Opaque Lucidity

The Word

Please allow me to wish each of you a happy Valentine's Day. Since I'm housebound and soon to be beset with medical bills (most of which, thankfully, will be covered by our great insurance), all I could do for The Lovely Kelli is write her a sort of love letter, something I haven't done for at least 15 years. Most of our speedy communication options are relatively new; when I left the Navy at the end of 1992, mailing letters was still a very common way to communicate. Cell phones existed but were too expensive for sailors working for wages well below the poverty line and e-mail was something only large corporations utilized. Even long distance calls were too expensive for regular use.

Writing personal letters is becoming a lost art. E-mail has made all of us lazy in terms of structure and grammar. Remember when a letter was broken into paragraphs of several sentences? Please let me know the last time you received an e-mail like that. Most of the e-mails I send are one sentence; often, it's only one or two words.

I miss the formality of the written letter. It reminds me, once again, that I was born too late.

One more thing: Kelli said the letter made her cry. I guess I've still got it!