January 8-14 is Universal Letter Writing Week

[Shannon, sitting in office with laptop in front of her]

Hmm, writing a letter...putting an actual pen to real paper so as to express thoughts to another individual via written communication...what a novel concept in 2010. I write all the time, blog posts, tweets, emails, status updates, text messages and so on...umm...yeah...but when was the last time I wrote a handwritten letter to someone?

[fade to memory sequence]

As a child, I loved, loved, loved getting mail; the notion that someone would bring something to me simply because it had my name on it was amazing. It seemed like such a grown up thing. My parents always got mail, little did I realize the majority of it was bills and junk. Every so often my parents would receive a letter from a distant relative, Aunt Pauline in Denver, Uncle Clarence in Atlanta or Cousin Dot in Reading (Pa.). Those were the best.

I can see it plain as day:

Daddy used the curved engraved brass letter opener; I wasn't allowed to touch it. He carefully slit the envelope open on one end and blew into it. The envelope expanded as if it had been told to do so. He held it in one hand and slid the contents into his other hand. A handwritten letter, a picture or two and maybe a bookmark or newspaper article would land in his hand. Sometimes they would have all of our names on the front or say "family," and Daddy let me open those. I loved opening the mail, it always had a surprise inside.

[cut back to Shannon at her laptop]

And even though my mail is the typical stuff, bills, fundraising appeals, ValuPaks and some magazines (yes, I still have a couple of subscriptions), I enjoy receiving it as much as I did 30+ years ago.

[Shannon pushes her laptop to the side, pulls out a piece
of stationery, takes a pen and begins to write]