The Merits of Snail Mail
When the digital variety fall short46 total reviews
Comment from Mintybee
There is a ton of heart in this non-fiction story. You write of strong connections, and it's touching. I'm glad you're able to bring so much joy and closeness with your letters.
Mintybee
reply by the author on 04-Jan-2025
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There is a ton of heart in this non-fiction story. You write of strong connections, and it's touching. I'm glad you're able to bring so much joy and closeness with your letters.
Mintybee
Comment Written 04-Jan-2025
reply by the author on 04-Jan-2025
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Thank you for such kind words, Mintybee. I appreciate the warmth and support. xoxox
Comment from John Cranford
My Dear Rachelle,
I'll try not to get too cheesy here. They say (and you know who they are) that writing that touches the heart of the reader is more than just writing. It's a reminder of some painfully beautiful experiences in the reader's life.
Your post took me back to a time when I was barely out of my teens. I was perched atop a bunker in the Mekong Delta of South Vietnam. I heard my name called and a letter from home came flying my way. It was from the first love of my life, although she never knew it because I never had the courage to tell her.
She wrote to me the entire year and fifteen days I spent halfway around the world, fourteen thousand miles from home. They were more than just letters. They were a lifeline between a dark period and the real world I remembered and loved. Without that connection, today I might be living in a cardboard box under the overpass of an interstate highway.
Like your recipients, I kept her letters in the bottom of an army duffel bag in my basement until it flooded, and the letters became mere smudges on paper.
I'm sure the people you've written to would agree with me that your letters are more than just words. They're a lifeline and arrived when a lifeline is just what was needed.
You're a very gifted writer. Your post brought me comfort and reminded me of some bittersweet memories that I had tucked away but not forgotten. Thank you for sharing.
John
reply by the author on 04-Jan-2025
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My Dear Rachelle,
I'll try not to get too cheesy here. They say (and you know who they are) that writing that touches the heart of the reader is more than just writing. It's a reminder of some painfully beautiful experiences in the reader's life.
Your post took me back to a time when I was barely out of my teens. I was perched atop a bunker in the Mekong Delta of South Vietnam. I heard my name called and a letter from home came flying my way. It was from the first love of my life, although she never knew it because I never had the courage to tell her.
She wrote to me the entire year and fifteen days I spent halfway around the world, fourteen thousand miles from home. They were more than just letters. They were a lifeline between a dark period and the real world I remembered and loved. Without that connection, today I might be living in a cardboard box under the overpass of an interstate highway.
Like your recipients, I kept her letters in the bottom of an army duffel bag in my basement until it flooded, and the letters became mere smudges on paper.
I'm sure the people you've written to would agree with me that your letters are more than just words. They're a lifeline and arrived when a lifeline is just what was needed.
You're a very gifted writer. Your post brought me comfort and reminded me of some bittersweet memories that I had tucked away but not forgotten. Thank you for sharing.
John
Comment Written 04-Jan-2025
reply by the author on 04-Jan-2025
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Whoa. I dressy this is the most beautiful and touching review I have ever received. Thank you, John, times a million zillion. Xo
Comment from pome lover
That is very true and a prime example of thoughtfulness.
Same goes for Christmas cards. Fewer people are sending them these days, I guess because stamps have gotten so expensive and as you said, emails and texts are easier and take less time. Still I love getting them and sending them--which is not the same as a continued correspondence, but for one of my old Georgia friends it has started phone calls and catching up, which is wonderful.
Your post is inspirational and certainly deserves All Time Best. And maybe, you have started something! :)
Katharine
I would like to add a PS, today, which is 1/27/25. I admit I am old fashioned and I do have the time to write thank-you notes. They are fun to write, especially if you like what you received, and also a fun challenge if you don't :) And how fun to receive a note in longhand from someone who not only remembers what you sent them, (and hopefully likes it) but appreciates the fact that you did. As you can see, I am a fan of thank-you notes.
reply by the author on 04-Jan-2025
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That is very true and a prime example of thoughtfulness.
Same goes for Christmas cards. Fewer people are sending them these days, I guess because stamps have gotten so expensive and as you said, emails and texts are easier and take less time. Still I love getting them and sending them--which is not the same as a continued correspondence, but for one of my old Georgia friends it has started phone calls and catching up, which is wonderful.
Your post is inspirational and certainly deserves All Time Best. And maybe, you have started something! :)
Katharine
I would like to add a PS, today, which is 1/27/25. I admit I am old fashioned and I do have the time to write thank-you notes. They are fun to write, especially if you like what you received, and also a fun challenge if you don't :) And how fun to receive a note in longhand from someone who not only remembers what you sent them, (and hopefully likes it) but appreciates the fact that you did. As you can see, I am a fan of thank-you notes.
