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Tuesday, April 15, 2014

The Lost Art of Writing Letters



Back in the days (a long, long time ago it seems) before computers, cell phones, i-pads, and text messaging, people wrote letters. Lots of letters. They were elegant and sincere and the wording was often flowery. Letters expressed matters of the heart simply, but with style. Letters created a permanent form of communication that could be bundled up, tied with a bow and kept forever in a treasured place. The receivers often took them out and reread them to re-live the connection they had with the sender.

 



In the West, it took weeks or months sometime to receive a letter and the waiting increased their value I think. When the letter finally got into the hands of the intended person, they read it until they often wore the paper thin while they waited patiently for the next one.

 

Letters strengthened a bond between two people and said exactly what was in their hearts. Letters spoke of love and commitment, loneliness and desire, and of thoughts and dreams that they dared not speak in person. Society was so constricted with rules that it was only through putting thoughts on paper that they could express what was truly in their heart without fear of censure. John Donne wrote: “More than kisses, letters mingle souls.”

 

Romance writer Mary Schramski perhaps takes it a step further: “There was a time when the world was gentle, and love letters floated down into waiting hands of the recipients like snowflakes.” Truly she knows what it's like, for she still is quite the letter-writer.

 

The story I wrote for the “Give Me a Texan” anthology a few years ago is called The Love Letter. In the story, Payton McCord and his best friend, both died-in-the-wool cowboys, love playing practical jokes on each other. But, their antics kinda get out of hand after Payton almost cost his friend his marriage. To get even, the man who’d once saved Payton’s life writes a love letter to a much maligned woman who raises sheep and signs Payton’s initials to it.

 

This is the letter Payton’s friend wrote: “I yearn to see the beauty of your face, hear the tone of your voice, and inhale your fragrance that wafts in the wind like a million wildflowers in bloom.  Please meet me in Amarillo by morning in the lobby of the hotel.  Then, you shall know the love I speak.  Look for the crescent birthmark on my right hand and the adoration in my eyes.”

 

That love letter set off a chain of events that no one could predict. Amanda Lemmons, the shepherdess and recipient of the love letter, suspects someone means to humiliate her in front of the whole town. Involved in a war with the cattlemen, she knows what lengths the ranchers will go in order to drive her off her land. Determined to outsmart them, she devises a plan to turn the tables on the Lothario letter-writer. Just let those cattle barons think they have the upper hand! What happens is humorous and entertaining and shows how a simple letter can change the hands of fate.

 

What do letters mean to you and do you have any you saved? I have one my husband wrote to me that I wouldn’t take any amount of money for. He died in 2007. And being a man of few words, he voiced what was in his heart. It’s beautiful.

 
Email counts if you don’t have any sent via the post office. Maybe you printed off a special email and put it in a safe place. Or maybe you received a nice card with special sentiments written inside. I have a whole bunch of these from family members, some who have since passed on. They’re very precious to me.

28 comments:

  1. I loved letters and love getting them, but I am also one of the worst to write them. There are many times I miss that earlier form of communication. College was the exception. I did write a lot then. (Sigh).

    Thank you for reminding us how wonderful and powerful the heartfelt written word can be, and how much fun. Doris

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    1. I'm glad you enjoyed my blog, Doris. In this fast-paced world we don't have time for letters and I'm sad about that. No matter the situation, whether it's sending condolences or congratulations for something, we dash off a quick email and move on with our day. Emails just don't portray the human spirit like old-fashioned letters did. That era is long gone. I hope you have a blessed day.

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  2. Linda,

    Sadly, the art of letter writing is truly a dying art. I'm fortunate to have a lifelong friend with whom I still exchange hand-written, multi-page letters written on real stationery.

    Letter writing as the primary mode of communication is one of the reasons I like writing historical (especially western) romances. There's no instant gratification in sending or receiving messages, a lot can happen between the sending and receiving, and it's a great plot device for an author to give a glimpse into a character's thoughts/personality. I'm intrigued with your story and how you used a letter to turn the tables on the characters.

    When I taught American history and English, one of the activities my students liked (well...most of them - lol) was to choose a well-known historical person from the 19th century through early 20th century to write a letter to using the language conventions of the time. Here's the link to a nifty little pdf guideline they used as reference:

    http://www.txcwcivilian.org/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderfiles/letters.pdf

    I've saved many cards and letters that I've received over the years. It's not that I re-read them as much as I want my grandchildren and great-grandchildren to have them as examples of a 'time gone by'.

