What ever happened to the art of writing? The penmanship licence I got from Primary School has all but disappeared and I feel kind of sad the I don't practice my handwriting as I did when I was a girl! I remember being so proud to have been given the opportunity to write with a ballpoint pen, so I got some sticky tape and stuck it to the inside of my desk. Oh! that reminds me; those old wooden desks we had which opened up to reveal all our books; pens; pencils and of course our lunch. Even though I don't think I could sit in one today, it only takes one trip to the antique store to jolt my memory! Oh No, they are considered antiques!
What ever happened to writing a letter to someone you care about? I know! It has been replaced with the impersonal yet very handy email and I think we should all be taking a moment to reflect on what we have lost. Now that we have a letter sent to us every second via fibre optic cable, without even thinking about it, it saddens me that there will be several generations who won't even know what a posted letter looks like! They won't experience the personal pleasure one gets when someone you know took the time to write something about their life for you to read or come to think of it, viewing someones beautiful structured handwriting!
I was at my computer, AS I AM NOW, writing away when I had an epiphany. Why isn't the art of communication taught in schools? You know that art of being able to converse with our fellow man, not only face to face or on the phone but also by the writing and posting of thoughts. Considering all we see is the younger of our species with their heads buried in their mobiles texting illegitimate words and not paying any attention to the world around them. When did the achievement of one's first piece of handwritten work become irrelevant? Oh that's right, it was when the first computer entered our lives! Don't get me wrong, I love my laptop, I think it has become an extension of my brain - Yes scary! I just wish that I could receive a letter that didn't consist of key-pressed lettering or uneven printed words because the paper wasn't positioned straight.
Stamps! Oh yes they are those things that people used to put on letters! They are almost obsolete now and it seems the only time that they get used is when we send out invoices or the yearly ritual of Christmas cards! Maybe I am the only one who still does that but I think it is nice to receive them. There is a line in the movie You've Got Mail where Mr Fox says "Mail, you know stamps; envelopes!" It is kind of poignant to think that when this movie was released, the computer generation was only in its first stages and even then it was expressed that they thought they were losing something of their culture; a part of their heritage. You are probably thinking, what is your point? Well I think we have lost a part of ourselves when we cannot even express our love for one another without it being a typed message on a screen!
Yes, I am guilty of this too! I just wish it was an art that was not on the verge of extinction!
"There is no lighter burden, nor more agreeable, then a pen"- Francesco Petrarch
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