Technology has made so many things obsolete during the years of our industrial revolution. The traditional letter may be one of the next things on the list of obsolescence:
If only I could hear just one little word
From Mother and Daddy, my heart would fill with cheer
Each day I take a walk, I travel down the trail
Each day the postman tells me “no letter in the mail”.
Before our internet society so radically changed communication forever, people looked forward to checking their mailboxes. They might be full of information from loved ones far away. Now people text their relatives at the speed of light or follow them on social media and the mailbox is just filled with the printed version of internet spam or official documents like bills and such.
The TV news tonight had a guest who worked for the postal service talking about ballot collection in 2024. After Covid took effect a lot of people got used to the idea of mailing in their election ballots. Maybe that has allowed more people to voice their preferences in our democracy but I still like going to the local polling place. It seems more tangible. Even more than a letter. But soon I’m sure everyone will be voting online. Things change and that’s mostly a good thing.
Centuries ago people travelled at the speed of a horse or a sailing ship and letters from distant relatives arrived slowly or not at all. But they did arrive in many cases and they were treasured beyond the comprehension of most people today. A hand written letter had much more of a literary feel than the casual instant emojis and goobledygook abbreviations of today.
I was young when I wrote my first letter
I blotted the lines with tears
But now I am old, I know better
We’ve parted for many long years (Carter Family)
Fortunately the form of the letter persists even in our era of instant communication. It just comes at the speed of light via a text or an email. I read most of my books on my iPad these days but there’s still just something about the smell of a real book or a carefully hand written missive from a loved one you can hold in your hand.
Some letters are not what we want:
I can’t answer my letter
For she left me no address
You should know my little darling
You left my poor heart in distress
I got a letter from my darling
She said she hated to go
It broke my heart the words she wrote me
She closed by saying I love you so
She wrote the words she knew would hurt me
She said I never could be true
I’ve tried I’ve tried my little darling
To prove my love was just for you
This letter meant goodbye forever
Though we’ll have each other’s hearts
Our love will fade away in sadness
Precious one why did we have to part
I got a letter from my darling
She said she hated to go
It broke my heart the words she wrote me
She closed by saying I love you so. (Bill Monroe)
As you read this letter that I write tonight Sweetheart,
I Hope you’ll understand
You are the only one I love
So please forgive me if you can (Reno and Smiley)
Tonight as I sit by my window
I’m reading your letter so true
I’m hoping to find it in your letter
Where you say I’ll come back to you. (Flatt and Scruggs)
One of my favorite children’s stories I used to read to my kids many years ago was an Arnold Lobel classic from Frog & Toad Are Friends called “The Letter”.
“The Letter” begins with Frog coming along to discover his friend Toad sitting on his porch looking sad. Toad explains that this is his sad time of day, because it’s the time of day when he waits for the mail, but not once has he ever received a letter.
Toad is sad, but Frog wants to help his friend. So he rushes home and he writes Toad a letter, arranging to have it delivered to Toad by “a snail that he knew.” By the time Toad receives the letter he pretty much knows everything going on with his best friend Frog. But he is still very pleased to get a letter in the mail.
Don’t you still enjoy getting a real physical birthday card or Christmas card in the mail? Of course you do! Long live the letter.