Comment Written 04-Jan-2025
reply by the author on 04-Jan-2025
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You're right; I've noticed that about Christmas cards, too. I'm glad you've been able to re-connect with your friends via phone, too. People don-t do that as much anymore, either.
Thanks for this gracious review as well as the warm well-wishea. I always love to hear from you.xo
Comment from Carol Hillebrenner
This is a wonderful article. I so admire anyone who can sit down to a blank sheet of paper and not tell lies (in other words, made up stories). You are giving a lot of people a great deal of comfort and friendship. You could maybe save the postal service if you had this published and lots of people followed your example.
reply by the author on 04-Jan-2025
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This is a wonderful article. I so admire anyone who can sit down to a blank sheet of paper and not tell lies (in other words, made up stories). You are giving a lot of people a great deal of comfort and friendship. You could maybe save the postal service if you had this published and lots of people followed your example.
Comment Written 04-Jan-2025
reply by the author on 04-Jan-2025
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Well, it would take a village. Haha.
It would ALL of us, I honestly believe. We could all use the restoration of that kind of "hands-on" warmth in our lives.
Thank you for this lovely review. X
Comment from June Sargent
I totally agree with you that snail mail forms a bridge that connects us to friends and family for decades. It's a gift that keeps on giving, because they can read it over and over again, as opposed to texts and email that are just deleted. I have cards and stationery on hand all the time.
reply by the author on 03-Jan-2025
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I totally agree with you that snail mail forms a bridge that connects us to friends and family for decades. It's a gift that keeps on giving, because they can read it over and over again, as opposed to texts and email that are just deleted. I have cards and stationery on hand all the time.
Comment Written 03-Jan-2025
reply by the author on 03-Jan-2025
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Same!! What I'm finding, as reviews have been coming in, is that the majority of us on here love corresponding via snail mail. I guess that shouldn't be a surprise, though, right? Since we're all writers, after all?
Thank you, June, for this very nice review. It felt so validating!! xoxox
Comment from LJbutterfly
I enjoyed reading every word of this post because I enjoy writing letters. When I retired from teaching and moved to another state in 2015, my co-teacher and I kept in touch through snail mail. For one thing, I love my handwriting. We enjoyed receiving each other's letters.
In 2020 she responded to my letter with a long text and has never written another letter. We now text. Ugg!
You have become an angel to your friend who lost her daughter. You are doing all you can to add a bit of joy to her life with the help of snail mail. This piece is very well written, and just might win the contest. Best wishes.
reply by the author on 03-Jan-2025
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I enjoyed reading every word of this post because I enjoy writing letters. When I retired from teaching and moved to another state in 2015, my co-teacher and I kept in touch through snail mail. For one thing, I love my handwriting. We enjoyed receiving each other's letters.
In 2020 she responded to my letter with a long text and has never written another letter. We now text. Ugg!
You have become an angel to your friend who lost her daughter. You are doing all you can to add a bit of joy to her life with the help of snail mail. This piece is very well written, and just might win the contest. Best wishes.
Comment Written 03-Jan-2025
reply by the author on 03-Jan-2025
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LJ - we are twin daughters of different mothers: I love my handwriting, too!! I have an idea: let ME be the replacement correspondent for your co-teacher!! I would so totally, totally love that!
Have you read any of these reviews? SOOO many of our fellow FanStorians are also letter-writers. I guess that shouldn't come as a surprise, right? But I find it comforting.
Thank you for this beautiful and very rewarding review. I love it. xoxox
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Writing brief notes to one another sounds like fun.
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It's totally enjoyable.
Comment from Trina Layne
This is well-written. Snail mail of this kind is pretty much outmoded where I am. Along with proper penmanship, it's virtually obsolete. My students look at me weirdly when I mention letter-writing. You have made a good case here.
reply by the author on 03-Jan-2025
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This is well-written. Snail mail of this kind is pretty much outmoded where I am. Along with proper penmanship, it's virtually obsolete. My students look at me weirdly when I mention letter-writing. You have made a good case here.
Comment Written 03-Jan-2025
reply by the author on 03-Jan-2025
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Thank you. The lack of cursive writing really bothers me, too. Why? Why would that be considered "unnecessary?" Or even just "dispensible?" I've obviously passed over into Geezer territory.
Thank you for this very nice, supportive and understanding review.
