The other day I was going through some old boxes from
college/high school looking for a picture and I found this story that my friend
Susanne had written for me. It was
double sided, handwritten and apparently missing a page because I only held the
2nd half in my hands. Looking
at that paper a few things dawned on me… 1- where is the other half? 2-dear god, how I miss Susanne and 3- she
handwrote me a story that had to be about 4 pages long.
Reading that story, I started to smile because she wrote it
to me to cheer me up. Something way back
in 1992 had made me sad and this wonderful friend of mine handwrote me a story
about Santa Claus and the Grinch. Beyond
the point that she wrote me a silly story, I got to thinking how this would
have never happened in today’s world.
That story would have been about 3 sentences long in an email. It might have been a text message in code. A silly picture posted to Facebook. The sentiment would have been the same, but
the delivery would have been entirely different and honestly, I think while I
would have appreciated any method of comfort to cheer me up, a handwritten
story trumps all.
So with this tucked away in the back of my mind, I arrive at
yesterday- I decide to send my friend
Britten a copy of a cd (personal usage only FCC!!). While I am copying the music, I decide to do
a little cover art for her- I get out my
pitiful art supplies that I have in my desk and set to work. As I am doing this, I realize how much I miss
sending and receiving letters. I go to
my mailbox each day and beyond the bills, catalogs, circulars and junk mail,
it is rarely anything personal. I miss
that.
In this world, we wish each other Happy Birthday via email,
text and Facebook. Don’t get me wrong, I
love love love seeing all of the Happy Birthday messages on my wall, it is like
a gift that gives all day each time I get a notification, but when is the last
time you actually got a birthday card mailed to you? (I’m not talking about the one your mom and dad
gives you over cake). Christmastime… some people still send out cards, I try to each
year, but honestly, I just ran out of time this year. But even the cards are a shadow of what they
used to be. I’m guilty of it to, but how
many of us opt to create a card via the internet on Tiny Prints or Snapfish and
type in our happy message, love us, etc and then that’s it? No personal message on the back, no I love
you, hope to see you… A few years ago I
made my own cards using a picture I took of Gabe. I wrote a personal note to each one, granted
it might have been a line or two, but I used a real pen and wrote with my
hand. It was time consuming, it took
forever, it actually cost me more than it would have cost me had I just used an
internet card making service. The next
year I went the easy route again, but looking back at those cards, I realize
now how awesome there were and so worth the time it took me to do them.
At work, I rarely have to write anything. I “write” all day long, but I do it using my
fingers camped out on the home row of my keyboard (Thanks Mr. Sheehan)- I can type like nobody’s business. I am fast and I make few mistakes. The only time I honestly take pen to paper is
when I am interviewing someone or talking on the phone and I am jotting down
little notes as to what is going on with my call. Drips and Drabs.. Not writing.
Remember in school when you had to write an essay or answer
questions using the dreaded BLUE BOOK?
Actually WRITE? I can remember my
hand cramping, shifting in my seat, sighing, etc, but we did it. We filled those damn books full of our cramped
handwriting. I honestly do not know if I
could survive one of those 20 page horrible books now, I would need a support
team to rub my hand halfway through, someone squirting water into my mouth, a
blanket around my wrist to keep it limber..
And that is a problem. I should be
able to write still..
And so, I have decided to start
a movement. The Write Right Now Movement. Hmmm, not sure about the name, I might need
to work on that.. But the premise is that
I am going to start writing. I am going
to start surprising my friends with notes, cards, messages, etc all created
from my own hands. Cards will be
handmade, no more copping out with the internet making them (or if I am pressed
for time and do make internet cards, they will come with a handwritten personal
sentiment to the recipient). I am going
to try this for a year and hope it catches on with my circle of people. I charge all of you to pick up a pen, crayon,
marker and a glue stick and create something from your own hand. I would love to look back 20 years from now
and like I did with my story from Susanne, smile fondly at the work someone put
into creating for me, just because.
