Ah . . . the good old days. (Photo credit: Smithsonian Institution)
Are you like me and go to your mailbox day after day to find only ads, bills, come-ons for credit cards, and catalogs? Silly me, I still walk to the mailbox with a song in my heart and the hope there will be something of interest waiting for me there. I’m a slow learner.
Gone are the days of mailing invitations to your party. Why waste stamps and your time when you can whip out an e-vite?
Greeting cards are dying a slow death with advent of e-cards. Dancing cats, pink-cheeked elves, and shimmying grannies doing the Macarena now wish you a happy whatever. (I’ll note here I have never sent an e-card.)
Thank you notes and letters are almost a thing of the past. We communicate by email, text, Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, and a bazillion other electronic means. A guy wearing blue shorts, no matter what the weather, doesn’t deliver these missives to our door. But those trendy shorts sure serve to showcase the mailman’s hairy legs and knobby knees nicely.
We lamented (some did less lamenting than others) the death of cursive writing in response to my post about the elimination of cursive from many school curricula. What a conversation we had about that. (Don’t worry. I won’t mention again that the post was Freshly Pressed.)
Oh the thrill when a Netflix movie is in the mailbox. Or, when there is a package from your favorite adult bookstore.
Think of the many collateral businesses suffering from the change in how we communicate . . . greeting card companies, invitation and stationery printers, paper manufacturers, and makers of return address labels. What about all those dead horses and envelope glue manufacturing plants? Hallmark greeting card verse writers are standing in the unemployment line as we speak.
Where else is this era of byte-sized communication hitting hard?
Mailmen around the world are sitting in their mail trucks and twiddling their thumbs. Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night keep these folks from the swift completion of their appointed rounds, but technology has stopped them in their tracks.
According to an article in the paper, the decline in mail volume and the grim budgetary impact is far-reaching. In France, mail volume is down 30% since 2008. Sacre bleu! Japan’s mail volume is 13% less than in 2009, and our friends, the Danes, are mailing 12% fewer letters than in 2012. Worldwide, letter volume dropped 4% in 2011.
The article goes on to state, “The United Kingdom is preparing to wash its hands of mail delivery entirely by selling the Royal Mail, which traces its roots back nearly 500 years to the reign of King Henry VIII.” The article fails to tell us who is buying the Royal Mail. My guess is Piers Morgan.
In a bold move, the United States Postal Service plans to stop Saturday letter delivery, thereby saving about $2 billion a year in losses. Then they went all mamby-pamby and decided to keep post offices open and will continue to deliver packages Saturdays. Why not cut that out too? Or, if you are going all the way to my house to deliver a package, why not deliver the rest of my mail while you are at it?
New Zealand is considering more drastic cuts and may deliver mail three days a week instead of six.
As Bob Dylan famously said of the postal service, “The times, they are a changing.”
It makes me sad to see the rather rapid demise of the postal service. However, I am a realist and we can’t keep racking up debt for a service fewer people use these days. I say scale back capacity to the level of demand. Or, we could helpkeep our mailmen gainfully employed and write letters to our grandmas.
P.S. There is still time to vote for your favorite Valentine’s Beer Photo. If you’d like, you can mail in your ballot and help save the Postal Service one envelope at a time.
Robin Coyle 
I am really sad about the mail situation. Like with everything that takes up 5 extra minutes of our time, we’re willing to let it go and spend our money and energy on things that are more convenient but less personal.
Amen to that. Instant gratification, yet sterile.
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I love snail mail and lament the way the post office is handling this crisis. Instead of the USPS reducing services, essentially making itself more and more irrelevant, it should diversify to bring in more revenue. Check cashing, money orders, a side deal with Hallmark for discounted greeting cards, maybe sell a nice cuppa joe.
Geeze USPS, do I hafta think of everything?
Brilliant idea! How about offering spa services, used book exchange, and pet grooming? Maybe they could offer a bus service while out delivering mail. Deliver packages AND people.
I think we just saved snail mail. So, in addition to being FPBFFs, we are USPSBFFs.
