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I'm of the Transitional Generation.

A personal story in the experience: I Love Snail Mail
I n school we had pen pals, and actually wrote letters. We were expected to write thank you notes, and cards...When my best friend moved to California in ninth grade, we wrote to each other for a while.

By the time I got to high school the internet was really starting to catch on, and when I hit college, there was this big computer lab, and everyone was starting to really get online. Mind you, people like us EP rats were looked at with considerable disdain for "chatting' and being involved in forums and the like, but I was one of the ones who did it.

The internet was big, but a good number of us didn't have internet at home. So most of us exchanged addresses, and we wrote to each other over the summer.

Now, people don't even call me anymore. It's just text messaging. Long distance is no big deal because it's free for most people, after seven pm anyway, so there's no need for the long letter...

Letters in the mail will forever remind me of summers away from college, and missing my college friends so deeply, and not having the phone cards to talk to them every day, and writing. Back then, I got a letter almost every day, and I felt special. I loved to sit and read about their day, and see the grooves in the paper from their handwriting...I loved to see the that envelope that I knew wasn't a bill or junk mail, and know as soon as I saw it that that one with the purple ink was from my roomate because she always wrote with a purple pen...and her boyfriend's roomate had that writing that looked like computer printing, which was funny because he was a computer science major.

You just don't get things like that with email.

And yes, I could even overlook the spelling mistakes, because there was no delete button.

Snail mail also reminds me of my husband, because when he was in Marine Corps boot camp, we couldn't talk for thirteen weeks. So we wrote...And when he was deployed...and in Iraq. I still have every letter. He'd always find a way to send me little snippets of his day. Once there was a tiny shell that got into his shoe during a beach run, and he couldn't stop to get it out...once some sand from very near Ur (where Abraham in the Bible was from), once a rubbing from his dog tags, and always, always, a little box (or twelve) drawn on the letter and envelope. These were our secret kisses. Instead of lipstick kisses (since I don't normally wear it), I'd box in my kisses, and he'd do the same.

Out of all my friends, online and otherwise, I have two who still send me cards and letters; when those letters come, they're the best part of my day.

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Posted May 1st, 2008 at 7:12AM
Oh my god....thats so cool.
I had a pen pal in the third grade and we kept in touch until we got married. Then I never heard from her again.
     
Feeling sick
Posted May 1st, 2008 at 1:28PM
Aww...Pen pals were so great, weren't they?
     
Posted May 28th, 2008 at 9:19AM
I love getting a card or letter the traditional way myself. A huge pet peeve of mine is people not sending thank you cards. Perhaps not for every little thing, but if I sprung for a wedding gift, take the time to send a thank you note! Especially now when you purchase and ship gifts online off of registries and if you don't get a thank you card you are not even sure if they received the gift!
     
Posted Jul 9th, 2008 at 1:49PM
Love this story. I'm 41, and I have 3 penpals. It's nice knowing I might have a letter waiting for me instead of bills and junk mail, and nice to curl up on the sofa with a long letter.
     
Feeling sick
Posted Jul 9th, 2008 at 3:09PM
Yes, that's great...letters and not bills or junk mail. *sigh*
And, that's was always the best part - the length! I remember getting letters that were three and four pages long from friends - we couldn't text or call each other every day, and it seemed that so much was happening. I miss that! If I get actual emails, they're usually 2-liners, or more often, a comment on myspace. Snail mail is the best though!
+2 nods     
Posted Jul 10th, 2008 at 3:28PM
I'm 21 years old and I still have penpals... sometimes I feel awkward because people think that I'm crazy for writing letters in the internet era. Well, I don't mind. The worst thing is not finding cute letter paper and stuff, because most people don't use it anymore...
     
Posted Jul 11th, 2008 at 7:26AM
I love letters,writing them and getting them.
There used to be some stationery which had a crinkly edge and came in pale mauve or blue,I can't remember the name,does anyone know if it is still made?

I had penpals for ages,I have a couple now.The internet's OK,but nothing beats phone calls and letters,
they will never die.I always send thankyou letters and cards,its just common politeness to do so.
Lunatic,you're not awkward at all having penpals,believe me!!I'm always looking for nice stationery too. Texts are great,but they don't always get to their destination on time,causing misunderstandings.You expect them to get there immediately!
     
Posted Jul 11th, 2008 at 5:09PM
The paper Highland gir is talking about is "crane." It is beautiful to write and receive a letter on good old traditiona "Crane." I write letters and card almost every day to friends and family. I love sending and receiving mail. I just wrote a letter to the professor I work for who is retiring and he said it was the nicest thing he had received in a long time. He couldn't believe I still handwrote letters! It was such a pleasure!
     
Posted Jul 12th, 2008 at 5:04AM
Was it called Crane?I just remembered the name this
morning-Churston Deckle.
However,I think the internet is a great medium,sadly it is too often abused....
     
Posted Jul 14th, 2008 at 10:25AM
you should check out Postcrossing.com, it's a great fix for those of us with snail-mail withdrawal!
     
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I Love Snail Mail, Do You Love Snail Mail?, What is it Like to Love Snail Mail?, boot camp | college friends | computer lab | computer printing | computer science | disdain | handwriting | junk mail | little snippets | long distance | marine corps | pen pals | phone cards | purple ink | purple pen | rats | roomate | snail mail | spelling mistakes | text messaging

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