Letter

Dear _______,

[...] In general, I like people who offer things for free. Sending snail mail is one of those little things we can do for (humbly) improving the world. Well, in fact, it isn't exactly for free. Sometimes we get an answer, unexpected or not. Sometimes we learn about history, geography, sociology, art, languages… We  mostly learn about ourselves. And in addition we obtain a lot of fun by making and sending mail.

I have been penpalling since I was 11 years old. My very first pen pal is still one of my best friends. We met by the first time when we both were at University. We have moved away more than ten times, even to different countries. And we still write each other once or twice a week by snail mail. I like to tell this story because, when I think it over, I find it extraordinary. There is something special, even magical, in coming across a well-known handwriting in the mail box.

But also it is when I receive a letter or a postcard from a less close friend or relative, or from an unknown person. From time to time it occurs to me that writing to strangers is somehow weird. But life is about weirdness, isn't it? When I'm writing or making mail art, I imagine a smile on the recipient's face. My experience says that everybody smile when they run into a personal piece of mail in the mail box. At least, they forget their problems for a minute while trying to figure out who sent that letter and/or why. Then they open it and start to read, so they are allowed instants of calm.

I try to make every letter special. I don't consider myself an artist, and at times I'm not proud of the result. But the recipient will smile anyway. Because human beings just love stories, and every little piece of mail, every stamp, every postmark… tells us a story. [...]

Postally yours,

E.