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    1. Kaye, that's so interesting how you had your students write a letter to a well-known historical person. I wish letter-writing was taught in school today. I think it's so important for a person to learn to converse well. But sadly, it's gone by the wayside along with penmanship and spelling and so many other things. Yes, the letters we save will be treasured by future generations. Or at least I hope they are.

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  3. Linda, I agree with you wholeheartedly. And I remember how my mom would check the mail every day, know when the mailman was running late, know she had to hurry and find a stamp for a bill because the mailman would be there by 1:00! LOL When she got a letter from one of her sibs or her mother, she was soooo happy.

    I was always a letter-writer. Loved doing it, and of course, was encouraged by my mom. I had a lot of cousins and 2 of them that were very close in age. So we wrote letters as kids, and I wrote to my big sisters, and they wrote back, and of course, when I was in school having a "Pen Pal" from another country was such a cool thing to do!

    I would write letters as I got older and we moved away from my friends I'd grown up with that were pages and pages long--and some of them did the same! But any more, you're right--letters are a thing of the past, as is pride in penmanship that went along with it back in the day.

    I love that plot device--using a letter like you did. That's pure genius!

    And Kaye, I love that you tried to engage your students that way abut picking someone famous and using the language of the day to write the letter. It's so sad to me to see some of these cherished things passing from the world completely.

    I have a letter that my mom was given by her mother--it's an account of when my great grandmother's sister died. Of all the preparations for her funeral, what she wore, how "good" she looked, and of her last moments before she passed away. Such detail, and so heartfelt, as you say.

    Great post. I keep all my letters and cards, too.

    Cheryl

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    1. I'm glad you liked my blog and glad it brought back memories of the precious letter you have of your great grandmother's. That's something money can't buy. Things like that provide a window into time. People took pride in their penmanship and often wrote with such flourish. I loved the language they used to express themselves. I sometimes wish I could step back into that time when people were a lot more sympathetic and caring.

      I loved the short story I wrote for Give Me a Texan. It was fun to play around with Payton and Amanda. That prank love letter sure caused lots of trouble,

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  4. Linda--a lovely post.
    I have saved all the love letters from my husband when he and I were in love but live away from each other--before we married. There are probably 25 letters, and some day I'll read them all again, and know if I'll leave them in the keepsake box for our kids to find one day--or not.

    My sisters and I were cleaning out Mother's house after she passed away and came upon a letter written in 1918--by our mother's mother, our grandmother who wrote the letter at age 19--with Mother as a 3 yr old and her baby, 6 mos old. Our grandmother died about 2 months later.

    Thanks for the post.

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    1. Celia, I know you wouldn't part with the letters you saved. And that one written by your grandmother such a long time ago is extra special. How very sad that she died a short time later. In a way, old letters are like having the person with us again. We know some of their thoughts and what was important to them at the time. I love reading old letters. They reveal much more about the person who wrote them. Thanks for stopping by.

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  5. Linda,
    Enjoyed this post! I was a big letter-writer in my youth. I had pen pals from all over the world just to feed the compulsion.

    Your story sounds like a hoot! I have the collection on my kindle. I'm gonna check it out!

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    1. Hi Kristy, I'm glad you liked my post. And I'm glad that you have been a big fan of letters. I think penning letters to people help us learn and grow, especially when we're trying to figure out how to get along in this big world. They teach us how to articulate our thoughts clearly and they teach kindness to others. Both things are lacking in the youth of today. It's sad.

      Thanks for taking a chance on Give Me a Texan. I do hope you'll like THE LOVE LETTER.

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  6. I am a letter writer - some by hand and some that I type and the mail. At one time I had 41 foreign pen friends and I still have ten of them since 1989. :) BUT the letters I saved total 242 letters that my husband wrote and sent to me while he was in Vietnam the year before we got married. When I took him to the airport to fly overseas, I asked him to write a letter once a week. He shook his head and said that would be 52 letters - not happy about that. I wrote a letter by hand every day and mailed them so he wouldn't be lonely. I have his letters in a safe place and have never read them since he returned home. I wouldn't trade them for anything. :) They were his act of showing me he loved me...

