Lost Art

There was a time when we waited eagerly for the mailman - when mail deliveries had actual mail in them There were real hand-written letters from parents, cousins, children, friends, maybe a lover, perhaps birthday cards get-well wishes or postcards from far off. Now we have e-mail instant gratification – no waiting for days Jot off a note with a click and it’s there No more long pages of small talk about family, friends, the neighborhood, or a new recipe, things that make letters enjoyable. Now mailboxes overflow with advertisements unwanted catalogues political cards full of slander of opponents and dubious information Most of all, requests for money, accompanied by unwanted and unneeded tote bags, return labels, t-shirts and greeting cards - all paid for with money supposedly sent to provide help for some needy cause Trees sacrificed for what? junk mail, trashed as soon as it’s out of the mailbox! What of all the history gleaned from letters over the years? Most e-mails are deleted. Whatever could be learned from them is gone. The written letter seems to have become a lost art.