The Letter Writing Revolution

Revitalizing a Lost Art One Letter at a Time



Tuesday, October 26, 2010

Start Spreading the News.....

Back in June when I started The Letter Writing Revolution, I was receiving about two letters per year in the mail (not including the onslaught of Christmas greetings in late November/early December). I remember the moment that the idea of TLWR came to me. I was with my friend, Em, and we stopped at the post office to pick up my mail. A letter had arrived from my one friend who still sent the odd letter/postcard via snail mail. I knew then that my blog would be about letter writing.

Fast forward four months and now each day when I open my mail box, there is at least one piece of fun mail.........tossed in with the bills and junk are colourful envelopes and unique postcards coming from all over the world and many from people whom I do not know. This past Thursday, I set aside an hour and a half to get caught up on my replies and after mailing seven letters, I opened my mailbox to discover two more! How wonderful and satisfying to think that the revolution is slowly growing even if it is within my world only :-)

A sampling of mail I have received since the beginning of TLWR!

I was reading on another blog  about the fact that some post offices in the world no longer sell just stamps but have become convenience stores as well as post offices. As well, some of the comments described the fact that some shops that used to sell postage stamps no longer do so as the demand has decreased significantly for them. Perhaps we should all try the 365 letters in 365 days project or maybe even 52 letters in 52 weeks if that feels more do-able. Maybe if everyone who writes letters took on a project of this magnitude, a revolution would truly happen.

I am heading for a wee vacation this week to New York City. It has been a childhood dream to travel to NYC and experience life in downtown Manhatten. My father always told me that one day he would take me there. As I approach 40 years of age, I decided that the time was now. I will travel with my dad and return on Sunday, October 31st. I will post again in the first week of November after my holiday.

This timely article was in the paper this weekend.
Not sure why my photo won't rotate.

I have been off of Facebook for almost three weeks. I checked in at the one week mark and then again about three days after that. As I have decreased my FB time, the mail I am receiving has increased. I do feel more connected to people and less overwhelmed by the goings-on of Facebook. At this point, I have decided to keep my profile as well as my two business pages. I do believe that Facebook is an excellent venue for advertising upcoming events/workshops, etc. especially with my businesses. I also like to post photos and links occasionally. I am slowly going through my 326 Friends list and deleting some of those who are really not close friends. In fact, many of them aren't even aquaintances. Finally, I have given up the 15+ times of checking in FB daily and reading other's status updates/newsfeed. I suppose this is a happy medium and one that is comfortable for me. Stepping away and freeing up that time has been liberating. Having it  available to post things that need to reach a lot of people in a short amount of time is beneficial to my work. I plan to check in once per week to change my status update, check my business pages and look at photos of my friends that may have been posted. Other than that, I have given it up.

Keep writing and sending those letters and who knows, you may be getting one from me!

9 comments:

  1. I love the idea behind TLWR, and can't help thinking that you could probably get sponsored by the Post Office too :D

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  2. Julie,
    I have been enjoying your blog which I connected to through the Missive Maven. I am particularly interested in what you do as you support expectant and new mothers. I'm going to be supporting a friend for her homebirth (maybe within this week!) and I can't believe what an honour this is for me. I would be interested in corresponding with you.
    Rosemary

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  3. Hi, Rosemary;
    Please send me a letter and let me know how it goes at your friend's birth. It certainly is an honour (I had attended over 120 births at the time of my 'retirement'). Send a letter to Julie Keon, P.O Box 533, Cobden, ON, K0J 1K0, Canada.
    Hope to hear from you soon.
    Julie

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  4. Love TLWR. I did get some mail out this week and there will be a letter (lengthy tho' it will be) waiting for you when you come back from NY city...I know you and your dad will have a great time...ENJOY! xo

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  5. Thanks for the mention... I really love when blog posts kind of bounce of each other and keep the conversation going. As for encouraging letter-writing, I think there is nothing better than to just keep writing letters. For me, there have been a number of old friends who I have written to and they are now writing letters - not just to me but to their friends and family as well. Sometimes people just need a gentle nudge to realise how wonderful real mail is.

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  6. I sent you a letter almost two weeks ago. I made a nice envelope, slapped some stamps on but was 3 cents short! Went to the post office and they slapped an ugly big sticker on it. I died a little inside that day.

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  7. I'm enjoying your blog very much. I've been a letter writer for decades, but the Internet has made it all the easier to find people to whom to write letters, so I am writing more and more these days. Actually, I'm more a notecard/postcard person, but I do try to squeeze lots into small spaces.

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  8. so excited to see my postcard in your pile of snail mail! i received your reply today!

    i'm sorry i never sent you a list of *musts* in nyc, but i know you'll have a fabulous time no matter what! glad you found that article since i was such a delinquent tour guide! happy early birthday!

    hope you're having a blast and have a safe trip home on sunday!

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I need to know that this revolution is growing and impacting the masses. Your comments motivate me! Please take the time to let me know how TLWR is working for you.