They should put us on retainer.
I’d settle for a roll of stamps.
Not me. I want a mail truck. And those cute shorts.
I still get excited most days when I look to see what’s come in the mail. Usually it’s junk, but occasionally, just occasionally, there will be an envelope with actual handwriting on the front, and it’s so lovely. I mentioned on another blog recently how I have a friend who is always so thoughtful about sending little cards and things through the post, just to say how nice it was to have lunch together or something like that, and she’ll enclose a photograph or a little surprise of some kind. It’s so appreciated!
You know . . . I am going to be better about doing the kind of thing your friend does. A note or card in the mail is a delightful gift. And, so easy to give. i know how much I enjoy receiving them . . . so why don’t I send them?!? Duh.
It’s not just the decline in mail volume but the decline in the old, familiar post office as well.
I wrote an article entitled Going Postal (http://curmudgeon-at-large.com/2012/04/29/going-postal/ ) about the closing of historic old post offices, many with colorful murals and other artwork.
We gain the convenience of e-mail and e-banking but lose that friendly feeling of home-town intimacy that we got from our local post office.
Thanks for pointing me in that direction. Our local post office is drab. They are threatening to close it. Not because it is drab, but because of costs. I’d love to see a cozy muralized post office.
I don’t send many letters any more. The odd one. Still seem to receive plenty of junk mail, but Dylan was right. Hopefully we’ll save some trees in the process. 🙂
If I didn’t get junk mail, I would hardly get any mail at all!
I wonder how long it will be before we receive and email or text informing us to go and collect our mail? There will be anarchy, but I’m sure they’re thinking about it.
Oh and we used to get post cards for all over (did everyone read them ontheir way to our house?)
And as kids we were allowed to wait for the mailman during the summer and give him a glass of cold lemonade (he went down the opposite side of the street before walking down ours – so we had time to get ice in the glass)
Sadly junk mail (why don’t they raise those rates?) clogs real mailboxes
And we no longer trust the mail persons or postal offices – it may just be this area, but mail theft is real – they are always busting mail people/offices for stealing mail here. The counter people at many post offices are so rude and intentionally slowest moving people on earth. So it’s no wonder.
This is bound to be FP – EVERYONE has something to say about this topic.
Nicely done
I like your positive energy regarding the idea of FP-edness for this post.
Post card printers are another business hit by the drop in mail volume. Why buy a post card to send while on vacation? You can take a photo with your phone and your family/friends back at home can see where you are in an instant.
There was a rash of mail theft here at Christmas. As far as I know, it didn’t happen to us.
When I was young, I used to love getting letters from my grandmother in Norway. That’s why I now ‘hand-write’ letters to my grandchildren and send them to America… Its funny how I ended up in my grandmother’s shoes 🙂
What a nice tradition you are carrying on. I’m sure your grandchildren love getting letters from you.
I’ve only recently gotten back to writing snail mail to my friends abroad! It’s just a nice personal touch that shouldn’t be forgotten! BUT! I’m guilty of sending a facebook message to tell my friend that I’ve sent a mail as a reminder for him to check his mailbox … sad case ain’t it.
That is funny. Our girls forget to check their mail too. How nice you are doing your part to keep written and mailed communication alive!
I confess the guilty pleasure of buying something from eBay or Amazon is the arrival of the item in the mail.
Oh, I agree. Packages are the only interesting thing I get in the mail anymore. It is like buying yourself a present . . . From: Me To: Me
I LOVE getting stuff in the mail, especially packages. Bills are now e-bills because companies have threatened an additional charge of $2.00 if they are required to send by snail mail. Doesn’t seem fair to me when a lot of seniors (NOT me) don’t have a computer or knowledge or how they work. Again not fair.
This is the first year I have not sent out Christmas cards. I created a list every year showing received cards and cards sent. This past Christmas, I tried sending e-cards. Not 1/10th as satisfying as snail mail cards. The responses were almost non-existant. Disappointing. It’s not like I didn’t have cards. I’d purchased new one. Next year, back to square one and snail mail, and cards to a select special group. Come to think of it, lot of them hadn’t sent ME cards either (the usual suspects from year to year).
