Drop Me A Note (Line) Sometime.

[CraigR]

I am over 70 years old and still love to hand write notes, cards, and letters to family and people I know. The other day, I ran into someone I had not seen in quite a while. Since we both were in a bit of a hurry, we didn't really say much more than hi, how are you, and goodbye. Upon parting, I said "drop me a note catching me up on what you have been up to" and I handed him my card that has my home address printed under my name. He responded with "hey, you forgot to put your e-mail address on your card, how am I supposed to drop you a note?" I explained to him that I prefer to receive correspondence from friends and family by handwritten note or letter. Well, his shock was very visible and there was a hint of fear as well. I let him off the hook temporarily by saying "if you give me your address, I'll start the ball rolling by sending you an update about me. That may help you return the favor." He jotted his address on a card that I gave him using the Parker 51, gray, medium nib filled with Waterman's Florida Blue ink I also handed him. Of course, he asked about the pen and I told him that the pen and I were both born in the same quarter of the same year, 1947. As he returned the pen to me, he shook his head and thanked me for stopping to talk. His parting shot was "hey, I am looking forward to hearing from you. I almost never get anything handwritten in the mail anymore."

 

Growing up and as a young adult, dropping a note or line to someone meant a correspondence short of a letter. Kind of like a postcard or note card. Somewhere along the way we changed "dropping a note or line" to commonly mean an e-mail, tweet, or electronic personal message. Lets change that back to handwritten as often as we can.

Edited January 18, 2018 by CraigR

[Pentode]

I wholeheartedly agree.

 

I just wrote a short letter to my parents a few weeks ago. It wasnt because were out of touch; we email or speak on the phone a couple of times each week but its not very personal and, sometimes, it just feels better to hand write correspondence. They like receiving real mail, too.

[Runnin_Ute]

Interesting isn't it, how we change and adapt what we do like that. Not just a note/letter either.

A while back, I got an email from a cousin who I hadn't seen in a while (he is several years older than I am), I got his mailing address and sent him a letter, catching up what is going on in my/our lives. He said he preferred to respond by email. I don't have a problem with that as long as they do it. He did respond if I recall correctly.

 

I remember as a kid always looking up to him. I am guessing he is probably in his late 60's or so now.

[Barkingpig]

I have been blessed to maintain correspondence between friends from college, almost 50 years ago, since that time. I am sorry to say it has decreased since telephone rates for long distance have become differently charged & internet usage has become so normal. I was happy to receive an email from a friend early this morning that he had returned home with his 96 year old Mother from the hospital after an emergency, there are situations that I see it's merits.

 

But nothing will ever replace the letter for me; I find it such a pleasure to write & receive same. This week was a nice letter from a friend of 40 years; she is 96,living alone & still working 5 mornings a week, living in a suburb of Chicago. She had not a mention of complaint about weather, (it is her "hometown") yet she drives to work each day. I admit she made me feel quite guilty for bemoaning the recent siege of cold in my area, which is far less than Chicago is used to!

[goodpens]

I've been doing this with my niece (9), who I don't get to see in person. She's started writing back to me--which I LOVE! In her most recent note, she said that is is like we're sending "talking-grams" (her phrase), like telegrams that we use to talk to one another, even if it is just a "thinking of you" note or a postcard. This has turned into a really valuable way for me to keep in touch with and get to know a talented, smart young girl who I usually don't get to communicate with via other means. It has also developed into "our thing" and is a central part of our relationship. I'm really grateful for it.

[Goingbuddha]

An acquaintance of mine, who moved to the US, requested a letter when I posted that I'm back in to pen and paper correspondences. A few weeks later I asked if he had received it. He replied that he had, but he hadn't bothered to read it. -.-

[Chrissy]

An acquaintance of mine, who moved to the US, requested a letter when I posted that I'm back in to pen and paper correspondences. A few weeks later I asked if he had received it. He replied that he had, but he hadn't bothered to read it. -.-

 

How rude and his loss.

[darazs]

How rude and his loss.

True - I am lost for words!

[dragorsi]

So true! Nothing compares to handwritten note, but I keep running into the problem that people fear they won't know what to write or that it won't be good enough. Unfortunately it seems to me that most people think writing a letter equals to calligraphy these days which is intimidating. I will try to send more thank you notes out this year, just to show something short can be still better if written by hand. Hope it'll be encouraging to people.

(Sending thank you notes are not customary here, so that alone will be a little strange for some)

[asnailmailer]

Did you get a reply back, Craig, from your friend?

[CraigR]

Did you get a reply back, Craig, from your friend?

Yes, I did. He has written several times, mostly note cards but a fairly long letter too. I think we will keep up an occasional correspondence. He has not come over to the dark side of fountain pens yet. I may need to gift him a starter pen. Thanks for asking.

[kealani]

Personal heartfelt well composed prose as communication seems to have been replaced by brief texts and emails that read like "incident reports" at best.

 

Often, even longer well thought emails (with pictures) are responded with, "That's nice. . thanks."

 

Are folks even busier than ever, or less thoughtful, or less skilled in prose, or conditioned by mass media and technology?

Or has the cumulative effect of these things produced a scattered mind?

 

A well turned word on paper written with ink, a thoughtful envelope and stamp, is even more appreciated.

 

Aloha

jim

[drv1913]

I still regularly send letters, notes, and cards in the mail, but I have gotten so used to receiving email or phone responses to them that I recently had the reverse experience from the one described in the original post.

 

I'd been to see an exhibit at a local museum. I liked it so much that I got passes for a few friends and sent them by mail. Two people sent thank-yous by text or email, but I didn't hear from the third person, so I sent her an email. A few days later, I realized that she hadn't responded, so I called and left her a voice message. When she called me back, she explained that she'd been planning to send me a return thank-you card in the mail - she was excited because she would finally have a chance to use some monogram stationery that she had - but just hadn't gotten around to doing it yet, but since I'd called and emailed, she felt she finally had to respond. We both laughed, and I told her to send the card after she'd finally seen the exhibit and let me know what she thought of it.