nice weather at your house, take your pen and paper and sit outside to write a letter. Enjoy the peacefulness of reconnecting with an old friend, introducing yourself to a new friend or catching up with family.

Connections

Isn't this quote by Lord Byron (British poet, 1788-1824) so true? It seems to me that even if a person is alone when writing a letter, you don't feel lonely. Rather, you tend to feel connected to the person you're writing to, almost as if they are there with you. Now, later, after the letter has been dropped into the mailbox, and you're waiting for a reply that might not come for days or weeks, well, then, you might feel a little lonely. But when you are sitting there with pen in hand and paper before you, distance and time seem to melt away and you are in the presence of a friend.

Letter writing is the only device for combining solitude with good company.

- Lord Byron

Letter-writing Quote of the Week

Sir, more than kisses, letters mingle souls. For, thus friends absent speak.

- John Donne

A reason for writing

And none will hear the postman's knock
Without a quickening of the heart,
For who can bear to feel himself forgotten?

-- From Night Mail by W.H. Auden, written for a 1936 documentary film about the train that brought the mail from England to Scotland

Let not anyone in your life feel forgotten....write a letter today!

A letter from a new-found friend and a feature

Not long after I started this blog, April commented on one of my posts and suggested that we exchange letters. So, an e-mail or two back and forth, and my letter was on its way to California.

Last week, I received my first letter from April, along with a photo of their family and a very special gift of some very beautiful earrings (see the photo). April told me a little about her life and family. She has a couple of blogs, Double Happiness and Secondsister Suaviloquy. She also has an Etsy site where she sells her beautiful jewelry, SecondSister. Be sure to stop by her blogs and her shop!


* * * *

Another blogger favorite of mine, Tameka at Tea and Honey Bread and The Buzz has posted a feature on this 365 Letters blog on The Buzz. If you'll look through her archives, you can read profiles on many other artists, too! This month she also posted a collection of her favorites from Etsy in honor of Black History Month -- it's a wonderful selection! Be sure to visit her Etsy shop, Pretty in Peace, too.

Blog mentions

I just noticed that a couple of fellow bloggers and letter writers have mentioned me on their blogs. How great it is to be making new friends and encouraging others to write letters!

Check it out:

LetterLover

A Passion For Letter Writing

Thanks!

My worries and an update

As I'm writing these letters and sending them out, I include a little note with each letter that lets the recipient know about this project and this blog. But, then, I get a little worried that my friends and/or family members are going to think that I'm only writing to them because of the project.

In fact, it's the other way around. I'm doing the project because of my commitment to keep in touch with my friends and family.

It seems that every late-December, early January, I vow to write more letters, send more cards in the coming year. And, I may get a letter or two sent off, and then everyday life gets in the way and my letter writing tapers off.

I think about these people all the time, wondering what ever happened to friends from elementary school or the old Girl Scout troop. I may even make an effort to track some of them down, using all sorts of Internet resources to try and figure out married names and current addresses. But, I usually fail to write the letters. I just never get around to it.

So, I thought that by setting a definite goal, making it trackable and making it public, I would be more motivated to stay on task. I worry that some of my "old" friends are going to think, "Carla hasn't contacted me in years, now she's just writing to me to meet her 365 goal." I worry about that, but I hope that somehow they'll know that it's not that way at all. I've been planning to write the letters for years, often working out the details of the never-sent letters in my mind as I drive to work.

From my perspective, it's working. I'm getting letters written and sent out, and the replies are starting to come in. I'm in touch with people I haven't heard from in years, except for an occasional Christmas card.

As far as the project itself is going, I'm on track. I'll send out the 34th letter today. And, I still have a long list of people I plan to write letters to!

Won't you join me in my project...write a letter today!

Best thing about this project

As this 365 Letters project gets underway, I've discovered one of the best things about it is the responses I'm getting in the mail! That might have seemed obvious, but now that the letters have started showing up in the mailbox, it's been confirmed!

It's been such fun getting letters from friends I haven't heard from in quite a while! Many of my friends are people I've worked with over the years, so we have varying perspectives on the newspaper/journalism world. 

When my husband and I (along with our young daughter) moved about four hours away from where we'd lived for the previous 20 years, we left behind our network of people who think like us. We enjoy the rural home we've been living in for almost 6 years now, but we often find ourselves isolated when it comes to the things we like to discuss. This letter-writing project has put me back in touch with those people who think like we do, who have the same off-beat sense of humor journalists tend to have, who really know who I am.

It's also fun to find out some of the similar things we've all been doing or thinking about. I guess that's how true friends are!

Why don't you try it? Write a letter today!