Sending Christmas cards in the mail is a tradition I hope never goes away. My list is shorter than it was, but you are right . . . Christmas cards are fun to send as well as to receive.
Know what came in my mail this Saturday? Of course you don’t.
Paperwork for a colonoscopy. I’m so happy that I didn’t have to wait.
Well that sounds like fun. Too bad the paperwork didn’t get lost in the mail.
An e-card doesn’t do it. Yuck. I LOVE buying and making a greeting card for someone special (thinking of you, happy birthday, thanks for being my friend, thanks for dinner, etc etc), and I send them out regularly. It’s not inexpensive. But I know it makes a difference. It makes ME feel good, and I’m told the receiver is thrilled. To send a real greeting card, you get to be creative and caring and kind. Let’s hope that does not get lost in the snail mail loss of days.
When I am standing in front of the greeting card rack picking out a card and someone next to me laughs out loud, I always ask to see the card that make them laugh. Sometimes I get a funny look about it, but for the most part, others are happy to share what made them laugh. I do wish the cards weren’t so expensive. The Valentine’s card I bought for my husband was close to $5. It was super cool, but guess where it is now. The trash.
My husband is smart – he saves my cards in the top drawer of his dresser. I think he goes in there if I get mad at him – to remind him that I really do love him. 🙂
When I was at my folks’ place when my dad was sick, I went about cleaning up the place. I opened a drawer jammed with cards my parents exchanged over the years . . . Valentine’s, anniversaries, birthdays, what have you. Other than the printed words, there was no sentiment except their signature. But, they meant enough for my mom to save them all. Very sweet.
I wouldn’t be surprised if this post gets FP’d, too. 🙂 I send Christmas cards, and we still pay some bills by mail. But that’s about it. And while I have family who are current or past postal employees, there are some POs I dread visiting—long lines, surly people behind the counter, and others standing around doing nothing. If they’re on break, they should be out of sight of customers. Because people standing in long lines can get very upset at the sight of employees not opening another window or two…. That goes beyond the PO, of course.
The PO might not be in such bad shape if they weren’t the ONLY federal agency required to fully fund every employee’s retirement fund up front. And junk mail has probably kept them treading water all these years. But I wouldn’t be sad to see the junk mail go the way of the dodo.
This post would be a good twin for my Freshly Pressed post. They are related. But, I doubt that will happen. Thanks for the positive energy tho.
As you know, I am anti-obnoxious cell phone use in public places. My post office has a sign on every door and over the counter . . . “Absolutely NO cell phone use. EVER.” I’m okay with that, but what was up with the postal clerk on her cell phone while I waited in line?
Don’t get me started on federal employee benefits.
Hey, how was the wedding?
The wedding was fun, and it was great to see family and friends again from hubs’ side of the family. It’s just not possible, though, that nieces and nephews are now old enough to get married and have children of their own!
Seriously. I was shocked when our nieces and nephews were old enough to drive.
Most of the time, that’s a dead on assessment of my mailbox. But every once in a while I still get a card or package. I get excited about those. One of my closest friends told me to be on the look out for a post card with a pregnancy announcement. 🙂 I was also recently told about a writer bud on Twitter and Blog that she was sending me a book based on a movie I’ve recently seen (autographed by the author–which was not her). So I still get excited. 😀
Those are two excellent reasons to skip on your way to the mailbox! What was the movie?
Warm Bodies. 😀 It was surprisingly cute for a zombie romance…LOL! (Yeah, I can’t believe those words were ever put together in a sentence…then again, that’s the power of good writing.)
I looked it up because I couldn’t believe zombie and romance could be used in the same sentence either! It got great reviews!
I saw the preview and laughed quite a bit. I figured I’d give it a shot. Hubby went with me. I was actually pleased I took the chance. It wasn’t at all what I thought it would be, but it was good fun and cleverly written.
