Who Do You Write To?

[GabrielleDuVent]

 

I considered it but thought my preferences might be too limiting and others might wonder why I bothered if I was looking for only European grandmother people of my age. I also worry that if I put my name in the pen-pal thread and I get requests from someone I don't feel comfortable corresponding with based on what I may have seen of their forms posts then I may anger them or hurt their feeling and I don't want to do either . . . so I just avoid it.

 

Quite a few people requested pen-palling with me, but this was only after exchanging a few messages. And since I find their responses quite pleasant to read, I've agreed to most.

 

There are quite a few "old souls" here, encased in younger bodies. Not all young Europeans are booze-chugging club-goers, and especially those on here are quite "old-fashioned", so to speak (I mean, we do use fountain pens...).

[Astronauta]

I write to my friends/penpals abroad. With some of them I've been corresponding for 10 years and we've met in person. The post office hasn't been too efficient, though, and lost some letters this year..

[Redonna]

 

Quite a few people requested pen-palling with me, but this was only after exchanging a few messages. And since I find their responses quite pleasant to read, I've agreed to most.

 

There are quite a few "old souls" here, encased in younger bodies. Not all young Europeans are booze-chugging club-goers, and especially those on here are quite "old-fashioned", so to speak (I mean, we do use fountain pens...).

 

LOL, I'm not worried about the booze-chugging club-goers! I worry more that I would have so little to add to a conversation about music or current fashion and trends. But with that concern I must admit I would have a problem corresponding (or even holding verbal conversation) regarding music because I pretty much checked out of the music environ years ago. I basically listen to Elvis, when or if I even listen to music.

[Sailor Kenshin]

LOL, I'm not worried about the booze-chugging club-goers! I worry more that I would have so little to add to a conversation about music or current fashion and trends. But with that concern I must admit I would have a problem corresponding (or even holding verbal conversation) regarding music because I pretty much checked out of the music environ years ago. I basically listen to Elvis, when or if I even listen to music.

 

Judging solely by your blog you'd have a lot to say to just about anyone.

[GabrielleDuVent]

 

LOL, I'm not worried about the booze-chugging club-goers! I worry more that I would have so little to add to a conversation about music or current fashion and trends. But with that concern I must admit I would have a problem corresponding (or even holding verbal conversation) regarding music because I pretty much checked out of the music environ years ago. I basically listen to Elvis, when or if I even listen to music.

 

I won't be too worried about that; there is following current fashion, for instance, then doing a comparative study (for example, bellbottoms were worn by males more so than females back in the 70s... but the females wore them in the late 90s' early 2000's... then Girbaud came onto the scene, which focused a little more on baggy trousers). The former requires heavy reading on Cosmo, the latter on history of fashion. Two different games to play.

 

Music is just one genre, and there are plenty of other topics to talk about. Here is the ultimate caveat: with intelligent people, they'd always have an opinion and are willing to learn, and therefore good conversations can be held, regardless of topic. With ignorant and lazy people, it doesn't matter if you do have read million books on it, as they'd quickly run out of things to say and then they'd be parroting after what you say anyway.

 

Les modes passent, mais le style et eternel.

[Epistler]

Updating my list below, here are letters written in March:

 

* To a friend who arrived at a meeting that I attended and who found the door locked and could not attract anyone's notice, an apology for his being left out in the cold

* To the mother of a friend who died several months ago, reminiscing about her son

* To a friend who had been in an accident, a "Get Well" card

* To a food-enthusiast friend, a recipe which I had recently tried

* To a friend who would appreciate it, a recommendation of the Mickey Rourke film Francesco (about Saint Francis), inspired by the new pope's choice of name; also a reminiscence about how one of our High School teachers used to always ominously assign major assignments to be due on the Ides of March

* To a heavily-bearded friend who had emailed to ask me if any had any experience with shaving tools other than disposables, a summary of that experience

* To a friend on an extended stay in Paris, a note with a photo that I had found of a proposed trampoline bridge across the Seine

