LetterMo

It's National--or maybe International--Letter-Writing Month, or LetterMo for short. The idea is to write one actual, honest-to-God, on paper, stick-a-stamp-on-it-and-toss-it-in-a-mailbox letter. If I recall correctly, it was Mary Robinette Kowal who came up with the idea originally. The writing of letters is an art that should not be lost, and a tangible gift to others in an age of soundbites and ephemeral snippets of wisdom and humor compressed to 140 characters or fewer. (Not that Twitter doesn't have its benefits, but like many writers, I like having the space to spread out and develop a thought. Obviously.)

Admittedly, nothing I write to you would be this awesome. But I'll give it my best shot.

For the past couple years, I watched LetterMo come and go without participating. It was guilt-inducing, because I like writing letters almost as much as I like receiving them, but I also have commitment issues (probably the spouse and children are to blame for that) and a letter every day? For a whole month? I'm likely to run out of friends before February 29th!

Even so, I've decided to give it a shot. Letters went out on day 1 and day 2, and I've gathered up all the missives that need a response so I can catch up. And after that? I guess it's time to make some new long-distance slow-post friends.

Let me know if you'd like to open your mailbox and find something more personal than bills, credit card offers, and catalogs.