I will have to check it out. Who doesn’t love zombie romance?
Another great post…right up there with your cursive writing post.
As the family historian I know the value of handwritten letters. Some of the letters I have are over 70 years old. They tell of time and place and people who have lived before us. These guys really knew how to communicate!
I can’t imagine any email message being saved the way letters were. The next to go by the wayside will be photographs, actual prints.
We need a Renaissance of the Art of Communicating.
Why, thank you!
I have dozens (more than a hundred?) old letters my mom, uncle, and grandmother wrote to each other. It is fun to “hear” their voices from all those years ago. Letters back then were treasured, and unlike our communication today, saved. One of the discussion threads on the post about cursive writing was a future need for technology archeologists to decode our electronic communication . . . something like reading hieroglyphics on pyramid walls.
One thing rather scary about reading my mom’s old letters was her complaints about her mother’s memory loss. My mom has Alzheimer’s and I guess her mom did too. I think it is in my future.
Although I don’t have a direct line to Alzheimer’s it is in my family as well. My grandfather’s brother had it. It is why I have decided to write some of my memories down…just in case.
Funny (not really) that you should say that. Today i thought I should write a letter to our girls for them to read in the future. Something to the effect of “I’m sorry if I lost my memory. If/when I am in denial about my memory and fight you on my care right now, show me this letter.”
Too funny!
You and your buddy Bob are right about “The times, they are a changing.”…
Our postal mail consists of the G.O.’s weekly pay notice (construction workers are special cases in the e-world), magazine subscriptions and junk despite the ‘no junk mail’ sticker on the mail box.
Australia is experiencing similar, less domestic envelope type mail but more parcel deliveries… online shopping is a boon to office bound workers like me… shopping at our fingertips and deliveries to brighten hum drum days, and workouts lugging the stuff home.
Another sign of chaning times is that Telstra Australia’s main telecommunications provider is considering dumping landlines as just about everyone has a a mobile service.
Cutting both mail and telephone services is all very well if the infrastructure is in place but sadly in many parts of Australia, and I imagine the U.S., mobile phone & internet coverage is poor or non existent. Also hard to believe, but there is an older component of the community who will never uptake the online activities which we love, but still lead good lives… and need these services.
Banks take note as well – you who consider personal cheques a thing from a bygone age and charge a $10 fee for a bank cheque.
I have a foot in both camps. Bills, no matter how you receive and pay them are still bills. Ditto for cheques, bank credits and cash. I love receiving the odd item of proper mail but personal emails during the workday are a ray of sunshine 🙂
You can put a note on your mailbox that says “no junk mail?” I’m going to try that! But, it sounds like it isn’t working all that well for you.
I complained about getting 10-pound telephone directories and said, “Who looks at these anyway?” Until, I realized my parents rely on their phone book all the time. Dad would never think of looking a phone number up on the Internet rather than “let his fingers do the walking.” (For you Aussies, that was a brilliant ad campaign the phone companies used years ago.)
I’ve considered getting rid of our land line. But, I’m not ready too do that yet. What is my phone isn’t charged? What if the ring is off? It feels safer to have the “real” phone on the wall. But . . . along the lines of junk mail, almost the only people who call me on the home phone are robots or solicitors. Thank goodness for caller ID.
The ‘no junk mail’ signs are moderately effective. We don’t get catalogues etc from the big retailers, which on occasion I don’t mind reading, but are out of control and make such a mess around the apartment buildings. Most of the flyers that slip through are local cafes, services which can be handy. Except at election time… I have been known to post unsolicited material back.
Australia has a ‘do not call register’ where you can register your phone numbers and make it illegal for unsolicited callers to contact you. There’s also regulations about the times they can call – between 8 am and 8 pm from memory.
I agree about the safer feeling. We have no land line at our Sydney apartment because the cost of a new connection is astronomical. But at our house in the country we have no mobile coverage, so have a basic land line service. The telco provider is the company that wants to elminate land lines because their costs in providing it isn’t conducive to shareholder profits.