* To my cousin, stories that I had heard years ago of the demi-god-like nature of a man who, Facebook pointed out to me, is apparently now one of her son's teachers

* To the friend who, years ago, told me those stories about the demi-god, a note with a photocopy of the letter to my cousin (described immediately above)

* To a friend with whom I had had a delightfully long conversation, a collection of annotations to that conversation

* To a friend who worked long ago on wild fish management project, an announcement of a public tour at a fish ladder facility

* To a friend about to undertake a farming internship, a note explaining how the enclosed gardener's journal could become a valued reference

* To a blacksmith friend, a description of what I had come to understand about some blade-sharpening advice, expanding on an earlier conversation

 

 

This thread caused me to pause and take note.
The following is a summary of my outgoing correspondences from the past two months. I hope that the descriptions of recipients and of content will inspire people to write some letters, notes, and cards of their own!

* To a friend who has Getting Things Done issues, an relevant insight that I once read
* To a friend with whom I watched the Up Series films several years ago, an alert that the next installment in the series has been produced
* To an old friend whom I rarely see these days, explaining an assignment at my job and asking if he could lend his expertise
* To a lifelong friend whom I see only a few times a year I pointed out a film that I think would interest him; I also updated him on activities in my new job
* To a friend and regular correspondent whom I see fairly often, a haiku on a postcard, spontaneously composed about my cat. This friend and I go through periods of regular correspondence even when we see each other face-to-face.
* To my sister-in-law, a note about my recent beginnings in a hobby which she has expressed interest in taking up; a photo of me thus engaged enclosed
* To my niece, thanking her for some help; reporting that I had noticed while out and about a behavior in others which I had talked about with her; and telling her that I had finally visited a museum which she used to frequent, letting her know that being there made me think of her
* To the Getting Things Done friend mentioned above, an explanatory note with a few copies of a novel day planner format that I'd stumbled upon
* To a very busy friend, another note with copies of that planner format
* To a friend who had emailed me with an invitation to an even that is a couple of months off and a mention that she'd run into a friend we have in common, an acceptance of that emailed invitation, a few words of appreciation about the third party, and some words of encouragement and inquiry about her first weeks in graduate school
* To an acquaintance who has posted on Facebook a commentary about an experience she had, an anecdote about a similar experience in my past
* To a different niece, encouraging her interest in fountain pens—which I'd only recently learned of
* To the busy friend mentioned above, thanking her for introducing me fifteen years ago to chai masala, a drink which came to mind recently after a long break
* To a friend in the midst of chemotherapy, a cheering note with some photos of her children from a few years ago
* To a childhood friend to whose mother I had sent a gift some months earlier, asking if he though she had received it and if it arrived in workable condition (it is unlike her to not acknowledge a gift, and I was reluctant to ask her about it directly)
* To an old friend who no longer lives nearby, a letter to enclose with a book that I was sending to her, explaining why I chose it for her (or her for it!) and urging her to read it
* A second, briefer note regarding the book gift just mentioned, written because I had misplaced the original (I ended up enclosing both with the book!)
* A thank-you note for a belated Christmas present
* A 2nd thank-you for a second belated present
* To a childhood friend, a note suggesting that he look into a book whose author presented a lecture that I recently attended
* To a friend's schoolteacher girlfriend, pointing her to a documentary online about some classroom sociology experiments that would interest her
* To a friend who might appreciate Tomoe River paper, a small sheaf
* To a childhood friend, birthday greetings and an anecdote about a recent experience that reminded me of something that we'd experienced together as teens
* To the correspondent mentioned above (with whom I exchange mail even though we also see one another in person), a pun that unexpectedly came up in a conversation
* To a recent high school grad from my church, a thinking-of-you letter while she is in Marine basic training
* To my godson's father, thanking him for helping me with a work project
* To the friend of a friend who had alerted us to the aforementioned lecture, a thanks for doing so
* To a schoolteacher friend with whom I had had a long talk (mostly a listen on my part) about his misgivings about his relationship with his work, an anecdote that I'd heard years ago, intended to suggest to him that there is more than one way to do things well
* To my brother, suggestions about equipment, supplies, and resources to support his wife's recent interest in improving her penmanship (condensed: If someone wants to focus on penmanship I think that they would do well to use a flexible nib; start with a dip pen for cost reasons)
* To a friend whom I see only in the summer, a LONG letter in response to a fast cluster of text messages that she had sent to me—my letter rambling about characteristics of various communications modes: phone, post, email, text message; touching on how writing with a pen improves the quality of my content and style
* To a friend who had helped with a brief work project, a letter of thanks and including some information and website URLS pertinent to our recent conversation
* To a friend considering seeking an ADD diagnosis in his early thirties, an article that might help him and his wife to sort out their perceptions (and lack thereof) of his symptoms
* To a childhood friend whom I see rarely, an inquiry about sending to his professional kitchen a young acquaintance who is interested in exploring a culinary career
* To my godson and his brother: a Valentine's Day card for each
* To my aforementioned corresponding friend, a postcard reminding her of an approaching lecture which we had talked several weeks ago of attending
* To my godson's mother, a thank-you note for a no-occasion gift, including an expression of curiosity about a workshop that she recently attended
* To a childhood friend and, later, college classmate, an invitation to a function at my church
* To my niece, a rather rambling letter relating an anecdote that a recent note from her reminded me of
* To a friend who is abroad for the semester, a note with photos of a recent activity that a member of her family was involved in
* To the childhood friend to whom I had earlier recommended a lecturer's book, several recommendations of things available on Netflix streaming—to which he had just subscribed
* A note to an old friend who now lives far away, explaining how I happened to come into possession of a copy of the just-released and immediately-sold-out Batman comic issue—one with a rather milestone plot development—and accompanying the gift of that comic, which he will appreciate
* A work-related thank-you note
* A second work-related thank-you note
* and half a dozen birthday cards