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    1. Oh, Paisley, how very special. I can't imagine how deeply you treasure them. That was such a horrible war. Loneliness must've eaten those soldiers up. I'm glad you helped him get through that time. Bless you for doing your part. I'm sure there were some days you didn't have much to write about but yet you did. Those who stand silently and wait deserve a medal. Some day you'll get those out and they'll remind you of the great love of your life.

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    2. LInda,
      You opened up a great subject here and I've enjoyed the posts that have come in. I also have letters from my husband when he was in Vietnam..as my mother had letters from my father in WWII.Mom kept the letters until after, finally, letting me read them in 1980; they showed his accommodation to Army life and the deterioration of their relationship. I commented that they read like a book; she chided me that they were personal. She died a few months later and the letters were no where to be found. I am so disappointed to think she didn't trust me with the letters. I love the letters that come my way, whether by snail or email.
      Thanks for your lovely post.

      I wrote a thank you letter last week...as I have on occasion with this friend of 60+ years.

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  7. I've saved many letters from family, friends, and my former loves. I treasure them. My high school sweetheart, who eventually became my husband, used to write almost every day when I was in school in Washington, D.C.. I loved his letters because he often enclosed little trinkets and things he made in those letters. It really cheered me up, especially when I was so homesick.
    After my father died, I discovered a grocery bag full of all the cards and letters I had sent him. It was a sad, yet happy moment for me to know he treasured all those letters from me. I still have them.
    I still write letters and sometimes I make cards myself. I rarely get a hand written letter in return. Most often, people call me when they get one of my letters. No matter. I enjoy writing letters. Emails are nice, but having a letter that bears the writing of a loved one is like sunlight in my mail box. Nothing compares to a hand written letter. The person who sent it showed how much they cared by taking the time to contemplate what they would say and write it down on a piece if paper.
    This was such a wonderful blog, Linda, and I really like the premise of your story. I'm fascinated to know what happens.

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    1. Sarah, I'm glad you enjoyed my blog. What a neat thing to find. I'm sure those sacks full of cards and letters meant a great deal to him and comfort to you after he was gone. You're right. Nothing compares to a handwritten letter. I have a handful of people I still write today. It means so much more than an email.

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  8. Letter writing is indeed a lost, lovely art. I remember when my future husband and I were dating and because he had a job that prevented us from seeing each other very often. He suggested we leave notes under my folks' garage door to keep in tough. He would drop one off on his way home from his night job. I'd eagerly find it in the morning, then leave one for him. We did this for several months. Very romantic!

    By coincidence, I was in a critique group with Mary Schramski years ago when we were both trying to snag a publishing contract. I remember when she wrote and sold her non-fiction book about love letters. A real gem!

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    1. Hi Lyn! What a wonderful way to keep in touch! Your husband must be a very romantic man. I say you should hang onto him.

      How wonderful that you were in a critique group with Mary Schramski!! She is such a neat person. She came to speak the writing group I was with in Wichita Falls several years ago. Such a special person. I still have her Love Letters book. If you see her again, please tell her I said hello.

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  9. Speaking of hand-written letters--I have always pushed my children to write thank you notes whenever they've rec'd something from friends or relatives. I believe it shows such consideration when someone has gone to the effort to do something nice for you. They're getting older, and I don't know if this will stick, but even an email thank you (or a text--ack) is better than nothing.

    Hand-written is so personal. Nothing compares.

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    1. Kristy, if we don't teach our children this dying art, they'll never learn how important it is. Thank you for doing this for your children. Kids today aren't taught so many important things about life. Thank you for commenting.

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  10. What at great idea for a story. Another to add to my growing list to read.

    I find it harder and harder to write letters. My teachers would be appalled if they could see my handwriting now. Email has ruined letter writing for me, but I'm sure it's much easier on the eyes.

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    1. Hi Livia.......I'm glad my blog was interesting and that you enjoyed it. I hear you about the quality of our handwriting. Mine is equally bad. I guess it's like everything else, if you don't use it, you sort of forget how. Practice makes perfect. I used to have beautiful handwriting. Thanks for stopping by.

