I got two pieces of actual mail today. The one above is from a writer who works for the Monticello News and the Jefferson Journal, which are the two papers published in Jefferson County. I have discussed these publications before. They only come out twice a week and I think they're basically the same paper. It's all local news, heavy on arrests, club luncheons, local organization awards, Christian opinion columns, etc.
I usually buy one of the papers at the Hilltop when we go there to get lunch. It can take upwards of five minutes to read one.
So, when I got a letter in an envelope and opened it up to see a sheet of real, true notebook paper with actual handwritten words on it, it was somehow fitting that it had come from one of their writers. She wants to interview someone from the "Moon family" about our house due to its "age and significance". I believe I will be saying "no" to that.
But honest to god- a reporter from a publishing company who writes a letter on a piece of notebook paper with a pen? In 2024? She couldn't have typed it out and printed it?
Well, it's sort of charming. And a little disturbing.
And boy, did we write each other letters! How did we have the time? She not only kept the family together, homeschooled the kids, and housekept in an Air Stream, she was also her husband's manager and this was before cell phones. She booked his gigs, she planned the routes, she kept the books, she did it all. While my life was not nearly that demanding, I wasn't exactly being a slouch. I worked part time at this and at that and took care of my own kids and house while Glen was working ten or twelve hour days, six days a week. I volunteered in the schools and carried kids to dance and karate and piano and Girl Scouts and...
You know.
But for years and years, we kept in good touch with our letters. In our letters we could tell each other all the things that we needed to be able to share with another woman in our situations. We shared our joys and our fears and frustrations and day-to-day doings. We encouraged each other, we expressed our respect and love for each other. It was a beautiful thing.
Recently, she called me to tell me that she was going through old boxes of things she'd saved and my letters were in there. She just wanted to tell me how much she'd appreciated those letters and enjoyed our correspondence. I think it brought each of us joy, both in the writing and the receiving parts of it.
If there's one thing that I hate that's happened due to the internet, it's that we do not write letters anymore. Of course we can text and email and Instant Message and there are a myriad of ways to communicate but letters required some time, some concentration, some consideration and effort. And they could be kept.
What a wealth of memories and information are found in old letters. And there was just something about receiving a letter written in a friend or lover's hand that no amount of technology can replace.
I am thinking of that this evening. I am thinking of how much I loved getting letters, of how much I loved writing letters. I loved stationary, but sometimes, if needs be, I, too wrote on notebook paper. I loved the physical act of putting pen to paper. I loved my pens. I still love my pens although I rarely use them.
ooh......must comment on this one. IMO, the woman who wrote to you requesting to speak with you regarding your home is worth connecting with...if for no other reason that she took time to WRITE on paper with pen....that is worth MUCH to begin with and speaks volumes about her as a person (IMO) . I love to write......but alas, only 2 friends left that also correspond w/ paper (might be a piece of a brown paper bag sometimes)...and pen...and there is nothing like receiving a hand penned letter in ones mailbox! A dying art.....that I strive to keep alive. Like your card today from a longtime friend.......it lifts ones soul to receive that kind of love and thought!
ReplyDeleteSusan M
I would be interested to hear what Hailey H has in mind.
ReplyDeleteAnd I for one am very glad you write to us every day.
I used to correspond in ink, both letters and postcards with many people. I really loved it, but my hands do not love holding a pen that much anymore for that length of time and all the people I used to correspond with have aged with me and I wouldn’t expect them to want to write back with ink anymore, either. Yet another joy of growing old. Xo Rebecca
ReplyDeleteOh, I'm a terrible blabber. I would call that woman just to find out more.
ReplyDeleteI used to be quite the letter writer. My ex-husband and I courted via the postal service. How quaint that sounds. But it was true. Later, I wrote a lot of letters to people, esp. his grandmother. I kept a letter in progress and wrote on it over the course of multiple days and mailed big fat letters to her. She loved them.
My handwriting no longer is legible, though my printing is. I agree with Susan; respond to Hailey. Notebook paper and ball point pen is like a touch back to the age of your house. Half way back, at any rate. If your concern is privacy, you can see if you trust Hailey before committing. I think I like her. I bet she's in her very early thirties and was named for Hailey's comet.
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ReplyDeleteInteresting mailbox today. I used to write monthly to a group of people. Then I got complaints about my handwriting. So I stopped. You need receptive recipients to write by hand. The handwritten notes I get nowadays are appreciative thanks from artisans I've bought from. Same wavelength.
ReplyDeleteI think you may not want people coming by to see the house that was profiled in the newspaper. Just a thought.
I was quite the writer, too. I still have boxes of letters from family and friends.
ReplyDeleteI love getting your letters! Love from Missouri
ReplyDeleteI don't get any mail these days apart from a birthday card each year from my brother. and I send cards too. My sister and I used to write intermittently, but she is mentally challenged and her mind would race ahead while her hand raced to keep up and the writing was hard to decipher. One year I asked if she would please write a bit slower so the letters would form properly and I haven't had a letter since. But I visit once a year with my brother, he flies over from WA and rents a car and we drive for hours to where she lives and come home the next day then he flies back to WA.
ReplyDeleteI think it's lovely that your friend kept all your letters from all those years.