[Redonna]

Judging solely by your blog you'd have a lot to say to just about anyone.

 

I probably maybe could would. Maybe I just have too much fear of the unknown. And thank you for looking at my blog. I don't keep it up as a good blogger would, but then I'm not a blogger who uses my blog to generate revenue or garner masses of followers. I have some crafters I follow who follow me and if we don't post for a few weeks then it's still all good.

[DriedUpBob]

Why would you let a silly thing like death stop you? I still write to my mother and father in Other Side Camp. Just cause the Postal Service can't deliver there, that don't mean the message ain't received.

 

I used to be a big letter writer and sort of lost it with The Internet and going back to school. I'm starting a campaign to write to everyone whom I've ever met who has touched me in some way, whether I have their address or not. I traveled alone to see my father when I was 12 or 13, and there was a flight attendant who made me feel safe by constantly checking up on me, and even sitting with me and showing me pictures of her new baby. That was 30 years ago, but what she taught me about kindness still resonates in me. I couldn't possibly find her now, but I'm writing to her nonetheless.

 

You could call this a mere journal entry, but it's not. Writing to someone is quite different from writing about someone, whether it's mailed to yourself and just saved, unopened, or whether you send it to Other Side Camp through the fire, it's different.

 

A lot of letters that I write end up starting with some variation of "You may not remember this, but there was this one time when you…" and then I go on to tell them something they did or said that has affected me. It gives me a chance to think about it and processes it, and I hope it's nice for them to have a letter from someone saying "Hey, something you did was really meaningful to me."

 

(By the way, I thought it would be interesting to mail the letters that I can't really send– like to the flight attendant– to my house, care of my children. They can open them later if they want)

 

Wow I love this!...I thought about it but got so worked up about not being able to find the person to get them the letter. I like your approach Thanks John!

[hermanlab]

I write to the President of the United States and to the Pope and sometimes to the Dalai Lama. I always sign my letters "I am not a crackpot!, Letterman"

Did you ever get a reply? LOL

 

A friend of mine once wrote to our president when we were students to compliment him. She actually received a polite reply, much to my astonishment. She probably wouldn't have had the same response if she'd tried to give him a few tips on how to improve his performance, however...

