What happened to writing pen and ink letters?
I mean, I understand that methods like email, gmail chatting, and text messaging are so much faster; I understand why those forms of communication might be beneficial, don't get me wrong.
But there are things I miss in them. The handwriting, the crossed out mistakes, the misspellings, the different kinds of paper, the different kinds of ink, the seal I have to break open to read it, or the seal I have to secure before I send it, the address--both addresses, actually--that somehow get the thing where it is supposed to go, the time I have to wait before I can expect another, the black smeary stuff the post office marks it with, and the stamp.
My sister used to write letters diagonally on the page. My brother skipped every other line. My dad did the same only in his wonderful left-handed, uppercase scrawl.
And my mom wrote perfectly, usually without the help of prefabricated lines. Each row of writing precisely parallel to the next and to the top and bottom of the page. Her straightforward cursive was easy and calming to read. And her closing often contained some form or other of a practical and practiced heart... or many hearts as the moment might have moved her.
Handwritten letters are great in so many ways.
So, where did they go?