Letters
I am a girl who loves letters. I love getting them; I love writing them. I have one particularly faithful correspondant, Karen Jane, who lives in Scotland (so her letters fly on foreign stamps). I think that I go through phases where I write a letter nearly every day and then I will start wondering if all my letters are bothersome to the individuals who receive them. I guess that is just silly insecurities getting the best of me. Karen, however, has assured me several times that she never tires of my letters...so it is a great comfort when writing her to picture her happily receiving a letter from me and taking great care to read each word. Today I received a letter from Karen. It was a happy day, for days when letters are received are always happy.
Email: it's certainly a wonderful thing, but it's awfully terrible as well. I realize that very few people are fond of writing letters so the only way I can keep in regular contact with certain friends is through email. But, in email, (at least this is true for me) I am often times rushed with my thoughts because the nature of email is quick convenience. Quite often I will have a thought during the day Oh, I need to remember to write so and so back or I haven't heard from so and so, so I really should email him/her. But, I'm not at a computer, so I don't remember when I sit down.
Anyway...
When I lived in England, I think I began to love letters. My daily routine included: class (each of my four classes only met once a week, so class time was very minimal), time in the library for reading/studying/computer, dinner, and then hours and hours at my desk in my room listening to my headset and reading and writing letters. Each morning, on my way to class, I would stop by the post office to post my letters. And of course mail delivery time was very happy. I think between my mom and Karen I received a letter a day (not to mention special boxes with Kraft Shells & Cheese). One of the first books I just so happened to pick up and check out of the library was The Collected Letters of Alice James (sister of Henry). One of my professors/mentors was a big Henry James fan, so when I saw the collected letters of Alice James, I decided to read up. I was simply fascinated by reading her letters to other people just about random things, the weather and such. And I thought how crazy it would be if the letters I was writing would one day get published. I can see it now...years after I'm rich and famous (why? I don't know. I guess I wrote a spectacular book.), all my letters would be compiled into a voulme of The Collected Letters of Alisa Beth Mix. Don't laugh. Save your letters (if I send you any) because they might be worth ... something.
All kidding aside...I found this amazing book in Barnes and Noble a couple of Sundays back called C.S. Lewis's Letters to Children. I sat on the floor in the Christian section of B&N and nearly cried as I read through the beautiful letters that Lewis wrote to classes of children writing to him about the Chronicles of Narnia or to his god-daughter. Today in the library, as I was awaing the copy machine, I stumbled upon a book of J.R.R. Tolkein's letters and I decided to check it out. There are quite a few to C.S. Lewis.
I'm in the mood to go and write a letter.
Email: it's certainly a wonderful thing, but it's awfully terrible as well. I realize that very few people are fond of writing letters so the only way I can keep in regular contact with certain friends is through email. But, in email, (at least this is true for me) I am often times rushed with my thoughts because the nature of email is quick convenience. Quite often I will have a thought during the day Oh, I need to remember to write so and so back or I haven't heard from so and so, so I really should email him/her. But, I'm not at a computer, so I don't remember when I sit down.
Anyway...
When I lived in England, I think I began to love letters. My daily routine included: class (each of my four classes only met once a week, so class time was very minimal), time in the library for reading/studying/computer, dinner, and then hours and hours at my desk in my room listening to my headset and reading and writing letters. Each morning, on my way to class, I would stop by the post office to post my letters. And of course mail delivery time was very happy. I think between my mom and Karen I received a letter a day (not to mention special boxes with Kraft Shells & Cheese). One of the first books I just so happened to pick up and check out of the library was The Collected Letters of Alice James (sister of Henry). One of my professors/mentors was a big Henry James fan, so when I saw the collected letters of Alice James, I decided to read up. I was simply fascinated by reading her letters to other people just about random things, the weather and such. And I thought how crazy it would be if the letters I was writing would one day get published. I can see it now...years after I'm rich and famous (why? I don't know. I guess I wrote a spectacular book.), all my letters would be compiled into a voulme of The Collected Letters of Alisa Beth Mix. Don't laugh. Save your letters (if I send you any) because they might be worth ... something.
All kidding aside...I found this amazing book in Barnes and Noble a couple of Sundays back called C.S. Lewis's Letters to Children. I sat on the floor in the Christian section of B&N and nearly cried as I read through the beautiful letters that Lewis wrote to classes of children writing to him about the Chronicles of Narnia or to his god-daughter. Today in the library, as I was awaing the copy machine, I stumbled upon a book of J.R.R. Tolkein's letters and I decided to check it out. There are quite a few to C.S. Lewis.
I'm in the mood to go and write a letter.
posted by alisa beth at 3:54 PM
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