correspondence

From my teenage years, I have written letters regularly to family and friends. It did not matter if they lived just down the road from me, or around the world. There is magic in receiving a letter in the mail, opening it and then sitting down to enjoy reading it in peace; Then re-reading it immediately.

I have a "pen-pal" from 60 years ago with whom I am still friends. She also became a huge family friend and we shared many fun filled travel outings together in different countries.

When I arrived in Canada, a century ago... at least. I wrote a round-robin letter. It was addressed to the whole family: Parents, Nana, Aunts (in 2 separate locations) and my sister. Back then, the copies were carbon copies. Sometime after a year or so of employment, I was brave enough to sneak into the corridor where the photocopier was, and make copies in the lunch time to send to the different locations. I kept track of which family member received the "top copy" and who got the Xeroxes! I rotated the receiving of the much prized hand written version!!

I also did something similar with the gang of friends I left behind, and in the first two years, I would often receive back a multi-party tome. Sometimes created under a haze of booze and late night party going. (I often wondered what kind of socializing they were doing without me, if someone was to suggest around midnight, "Let's write to Mik" and there were others who  agreed that this might be a fun thing to do !!)

I am not as hopelessly misguided as to thing that I was a siren-calling  attraction, it was a lot more a case of boredom and a desire to emulate a Monty Pythonesque situation. (We were big fans.)

After a couple of years, the family correspondence continued in the previous manner, but old friendships broke up, drifted away or just plain preferred a one-on-one natter. Luckily, there were 3 or 4 of those friends that trailed into the next century. Only a handful, but I still enjoy putting pen to paper for them.

I truly feel the present generation, and society in general, severely under-estimates the joy of writing letters.

Now that my parents have passed on, as have Nana, Aunts & Uncles, and way too many friends, I often dig out the old correspondence, -- did I forget to say, it is important to retain the material? -- and read those stories and tales and jokes of a long time ago.

I do have  a digital social media presence (Hello! what am I doing RIGHT now!) However, I cherish those old letters.

Thank you Sir Rowland Hill, you started a wonderful thing.