#Write31Days: 14 • mail

Friday 14 October: mail

Way back in the day, I had AOL dialup and though I usually turned down the sound so didn't hear a thing unless I had headphones on, I really liked "You've got mail!" Because electronic mail, e-mail, or email (current usual truncated spelling) was something new and novel to me and to everyone.

But what a treasure slow mail, sometimes called "snail mail" has become. Just as in the olden days, looking at the postmark and stamp transports you to that city or country. Ever notice even with everything overseas going via air, europeans and asians typically use lighter-weight paper? Different handwriting, but people also learn different styles of cursive or manuscript in different parts of North America. Midwestern Scrawl? California Casual? Taking the message out of the envelope after opening it carefully was a heartfelt, time-honored ritual. But what if we're not talking friendly letters from aunts, uncles, cousins, friends, or penpals? I'm not including bills or collection notices in this post, but every so often a piece of snail mail would be more disheartening and devastating than exciting. So that's fiendly mail rather than friendly?

I have several differently numbered Dead Letter Office fonts; for my illustration I chose continental USA places New York, New York (NYC) because what's not enticing and exciting about The Big Apple? If you're been reading this blog you'll know my heart is in Detroit because the Motor City, Motown never will lose my heart and my affections, though most likely I won't move there because of the weather. Buzzards Bay, near Cape Cod, Massachusetts. An unexpectedly funky name for a town, and think how well you could depict the town's name?

This is a Five Minute Friday post from Kate Motaung, so I'm including her mail blog button.