a lost art?

I just returned from a few days in Caledonia and was able to bring back with me a bunch of old letters and cards that my grandma kept through the years. I love her for keeping them so that I can sit here today and read them... old letters from family and friends in the military during the wars, from her mother, and -- my personal favorite -- from my grandpa to her... and from her to him. They sure were adorable to each other far before I was born. It makes me think that writing letters is truly a lost art.

What do I have that future generations can see? In an age of digital images, email, cell phones, and facebook, twitter, etc... my answer is 'not much.' What about you? Think about your last birthday. How many actual cards did you get in the mail? And then think about how many came in the form of some sort of technology -- email, text, and facebook wall posts. If you're like me, a couple of cards came in the mail, but a majority of what I have is not a permanent record that noone will ever see 40 or 50 years from now. By then, the technology will change and all of those messages will be long gone.

Don't get me wrong. I love getting a message in any format! And am completely guilty of doing pretty much everything in an e-format. But having the letters to read from the 1930's to the 1970's before I was born has made me think... should I do everything that way?

Case in point: I'm writing this on a blog to share with all of you as I sit in a room where 3 people are sitting at their computers doing various things. The convenience is great! But does this make it too easy where we very seldom will take the time to find a pen and a piece of paper to write a personal letter?

So, don't be surprised if you get a letter from me soon, via the good old USPS... and I would encourage you to try it, too. Now if only I can find that place that sells those funny little sticky things... I believe they are called stamps???