Erica Juhn and I both wore the gray and blue uniforms at Rolling Hills Country Day School. We both recited the pledge of allegiance ever morning right after the Lord's prayer and went swimming in P.E. with Coach Don and Coach Theresa. But in fifth grade my family moved and I started going to public school. Erica became my first pen pal.I can't quite remember when Erica and I stopped writing each other. I think it slowly tapered off in high school or early college. I remember hearing that she went to UC Berkeley, but it's been years and years... Still, she was a good pen pal. She had what it takes.
So does my good friend Claire. Last week I got a surprise package in the mail from her.
I was absolutely giddy as I opened it. The contents: a letter, a Canadian leaf (she lives in Vancouver), a couple of mix CD's, a hand sewn pouch, and an incredible handmade picnic quilt!
Claire also has was it takes to be a good pen pal: the absolute love of sending and receiving mail, the persistence to keep it going for years on end without seeing one another, and as with any friendship, some common interests and a good rapport.
Although I love email, blogs, flickr, etc... I think it's sad that people don't write many letters these days. How about you? Do you have a pen pal? Do you lament the decrease in correspondence by snail mail, or do you fully embrace modern technology without regret?
p.s. Did you know that one of the few circles where traditional pen pals are still flourishing is in the prison system? (Inmates are not allowed access to the internet.)
7 comments:
I do love real mail! That's why I am one of those people who still write letters and send packages. I even collect tiny toy mailboxes. (So far, I have one, haha).
Oh pen pals! I still have bins full of letters and little hand-made gifty things that were sent to me by mail from friends in far away places. I regret my more recent reliance on email- it is convenient but has it's drawbacks. My pen-pal from Germany still sends me stuff occasionally- we've been corresponding since the 4th grade and have managed to each visit each other once.
Heather, You've had a pen pal since the fourth grade! You take the cake. That is amazing. Elizabeth, I'll keep a lookout for tiny toy mailboxes for you:)
I'm convinced Claire is the nicest gal around. Seriously!
Pen pals are amazing...my first one was Bethany Harris we wrote for years after she moved away to Texas.
Wonder where she is...?
Hope you are all nice and settled in your new place :)
you know i love mail!
i am not really a big fan of technology. i'm a terrible emailer, rarely talk on the phone, and i don't have a cell phone. no facebook, twitter, or myspace. flickr would be my only exception.
the longest person i've been a writing to is my friend vahri, who lived across the road from me in london in 1998. we still write, and i try to stop by whenever i'm in town- which, given that she lives on the other side of not only the world, but also australia, is not very often. but when i do, it's always surprising how easy it is to just shift into face to face contact and carry on.
i know that after a few moments of shyness, it will be exactly the same with you.
Abby, you're right about Claire. And thanks! We're still working on it...we fit in an hour of organizing/unpacking here or there when we can.
Claire, not even a cell phone? It's funny, because you were one of the first people I ever met who had a cell phone. (back in 2000 when we first met...but maybe you shared it with damon?) I'm not a big phone talker either, though, and am pretty reluctant about a lot of these new technologies.
oh i remember that cell phone! it was free (and free calls!) because our friend worked for vodaphone... it used to drive me crazy! that i could be out walking by myself and someone could reach me.
it's very liberating not having one, but sometimes i'll get worried when nathan isn't home when he says he will be... we think about it, but always decide no in the end.
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