There’s less and less “finger’s doing the walking” but your Dad could emulate mine and call his own personal online telephone directory… his daughter!
Ha! You made me laugh!. My dad calls me for phone numbers and help with stuff he could easily do/find on his own on the computer.
When I visited my brother-in-law who lives in New York City, I asked him about the signs on apartment building doors that say, “No menus.” He said restaurants in the neighborhood leave dozens of take-out/order-in menus on their doorsteps. Most of the restaurants ignore the request.
Yep … all true ~ yet most people I talk to say they love to receive letters / cards by post ~ another thing going the way of ‘convenience’ stores …
Are convenience stores going away? I didn’t know that.
Ours are all but gone and most lof those left belong to the big boys
I’m sending out copies of my son’s hand-drawn comic books to relatives via snail mail We also make sure we send out thank you notes, too. I rarely write a letter unless it is to the relatives of someone who’s died. Pretty lame, eh? I did find it fascinating that I had a couple of books shipped via media mail from Powell’s that didn’t make it into my hands. Apparently, Powell’s sends their shipments most often through UPS who then gives it to the USPS. Powell’s own internal tracking system via UPS could tell that it had made it to San Francisco and was out for delivery, but the USPS said that since it was media mail, they couldn’t tell me if the guy had actually delivered it. Crazy. Powell’s was nice enough to ship the book again via UPS all the way.
As much as I love receiving letters, I rarely write one as well. I send cards for every occasion and always include a note. Does that count?
Oh gosh, I love Powell’s. I hope they never go away. Do you find their prices on-line competitive with Amazon? I think I am the one who single-handedly brought down Border’s Books. I’ll never forget when I bought about $100 worth of books at Border’s and then returned them. I purchased the same books on Amazon for half the price.
Yes, notes “count” in the grand tally of Karmic paper communication points.
You can get some great deals at Powell’s, especially if you shop for remainders. They’re often great books with an overly optimistic print run. And I think they discount NYT bestsellers. I don’t usually buy from Amazon unless I’m looking for used books. I have a neighborhood bookstore that I keep in business. The owner knows us and welcomes us with open arms. The local store offers a 5% discount. I know I could find books for less on Amazon, but unless it’s something I truly can’t find at my local place (or Green Apple books on Clement St.), I’ll go to Powell’s online and then Amazon. L_O_V_E brick and mortar bookstores!
The staff at our local PO branch is a surly, unpleasant bunch. I’m finding it difficult to care about them losing a few hours of work per week. And I know that I won’t care if there are no bills &/or junk mail in my mailbox on Saturdays, so I’m on board with this idea. Five day a week delivery it is.
If we get rid of the postal service, then how will be be able to use the term “Going Postal” when describing a gun-weilding crazy person? The clerks at our post office are surly too. Great word . . . surly.
Yeah, I can wait one more day for junk mail and bills in the mailbox.
You raise a good point. Although “going postal” is such a good phrase that I’d hate to see it fade away. It fills a need so I bet that it’ll remain in the lexicon forever.
It was bit of a shock when I first emigrated to Australia from the UK to discover they don’t have a Saturday delivery service, and delivery is by moped, AND the letter box is stand alone at the end of the driveway. It seems like such a luxury now to have had post pushed through that little flap at the bottom of the door to land on the hall mat! My Mum and her Sister are the only people on the globe that still hand write letters to me and a couple of wonderful friends still hand make cards which are so precious to me they are on permanent display on the book shelves 🙂 Great POST….boom boom!!
Moped? Your mailman/woman must go back to the post office to reload often! Now that you don’t have Saturday delivery, do you miss it? When it comes around here, I don’t think I will miss it.
There is nothing like a letter or card in the mail. Brightens one’s day.
I’ve been here seven years so I’ve got used to no Saturday delivery now! I say moped but it’s probably nearer to a small motorbike….the dog can hear it coming from about 8 streets away! they have some remote locked boxes that get mail drops so I don’t think they have to trek back to the main sorting centre too much. My rellies in the UK tell me that many of the smaller post office branches in the villages are closing down, a sad sign of the times I’m afraid.