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  11. Sorry I'm a bit late chiming in. Another great post, Linda and I loved your story in "Give Me a Texan." The lack of letter writing these days is going to have an effect on how histories are compiled in the future. So many of our primary documents are letters and unfortunately no one is writing. A Marine historian and I were visiting not too long ago about the lack of material historians will have about the current conflicts because military personnel and their families now email or even skype. Military historians are asking individuals to keep emails and even print them out, so we don't lose their stories. It's an interesting subject.

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    1. Kirsten.......thank you so much for coming by!! It's always great to see you. I hope things are going well in Wyoming. I'm sure you see a lot of handwritten documents and letters there in the museum. They are so valuable. Letters written by famous people sometimes sell for big money. I doubt I'll ever be famous but I will keep my letters for my grandchildren so they'll know about some of the people they descended from.

      Thank you for the compliment about THE LOVE LETTER. I'm so glad you liked it.

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  12. Great post, Linda. Letter writing sure is a lost art. Indeed, Kristen, when I taught American lit, letters were a big part of the curriculum. I loved the info on The Love Letter. Xo

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    1. Tanya.......you finally got your comment to post! I'm so glad. Thank you so much for not giving up. I'm glad you enjoyed my blog. I did not know you used to teach American Lit. Wow! That was one of my favorite subjects in school. I always made good grades in that. Now math....that's a completely different story. Take care and keep writing your wonderful books.

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  13. Hello Linda. Loved this, and the comments of the other ladies. In common with many people I used to hand write letters a lot. When i was a pre-teen my dear Grandad and I used to exchange letters every couple of weeks or so. Those from Grandad were 'illuminated' he would draw little animals and people and flowers all round the edges for me. I treasured them and kept them in a tin in my room. Unfortunately, - well most of you know what young teens rooms get like! My Mother decided it was time for a clear out and one day when I was at school she blitzed my room and burned all the 'junk', along with the letters! You know I don't think I've forgiven her yet! My letter writing now is pretty much diluted to e-mails unfortunately. Sad isn't it. Lovely and thoughtful post Linda, thank you.

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    1. Hi Jill........I'm so glad you enjoyed my blog. It seems a subject that touches people. I'm really sorry and sad about your lost letters. I'm sure your mother never realized how important those letters from your grandad were. I feel for you. I'm not sure what I would do if it happened to me. Being a Taurus, I cling to all my possessions with both hands. I go into a frenzy when I misplace anything. So losing something as special as letters would be devastating. Take care over there across the pond.

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  14. Hi Linda.This is a subject I love. I have always loved writing and receiving hand written letters. To me it makes me think about that person caring enough to sit and let me know about what was happening in their life. I married at 1 week after my 16th birthday and wrote many letters and received many. And that's when a favorite aunt started writing me regularly. This went on until the week before she died.This was a highlight in my life. She loved that I would decorate the corners of my paper with drawings. Also had 7 siblings who I hardly got to see and kept in touch all of them and my parents and all of my in-laws with letters. I still love to write and can't understand so many seem to hate writing. Have heard them say so much that they don't know what to write. I always told them that I just wrote like I was visiting with them and catching them up on my goings on. one of my daughters read a letter to me from her once when she visited that I had saved.This was when her babies were all little and now all grown and she has 5 grandbabies. She loved reading the memories. Also let her read one from her daughter to me when away in college. Later her daughter enjoyed them too. My oldest letter is from a friend of the family that was a sister's beau before WW ll. He wrote this letter I have to my grandmother way back then. The paper is getting old. He was one of 4 brothers from our small town serving at the same time. He and one other never came home. I also love to save my special cards that I have received. I have bunches, to the detriment of my girls. I did get rid of some when we had to move to TX. from KS. for I had so much stuff that I wouldn't have room for. And some things have come up missing from moves and several times when in storage. I love to go through them from time to time and look at them and read the notes in them. I can spend hours doing this. I get lost in the memories. I still like to write but no-one wants to write by regular mail anymore. I do have one friend from school days who still writes to me tho. And, I do have many who send Christmas letters that I never get to see anymore who write and catch me up on what happened that year. I love that, but have lost many of them now. With our age it is to be expected. I also have a letter to my first daughter on her first birthday from my mother. A precious letter to us both. my daughter just turned 62 this past January. So, you see I also don't like to get rid of my stuff. Told them they could sort it out after I am gone. I won't know or care then. Thanks for the memories.
    And, emails are much better than not hearing. Maxie mac262(at)me(dot)com

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