June 8, 2008 - In these days of email, good penmanship is nothing more than the ability to pick out a really great pen. I believe there is an art to writing a letter that may be almost entirely lost. Letters will be appearing in museums near you. After all, a Montblanc just doesn't have a backspace key. And how can you write a letter without the CTRL+V and CTRL+P commands? Heck, I can't write one paragraph without using one of them. A simple sentence can't happen without the backspace key.
I liken writing a letter to a first date. It's something that no matter how great we think it went, you wish you could cut a sentence here, move a paragraph, delete several thoughts... If only you could run the date through, post it as a draft, go back and fix the errors and mis-speaks and mis-spellings, and then post it later as a finished product. After the edits, I think I could turn a few of these 'first dates' into fabulous hair washing sessions or dog walks. Then there are those first dates that are great. You take in a ball game, hit the links, drink way too much sangria and laugh until your sides hurt. Much more readable. Alas, the sad thing about writing is, that no matter how great the subject matter, no matter how much you have it drafted in your head, it just isn't possible to put pen to paper and write a great letter anymore.
Today is Write to Your Father Day. I imagine this is the day to get that letter written so there is still time to get in this post before Father's Day. I'm sure this day will also go extinct in time. After all, those who can still pen a letter are likely old enough that their fathers are no longer with us. In today's terms, an email can be sent and received in mere seconds. So, next year, delivery time dictates that perhaps we can combine Write to Your Father and Father's Days. Save on some ink.
Yesterday, Hillary Clinton finally dropped out of the nomination race. That means we have a democratic candidate for the upcoming US elections. Today is both Race Unity Day and Multicultural Child Awareness Day. This is a day to bring together everyone from all races. In Mr. Barack Obama's case, he can celebrate both. He is his own unity. Half black, half white, he may be the best thing to come along in US politics since JFK. I hope as well, that Mr. Obama, and Mrs. Clinton can together, bring some unity back to what could be a dangerously divided Democratic party. If something as basic as writing a letter can go extinct, maybe racial divide can as well. We should all write about that.
I liken writing a letter to a first date. It's something that no matter how great we think it went, you wish you could cut a sentence here, move a paragraph, delete several thoughts... If only you could run the date through, post it as a draft, go back and fix the errors and mis-speaks and mis-spellings, and then post it later as a finished product. After the edits, I think I could turn a few of these 'first dates' into fabulous hair washing sessions or dog walks. Then there are those first dates that are great. You take in a ball game, hit the links, drink way too much sangria and laugh until your sides hurt. Much more readable. Alas, the sad thing about writing is, that no matter how great the subject matter, no matter how much you have it drafted in your head, it just isn't possible to put pen to paper and write a great letter anymore.
Today is Write to Your Father Day. I imagine this is the day to get that letter written so there is still time to get in this post before Father's Day. I'm sure this day will also go extinct in time. After all, those who can still pen a letter are likely old enough that their fathers are no longer with us. In today's terms, an email can be sent and received in mere seconds. So, next year, delivery time dictates that perhaps we can combine Write to Your Father and Father's Days. Save on some ink.
Yesterday, Hillary Clinton finally dropped out of the nomination race. That means we have a democratic candidate for the upcoming US elections. Today is both Race Unity Day and Multicultural Child Awareness Day. This is a day to bring together everyone from all races. In Mr. Barack Obama's case, he can celebrate both. He is his own unity. Half black, half white, he may be the best thing to come along in US politics since JFK. I hope as well, that Mr. Obama, and Mrs. Clinton can together, bring some unity back to what could be a dangerously divided Democratic party. If something as basic as writing a letter can go extinct, maybe racial divide can as well. We should all write about that.
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