This whole blogging, Facebook, Twitter, Skype and SMS thing has got me thinking.
My friends and I passed a lot of notes to each other in high school.
A LOT of notes.
We had a lot to talk about. Boys mostly. That could fill pages.
And other things. Not many other things, though, come to think of it. Didn't all of life revolve around something that, in the end, got back to boys?
The point is: all these communication tools tell me that people still really like to stay in close contact.
It's interesting to me that my sons who are (almost) 19 and 21 have become big fans of handwritten letters. In their circle of very wired friends, the time it takes to actually write a letter and mail it is a gesture worth quite a bit. The handwritten notes are uniquely expressive and carry with them a value that cyber mail cannot duplicate.
I've produced hundreds (probably thousands) of handwritten letters in my life and received the same in return. I treasure the letters my sister and I wrote to each other during my first 15 years in Africa. I find it a bit sad that we only have email now.
I know that notes, cyber or paper, can't replace real time and I can't see there ever being a substitute for a coffee date, a shared tea or a walk together.
But since my life has carried me far away from quite a lot of people (scattered all over) that I love, I'm thankful that there are clever little ways to continue passing notes.
8 comments:
ALOT of notes passed during class and in the hallways. I kept many of your handwritten letters from early Africa days, and I even have some poems you wrote me from h.s.
Janice, you darling girl! The notion that these communication tools are just for passing notes has me thinking of you and Lori non-stop these last few days. How would I have made it through HS without the 2 of you? WE HAVE TO SEE EACH OTHER when I'm in the States next year. Please, please, please!
Love you.
does that mean you got my letter?
Not yet but you know how it is getting mail in Tanzania. If it comes in the next 6 months we'll count it as normal :-)
Ahhhh I loved/ love passing notes!!! we would come up with all different ways in middle school. We even put them in our calculators and would pass them right in front of our math teacher! we had a notebook full of them that one time he read. ohhhh man. I miss notes. I loved highschool/middleschool.
yes yes i love notes.
Oh-- and welcome to the world of facebook! Don't let it suck you in! haha.
much love lisa
Emily would like to pass a quicky note to Heather girl.
"I really miss you, Heather! I wish you could come back sooner! Let's have a sleep over when you're here."
"P.S. Mrs. Gonzales really misses you, too!" Love, from Emily :-)
Emily, Heather says, "Yes! Yes! Yes!" to a sleep over!
:-)
I think part of what I like about handwritten letters is the natural boundaries they set.
Especially for someone like me who has a difficult time keeping up with email, I appreciate that an immediate response isn't required from a handwritten letter. I have time to ponder before I respond.
Also, I simply can't keep up with all the people who email me or find me online somehow. I think emails are too easy. Letters tell you who your real friends are!
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