I love getting things in the mail. Unfortunately, upon one too many incidents where a letter or a card got lost, I gave up on our mail service altogether. =/
Aw . . . don’t give up! Think of the kagillions pieces of mail that made it! It is amazing, if you think about it. Especially with all the poor handwriting out there.
Times are a changing alright, and technology can make everything faster and more efficient. When I invoice my clients, I email them the invoice. I wouldn’t even think about putting it in the mail. I still send Christmas cards, and birthday cards. And I think if the post office is smart, they try to compete with FedEx and UPS as package delivery increases since people buy more and more online. By the way, have you even been to your post office? Who can wait 30 minutes in line every single time and think the system is working right?
The last time I went to the post office to buy stamps, I saw that the woman behind the counter had a horrible cold . . . coughing and sniffling all over the place. I left and went to my ATM and bought stamps. No line, no germs, well, few germs I guess.
I mostly go there when I have to mail an international package, since their automated machine can’t do that. Last time I found out that leafed tea can be seized by Irish customs. Who knew?
I love real mail and cheques
The checks (or cheques) especially!
There are very few things I still do through snail mail, but when I get a card or letter from my mother-in-law it makes my day.
You mother-in-law must be special. You don’t hear that kind of sentiment from many son-in-laws.
She’s a jewel.
Robin,
It is okay with me if they stop regular mail on Saturdays. I use it for mailing packages out from any Amazon sales (mostly the library donations I work), Perhaps, they could simply accept and not deliver packages. So, if you go to the post office they will be there for, say, 4 hours on Saturday, but nothing gets delivered, only shipped out by truck to the centers.
Scott
I’m okay with no Saturday delivery too. I can wait an extra day to get nothing but junk mail.
Sometimes I wonder how much they’d save in fuel costs if they eliminated all the weight of junk mail. Every day my mail is clogged with with so much junk, I have to sift through to find my “real” mail. At almost $4.00 a gallon, doesn’t it make sense to lighten the weight in the trucks???
Excellent point! Does anyone ever look at junk mail anyway? My mother-in-law used to open junk mail and put it all in the postage paid envelope they include. She felt is was sweet revenge making them pay for the postage.
I’m a greeting card business woman so I believe in the hand written note arriving in the mailbox amidst the junk mail and bills because that’s the envelope you open first with a smile on your face because it means someone took the time to send you a card ~ picked it out just for you and took the time to write it! Technology has allowed us to do it via computer and hit send ~
Then you card is printed and mailed for you ~ in your handwriting. I understand what you mean, but I still love a real paper card (recycled paper of course!) xo
To me, sending an ecard says, “I couldn’t be bothered going to the store to buy you a card, Grandma. Happy Birthday anyway.” I guess it is better is a real card is generated for you and mailed. I haven’t see that service.
So what do you do for the greeting card industry?
Sending a card from your computer, but a real card arrives in the mailbox (with a gift card and even Mrs. Fields cookies if you want) ~ schedule to send your card up to a year in advance ~ upload pictures and even videos to make your card interactive! Write in your own handwriting font, choose from 17K cards from our card catalog or make your own! Best part, it’s like having your own assistant as you get reminders for upcoming events from your online address book ~ cards cost $1 plus postage!
Take it for a spin ~ my treat!
http://www.sendoutcards.com/126830
Give me your address (email me) and I’ll send you a card so that you get that priceless feeling of getting a surprise card in the mail! 🙂
Aren’t you delightful. We can be pen pals!
I’d love it! 🙂
This has pressed both my anxiety about the post totally collapsing, and my nostalgia buttons, wishing for the good old days! But I do find I communicate more with lazy friends by e-mail than by letter… technology makes it so easy to communicate…
Technology certainly makes it easier to communicate frequently. Where I used to write/call my girlfriend every other week (or less), we “talk via email many times a week. That part I enjoy, but will be sad if mail service (aside from packages) goes away.
