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Saturday, May 1, 2010

Penpalling.. pal-ing, not palling, like balling...

So, i have a new penpal that I exchange letters with once a week or every 10 days or so. And it manages to make me feel pretty, in a sweeping gown sort of way. And writing words on paper is something I have really missed, though sometimes I feel I have gotten caught up in the speed of everyday life and can't get myself thinking at that slowness and depth anymore. Even when the letters are filled with the fluff of life, it is still the opportunity to sit down and commune with the tangible, feel the pages in your hand, know that something IS being shared and with an actual person, not some virtual version. With the blog, I know that people read it, but it is often just an exercise in expression, or complaint, or description, it is easy to imagine that there isn't anyone out there and its just a document on the typewriter. (especially when there are an appalling lack of commenters...heeh.hee. :)
Its the slowness of it that I had forgotten. The thoughtfulness with which I mentally prepare a response, an exposure, a query... its really there, and the 'intention' in my letter writing is missing from many other elements of my life.
I've never gotten to the point of jumping on the digital/technological bandwagon and am lacking many of its better parts. I have no i-anything, for instance, and while I can definitely see the reason to get rid of the hundreds of cd cases that my two year old has stripped of their papers and tossed into a pile in the study, I can see that, but- my god- why would anyone want an up-to-the-minute twitter account of my every action? or someone else's? I am overwhelmed by the lack of privacy just because I have children. why in the world do i want to have my cellphone with me every time i get in the car? 'just in case'... what an awful thing. We are invaded and we seem, not only to allow it, but to welcome it and glory in its speed and omnipotence. Look at the verizon ads, there are so few places in the country where you cannot be reached! why the hell do i want to be reached?! all the time, 'just in case'...
I want the slowness of my letterwriting to pervade, more often, and more deeply.
I love me my penpal, and I love me my mail man, and I think that is all the tech I need right now.

2 comments:

Viv said...

My kids found a box of old notes I kept from when I was in school, and they wanted to know why we passed notes back and forth instead of texting. ;)

Jen said...

There's nothing better than a handwritten letter that you get in the mail. We wonder why the Postal Service is in trouble...it's a dying art, just like cursive. Way to be old school!