[georges zaslavsky]

to some relatives

to some fpners

to some friends

[Epistler]

My last post in this thread ended with my March letters, so, in trying to catch up, I'll put April's here.

I hope that this inspires someone to write a letter. What's better than receiving one? A letter is a gift of delight.

 

* To a nephew, birthday wishes

* To a friend who is a foster parent, thanks for contributing to society in that way—an appreciation that was sparked by recent conversations with a foster youth

* To my sister-in-law, thanks for teaching students with special needs

* To a friend, reminiscing on the anniversary of a memorable adventure

* To my neice, updating her on my progress on a project that she helped me to start a few months earlier, and, unrelatedly, asking her to encourage her husband to attend the New England Pen Show

* To the farming intern friend whom I had recently given a gardening journal, a description of how I use four ink colors in my own gardening journal to record various kinds of information

 

So, fewer pieces than in the winter, but some were long-ish, and spring yard work beckoned.

 

Who do you write to? And what about?

[Vendome]

Just wrote a letter to Parker on a few matters and also to the Controller of BBC Radio 3.

[Virobono]

I write to some of my family, especially my father (though he has email), and an aunt (who does not). Recently, I've also been writing to my middle stepson's fiancee; she is at sea for eight months with the Royal Navy and enjoys receiving letters and small parcels, although she does get limited email access.

 

The most productive letter-writing time has been when either my wife or I have been deployed to Afghanistan. We send very few emails to each other, preferring to write real letters (and they're free to send!) every day (or almost every day - circumstances sometimes intervene!). When my wife was deployed, all my letters to her were written in green ink, partly so she could spot them in the pile of blueys (Forces Aerogrammes, which are of blue paper), but also because in the British armed forces green ink is the preserve of Admirals, Generals and Air Marshals - presumably so one can spot their pearls of wisdom more easily - and it would raise an eyebrow amongst one or two of her colleagues who thought she must be very well connected.

 

Writing a letter can be wonderfully therapeutic when the rest of one's life is hectic and surrounded by trauma. Receiving a letter is equally good. Our postal service was sometimes erratic, so there was sometimes disappointment when no letter came, but then such pleasure when the postie brings several at once, to be read, folded and put in a pocket, to be brought out and read again and again.

 

Incidentally, my combat writing system was a Lamy Safari, with cartridges; letters to the sandpit were mostly written with my Omas MOMO.

[chad.trent]

There are some people on here I need to write back to. It's long overdue.

 

Mainly I write to my son. He's only 10 months old, but every month I write him a letter telling him what's going on in his life, what milestones he has reached, etc.

 

I hope when he grows up he will appreciate them. But, even if he doesn't, I'm enjoying writing them.

[Vendome]

After finishing reading Inferno by Dan Brown, I've written a stiffly worded letter to his publisher, saying shame on them for publishing such tripe.

 

It's a shame I had no green ink to write to them with, to highlight my utter contempt for such drivel.

[moylek]

After finishing reading Inferno by Dan Brown, I've written a stiffly worded letter to his publisher, saying shame on them for publishing such tripe.

 

It's a shame I had no green ink to write to them with, to highlight my utter contempt for such drivel.

 

I just finished Philip Hensher's _The Missing Ink_, from which I learned about the "green-ink letter", which Mr. Hensher assures us really are often written in green ink.

 

I recently took a fancy to green ink, especially liking the way it looks sloshing about in demonstrator. I'm now a little shy about using it. :/

[Vendome]

 

I just finished Philip Hensher's _The Missing Ink_, from which I learned about the "green-ink letter", which Mr. Hensher assures us really are often written in green ink.

 

I recently took a fancy to green ink, especially liking the way it looks sloshing about in demonstrator. I'm now a little shy about using it. :/

 

Don't be shy moylek, letters written in green ink, whether it be to a newspaper or a complaint to a company do get noticed and acted upon.

 

I've just written to a marketing lady who works at Wordsworth Editions enquiring about future publications in their Tales of Mystery and the Supernatural series. (I did use purple ink though.)