I, too, am sorry to see the demise of the post office. I’ve always loved getting mail since I was little. Maybe it was expecting the special decoder ring I’d sent for with cereal boxtops!
Real mail is like getting a little present. You would think with how much I enjoy received letters and cards, I would send more myself. I may do that today.
I’m not one of those people who gets sentimental about the lack of correspondence by snail mail. I’m fine with e-mails and texts and e-cards and what not. Less tree destruction and waste as far as I’m concerned. That being said, I wish we could get rid of the junk mail, too. That pretty much IS my mail nowadays and into the recycling bin it goes. Such a waste.
With all the focus on green-living these days, you’d think environmentalists would be attacking junk-mailers. There are some days when the entire mail delivery goes into the trash.
Well, hard-hearted-Hannah, I feel like sending you a letter.
Not hard-hearted, just pragmatic. Okay, well maybe a little hard-hearted…
Talking about junk mail and environmentalists, the Nature Conservancy is a serious offender. I gave them money one year and now they send me mail at least once a month. And not just a letter sized envelope, but a super size, super stuffed envelope I don’t even bother to open. Why? Because I’m already on the email list.
And you know it had to cost a bundle to design, print, and mail such things. Why don’t they save that money and plow it back into their conservation efforts?
It really doesn’t want me to give them more money if that’s how they’re going to use it. Even if it’s recycled paper. I don’t even know how to not get that mail.
I still live in the Stone Age. My home used book business is checks and money orders only, so my mail is a treat! Handwritten notes with handwritten checks arrive frequently. I still write checks for almost all of my bills, so my bills are delivered via snail mail. I love catalogs and wish they would come more often. I wouldn’t mind if Saturday delivery was stopped, but I would hate to see snail mail go by the wayside permanently.
Since I do almost all of my shopping on-line, I am drowning in catalogs! I love them too, but can’t keep up.
I forgot about your used book business. You should blog about it.
Point of related interest. Local TV news ran a segment in all three evening time slots discussing the value of retaining cursive writing in the schools. there seemed to be a lot of support to keep it around. maybe it’s not quite dead yet. In my house greeting cards are sent out monthly so we are doing our part.
Way to keep the postal service in business, Dennis.
Cursive handwriting certainly generated a lively discussion here. Most people felt strongly one way or the other, but I believe the majority don’t want to see it die.
It was interesting that it hit the news about a week after your post! Maybe someone at the station pickup your Freshly pressed idea and ran with it. You are a trend setter! 🙂
Yes, ABC, CBS, and NBC follow my blog so they know what is going on in the world. They wanted to send a new crew out after my Spring is Springing post. I told them no because I didn’t want them to scare away my bird friends.
LOL!
I can’t remember the last time I’ve received anything with handwriting on it… even greeting cards are all electronically dispatched to the recipients… like Einstein said: “It has become appallingly obvious that our technology has exceeded our humanity.”
Perfect quote for the topic of this post. And think of how long ago Einstein said that . . . decades before the advent of electronic communication. Well, maybe there was morse code and teletype machines in his day, but certainly nothing like what we have today.
It is a rather sad state of affairs. I love getting cards in the mail and I love sending them. They brighten my day. I fear what we are becoming as a society – robots void of human interaction. Before long, everything we do will be electronic. We won’t have to talk or interact with anyone. We’ll have the perfect dystopian society brought out by our love for technology. So sad.
It is sad. I was thinking about New Zealand cutting their mail delivery in half. That means that full-time mailmen will automatically become part-time. That is quite a pay cut.
Greeting cards and handwritten letters make me smile too.
I love snail mail Robin. I order post cards and note cards off off etsy…unique and fun to send out. Makes me sad to think it might all go away. Send me your address and I will give you a reason to skip to your mail box :0)
I’d love to get a card from you!
I may be the only person on the planet, but I haven’t ordered anything from etsy.
Me either. You’re not alone.