The first thing that jumped out at me was a reporter who couldn't type (???), BUT I think others might be right here. She might be worth getting in touch with. I initially thought she might be pretty young, but then why can't she type in this day and age? Either way, I think I'd give her a chance. And I don't write handwritten letters anymore but only because my handwriting has always been poor AND because I can type. I do occasionally write long letters to my ex-MIL and include pictures - I know she appreciates them, but I doubt I'll ever go back to handwriting!
ReplyDeleteI think that you should be cautious about inviting Hailey into your home.....there are so many scams about these days! Might want to take photos of your home, thus readers can see if there is anything to steal, how to get in etc etc. Maybe I am too untrusting, but when you read about how people get separated from their money and belongings I think it is wise to be so. You should at least check if Hailey does in fact work for the newspaper !
ReplyDeleteYes, that hand-written letter on ruled paper is charming and more than a little disturbing. I used to love to write letters. When I traveled, I used to send upwards of 50 postcards. Now, I have to remind myself to respond to emails and WhatsApp messages that I was delighted to receive.
ReplyDeleteI would have to research Ms. Hailey and then go from there. I do applaud handwritten notes but that is not professional in my opinion. Meaning, where did she get that paper? You can hand-write notes on nice paper. Not stuff you pulled out of your kid's backpack.
ReplyDeleteIt would be easy to do a little research on Hailey via your magic box to see if she's legit or a scammer. I agree with the others that, in its way, the letter is quite charming and it could be fun, but one must be cautious. And now I must state my despair of the now defunct practice of teaching the Palmer method of cursive handwriting in school. It's a shame. I actually had to struggle a bit deciphering her note. Love your hurricane flowers Ms. Moon!
ReplyDeleteIt seems quite odd that a "reporter" would print a handwritten letter on notepaper, but who knows.
ReplyDeleteI never liked writing letters but I did enjoy getting letters. I used to have a penpal in Germany when I was a kid and we wrote back and forth for a few years. Sometimes I imagine she is Sabine, all grown up:)
I used to have a penpal in England. I still remember her address back then...24 Windsor Rd. All the letters I saved, mostly from old boyfriends and the ones I got back when my mother died, she had kept every letter I ever wrote, which I read only a few of mostly from summer camp, got destroyed when the house flooded. but, yeah, letters. we may not have a tangible product when we write these days but what we do write reaches many people. so there is that.
ReplyDeleteI looked Hailey up, Mary, and she's legit.
ReplyDeletehttps://ecbpublishing.com/staff-members/hailey-heseltine/
But.... I agree that pictures of your historic home and the rooms and furnishings and objects inside in a local Monticello paper might be too much of a blueprint for theft.
Karen in Pittsburgh
A handwritten letter is a rarity today. Hailey's letter is a nicely written request. She sounds like a good person. I agree, having your home showcased in a newspaper carries unwanted risk.
ReplyDeleteLetters and journals are wonderful keepsakes. The memories they hold are precious.
Hayleys letter's intriguing. I think it's legit , and a lovely touch that she hand writes. I am not sure I'd want others looking round my home, though. I just don't want any photographer revealing the dusty corners, chipped paint or yesterday's socks that I might have accidentally left lying around. I love letters too. I think we have less time now because we spend hours and hours on the internet. I'm trying to cut down on most social media and news, but I do like reading blogs. At least they're not controlled by algorithms!
ReplyDeleteBy the way I've been commenting sometimes but my phone posts everything from Anonymous, and every time, I forget till I've posted the comment.
ReplyDeleteMy husband and I lived in different countries until we got married, so our whole courtship was through letters and expensive overseas calls. It would have been so much easier today, but I cherish those handwritten letters, the only ones he wrote in his entire life. I can only imagine what your handwritten letters would be like, I too, would definitely save them. I so cherish the letters you write to us here, they feel like a daily visit with a dear and much loved friend. As for Hailey's letter, I'm not put off by the handwritten page, it could be she had the inspiration and seized the moment by putting pen to whatever paper was available. The letter itself is perfectly coherent. I'm with Boud and others here, however; I'm not so sure you want your house to be on random people's history tour, but then I live in a big city, so I err on the side of caution in such matters.
ReplyDeleteHailey looks like a teenager, working at that paper! Learning to be a junior journalist!
ReplyDeleteIt is interesting that Hailey contacted you in such an old-school fashion. I wonder why she didn't just come and ring your doorbell. It's not like Monticello is very far away.
ReplyDeleteI have a stack of old letters that I've saved all my life and just recently I was wondering why I'm saving them. I'm never going to read them again. But they're words from my grandparents and parents, who are all gone, as well as treasured cards from friends and that kind of thing. I suppose they feel like part of me now.
I share your reactions to handwritten notes, and I hate to sound so skeptical, but....I've gotten similar-looking letters (lined paper, old-school script, friendly first name for the writer but only a family name for me, etc.) wanting to know if I was interested in selling my (125+-year-old) house. In short, a realtor or other investor trying to charm me by pretending friendly personal interest that's somehow to my benefit. And then it's up to you to provide 21st century contact information to make their job easier.
ReplyDeleteI say ignore it.