A Month of Letters

Used to be, times past, that I was a great letter-writer. I'm not sure if the content of my letters was always so great, but I sent mail in the post often. In college I wrote home about once a week. When I was apart from H, we corresponded several times a week. In my files I still have many letters from my friends - college and grad school, mostly.

Then came email and Facebook and Instagram, and… well, that slowed down my written correspondence to a snail's pace. Of course, I get many fewer personal letters in the mailbox, too.

I have blogged about my solution to the budget woes of the USPS here. I started out several years ago writing a thank-you note once a week. That lasted for a few months, I think, before I petered out. I still like to send thank you notes, but it doesn't happen on a regular basis.

Then, at the beginning of February, I noticed on Instagram that a friend of mine was participating in A Month of Letters. Interest piqued, I looked it up here. The challenge: mail one thing each day the post office is in business (23 days - minus Sundays and one Monday holiday). It could be a letter, a postcard, a swatch of fabric, or anything.

That, of course, is right up my alley, so I started. Even though I didn't get on board until Feb. 2, I decided that the 6 thank yous I had sent the week before would count.

It was an interesting month. Some days I knew exactly what to send. Some days I floundered around, looking for an excuse. Here are the numbers:

4 actual letters (3 to people who used to be regular correspondents, 1 to someone I have not contacted in about 20 years who is now a Facebook friend)

3 Thank Yous

3 Photos (one with an actual letter)

3 Valentines

3 Birthday Cards

2 Condolence Notes

1 Newspaper article

1 Poem (I wrote)

1 Short Note

1 Postcard

1 Retirement Card

In return, I received one note from my friend who inspired me on this challenge.

If you did not receive a letter or something from me, and you would like me to write you, let me know! Or, send me a letter, and I will be sure to answer it.

This is the card I sent to my friend, seen after she received it

This is the card that came to me. I saw it here on Instagram first….

This is that same card after it arrived in my mailbox

Signals

It's the season for catalogs, and a few weeks ago I received the Signals catalog, the public television store. I haven't gotten this or Wireless (NPR) for a few years, so I was happy to peruse the offerings. I really enjoy the funny sayings on the various shirts, mugs and whatnot, and I thought it would be fun to list some of my favorites here.

Enjoy!

Earth without Art is just "Eh"
Who says nothing is impossible? I've been doing nothing all day!
I'm not short. I'm fun size!
Yes, it's true. I'm not on Facebook.
Libraries are my candy store.
E = Fb - The Musical Theory of Relativity
The library. It's like taking your brain to the gym.
I dream of a society where a chicken can cross the road without its motives questioned.
Sarcasm is the mind's natural defense against stupidity.
I have a degree in Philosophy. Why do you want fries with that?
Irony. The opposite of wrinkly.
Knowledge is knowing a tomato is a fruit. Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.
There. Their. They're not the same.
The Hokey Pokey Clinic: A place to turn yourself around.

A US Postal Service Solution

What to do about the US Postal Service?  I know that people are quick to complain about the USPS, but I, for one, LIKE those people.  Sure, the mail sometimes gets mixed up when we have a sub or new person on our route.  Lines can be long at the PO.  But where else can you send something to someone 3,000 miles away for 44 cents?  Maybe we don't like the USPS because we get too much junk and not enough "real" mail anymore.

I hear that the PO needs about 8 billion dollars to stay afloat (and keep 600,000 people off the unemployment lines).  That's about 18 billion first-class letters (I think. I'm doing some back-of-the-envelope calculations here).  I don't plan to start paying my bills with checks and stamps anymore, and neither do most people, which is one of the problems that has led to declining revenues.

However, here's my thought.  Back in February I blogged about a book I'd just read called 365 Thank Yous: The Year a Simple Act of Gratitude Changed My Life by John Kralik. Kralik's life took a turn for the better over the course of the year in many ways, not only when he felt gratitude for what others had done for him, but when he took the time to put that gratitude in writing as well as put a stamp on the envelope and mailed it.  His relationships with people not only transformed, he became a happier person, and his job as a lawyer became profitable once again.

We could all use some healing in this country and this world these days, couldn't we?  I would like the PO to keep running (I have a hard time with the private companies of UPS and FedEx, but that's another post) and keep those 600,000 employees off of food stamps.  I would like more people to get real mail in their boxes again. The US has a population of about 312,000,000.  If every one of these people (this is a stretch) would send one thank you note a week for a year (and everyone in Congress would send one a day...) - the $8 billion gap would nearly be eliminated.  But what would the other consequences of such an act be?