Comment from Pam Lonsdale
Ah, now I know why I receive so many thoughtful notes written on beautiful or clever stationery:-)
Girl, you took me back to a simpler time with this one. Sure, handwriting letters takes far longer than texting and emailing, but it was the slower pace of our lives that allowed us to do this.
You were a 5-year-old beatnik with a red beret; that explains a lot, lol!
Well, now I feel I may have to add snail mail to my "to do" list for 2025. I admit, I'm one of those people who have turned to electronic mail because of its speed and efficiency. However, I've never kept old emails, yet I still have a drawer full of family letters, notes from my kids and their friends, etc. You've really made me think a lot about what we are missing by not doing this anymore.
Rachelle, I don't know if the USPS has some kind of newsletter or other publication that circulates among their employees, but if they do, this would be a perfect "guest article." What a thoughtful, poignant, intimate story you've given us. I love, love, love it!
Do you still have your brother's bongos? I'm betting that you do.
I think I just read the winning entry for this contest. Other stories may be good ones, as well, but you have the gift of telling a story in the way it wants to be told, and that is why it will stand out.
I have 6 stars left because I haven't been reviewing this week; can I give them all to you?
I'm off to find some stationery . . .
xoxo
P
reply by the author on 03-Jan-2025
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Ah, now I know why I receive so many thoughtful notes written on beautiful or clever stationery:-)
Girl, you took me back to a simpler time with this one. Sure, handwriting letters takes far longer than texting and emailing, but it was the slower pace of our lives that allowed us to do this.
You were a 5-year-old beatnik with a red beret; that explains a lot, lol!
Well, now I feel I may have to add snail mail to my "to do" list for 2025. I admit, I'm one of those people who have turned to electronic mail because of its speed and efficiency. However, I've never kept old emails, yet I still have a drawer full of family letters, notes from my kids and their friends, etc. You've really made me think a lot about what we are missing by not doing this anymore.
Rachelle, I don't know if the USPS has some kind of newsletter or other publication that circulates among their employees, but if they do, this would be a perfect "guest article." What a thoughtful, poignant, intimate story you've given us. I love, love, love it!
Do you still have your brother's bongos? I'm betting that you do.
I think I just read the winning entry for this contest. Other stories may be good ones, as well, but you have the gift of telling a story in the way it wants to be told, and that is why it will stand out.
I have 6 stars left because I haven't been reviewing this week; can I give them all to you?
I'm off to find some stationery . . .
xoxo
P
Comment Written 03-Jan-2025
reply by the author on 03-Jan-2025
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No fair! I a sitting here honest-to-G*d crying because this has touched me so deeply. Thank you for this loving, beautiful review. I will never forget it as long as I live. xoxox
And yes, I absolutely still have those bongos. xoxo
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Honey, I didn't mean to make you cry. But if they're happy tears, that's okay.
One of these days I want to see a video of you with the beret on, playing the bongos, and playing some beatnik song (what is a beatnik song anyway - is that like "If I Had a Hammer").
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No, beatnik songs are the kind that are about deep-in-your-soul idea, and recited like poetry while someone plays the bongos to them in the background. Did you ever watch Dobie Gillis? Maynard G. Krebbs was a beatnik. (And, ironically, we were adopted by a white cat with a black beret-shaped hair, and a black splotch beneath his chin. What choice did we have but to name him "Maynard?"
Comment from Ulla
Hi Rachelle, what a lovely and endearing entry for the nonfiction contest. I can understand why every one Frome family to friend cherish it. Nothing is more personal than a handwritten letter. All the best of luck. Ulla xcx
reply by the author on 03-Jan-2025
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Hi Rachelle, what a lovely and endearing entry for the nonfiction contest. I can understand why every one Frome family to friend cherish it. Nothing is more personal than a handwritten letter. All the best of luck. Ulla xcx
Comment Written 03-Jan-2025
reply by the author on 03-Jan-2025
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Yesss! You totally understand. Thank you, Ulla, for this warm and validating review. xoxox
Comment from Thesis
Rachelle, your post is extremely warm and uplifting. Your description of snail mail was inspiring and showed how much communicatint via mail to loved ones and friends is received by those receiving it. Good message, nice post.
reply by the author on 03-Jan-2025
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Rachelle, your post is extremely warm and uplifting. Your description of snail mail was inspiring and showed how much communicatint via mail to loved ones and friends is received by those receiving it. Good message, nice post.
Comment Written 03-Jan-2025
reply by the author on 03-Jan-2025
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I appreciate this validating review. Thank you, Thesis, for your kind words. xo
