The Letter Writer

A few months ago I watched this movie called The Letter Writer on Netflix.  It's really cheesy and ultimately rather predictable (like most Hallmark-esque movies), but I still enjoyed it. You can get the full synopsis anywhere on the internet. Basically, a teenager named Maggie who has daddy-issues and basically all the trauma involved in being a teen receives a mysterious, handwritten letter in the mail from a stranger who has words of encouragement for her.

She takes the initiative to track down the Letter Writer: an old man living in a nursing home. She ends up spending time with him and all of his friends in the nursing home, and finds in herself that she has a great deal of potential.  It's a cookie-cutter Hallmark film and bears little to no resemblance to real life, but I liked that this man took the time every day to write letters of inspiration and encouragement to people picked out of the phone book.

from Squidoo.net

I did some googling about and came across the Letter Writers' Alliance (seriously, click on the link. Kathy and Donovan are two seriously rockin', letter-writing ladies). Basically, they are dedicated to preserving the art of letter writing for future generations.

I took this from their Mission Statement:

"In this era of instantaneous communication, a handwritten letter is a rare and wondrous item. The Letter Writers Alliance is dedicated to preserving this art form; neither long lines, nor late deliveries, nor increasing postal rates will keep us from our mission."

 Obviously, I joined the Letter Writers Alliance immediately, and upon receiving my membership packet I wrote in to join the Pen Pal Swap. I now have 4 new pen friends who are just as into writing letters and receiving good mail as I am.

What I really love is the thrill of going to the mailbox after work every day in the hope that perhaps, among the bills and past due notices and adverts there could be something small, colorful, and handwritten, just for me. The idea that someone over a thousand miles away is interested in my daily life, in the thoughts in my head, and takes the time to put it on paper and stick it in a mailbox is thrilling.  It's actually uplifting since (as a shitty 20-something) I get the feeling that nobody really cares anymore.  I like being proved wrong.


Write on,

Willow