LETTERS TO THE EDITOR - Art of handwritten letters not dead yet


Dorothy O'Brien, in her Oct. 11 letter to the U-B, definitely echoed my feelings about handwritten letters. I join Dorothy in calling on those who write letters by hand to speak up and let it be known that not everyone relies totally on email and texting.

I know Dorothy and I aren't the only ones who embrace the letter-writing tradition. Handwritten letters may be a dying art, but it isn't dead yet!

The world has become so advanced, that people don't take time to write letters. These days, people want everything fast. That's why email and texting entice so many.

I use email quite a lot. My letters to the U-B are sent by email. I use texting occasionally.

However, I refuse to give up writing letters the "old fashioned way." I have a large supply of stationery, note cards and seals, and I intend to use them! (Unfortunately, it's difficult to find nice stationery supplies. In a lot of stores, printer paper classifies as stationery.)

Back in the dear old golden school days, kids were actually taught how to write letters. Penmanship was an actual subject. I remember the fun and the pride of learning cursive. These days, cursive is close to extinction.

A lot of kids don't even know what cursive is, and penmanship is considered outdated and unnecessary.

We've become addicted to communicating on the run -- the quicker the better. All of us are busy. I get it. I just find it sad that taking time to compose a friendly, newsy letter with actual sentences is becoming a lost tradition.

Now, it appears the Post Office might abandon "snail mail" (a term of endearment to those of us who actually enjoy it). Well, if that's the case, perhaps we can bring back the Pony Express. After all, even with the advanced technology we have, people still ride horses!

Roberta Bardsley
Walla Walla



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