A fun childhood memory of mine was reading letters that my Great Aunt Ruth in PA sent to my mom in North Carolina. They were chocked full of Ruth's personality. Giggles, Pennsylvania "gossip", and references to hubby and boys all intrigued me.
And my Aunt Florence sent each of us a great birthday card each year, I loved how she addressed me as Miss and my brothers as Master.
Back then a postage stamp cost 4 cents! And a few decades prior when the FDR stamps above were issued, the rate was 2 pennies. Honestly, I'm not sure I know what a first class stamp costs right now. I so rarely use the US Postal Service anymore.
Although I do need to send a copy of BLUE in paperback to Tina Newson who won the July contest. (I'm been really sluggish because you know how difficult it is to dig out a padded envelope and put postage and address on it!) Too bad I can't send it by email. She'd have it already. Okay, going right now to address the envelope, weigh the package, and apply postage!
New drawing on August 1 (Sunday). If you haven't signed up yet for a copy of BLUE in paperback, read the instructions in the sidebar and sign on!
From a historical perspective, it's fascinating the watch the effects of the Internet on the USPS. This blog (and mine and the millions of others) and email are direct threats to the Postal Service. Why send a letter for 40 odd cents when you can send a free email? Why send a card when you can send an animated e-card? It will be decades before USPS goes out of service, but during that time, it will shrink dramatically. This is sad due to its iconic status in our cultural consciousness. It is part of the fabric of our history, and we are watching it fall into tatters.
ReplyDeleteYou're right Patrick. It's sad to see the demise of the postal service and yet I contribute every day by my changing habits of communication.
ReplyDeleteDon't get me wrong. Horses as a mode of transportation also hold a nostalgic place in our earlier cultural history; but I still love my truck (and my email!). It's just odd to be living through such a change. The same is true of physical books and ereaders. This year seems to be the pivotal change in that shift, although I have not gotten an ereader yet. Last quarter, Amazon sold more ebooks than hardcover books! Physical books will become collectibles very soon, which is incredibly sad. But when people can order a book off the net and it instantly downloads into their reader, what can you do? It saves a trip (sad again) to the bookstore.
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