corresponding

  I got a letter yesterday, yes a real handwritten letter, from one of my oldest friends. We haven't talked in a while and that was quite a nice surprise. You see, we normally connect two or three times in a year, holidays, or just on a whim. But getting a letter, now that is different. My first thought was that it would be bad news. The people of my generation don't share much bad news on social media, in a public setting so to speak. But this particular old friend isn't on social media anyway. As far as I know he still owns no computers, no I-pads or other devices. He has no e-mail! I expect he is questioned about that all the time. I think he has/had a cell phone but don't know for certain. Anyway, getting a letter was different. I surely wasn't expecting that. I'm thinking there are young people today who have never written or received a letter through the US mail. Personal correspondence is done electronically these days, no doubt about that. I have noticed bill collectors still use the mail system extensively! Registered mail is still a guarantee the recipient actually received that mail. I'm not certain about electronic correspondence but I'm certain that could be tracked as well and perhaps even proven just who opened that mail. I do not have a web cam attached to my computer and it is disabled on the laptop. You can't see me. 

 Today I plan on writing back. I admit I do not have any stationary on which to do so. I recall going to Walmart to purchase some a few years back only to discover they don't sell it. I tried a couple drug stores with the same result. I didn't pursue that fully but know that finding stationary isn't easy. I'm assuming you can order it online or perhaps some boutique in a large metropolitan area. It would probably be sold as vintage or something. But I'll just have to use unruled typing paper or buy some notebook paper. I'm thinking of simply typing my letter, and signing it, but that doesn't seem right. It just wouldn't be personal enough. It's my feeling I should reciprocate in kind. He took the time, the effort, to write out his thoughts and so should I. And yes, I find it a bit of a chore, writing in cursive I mean. I have to slow down and form those letters carefully for them to be legible. Often, I will simply print letters or notes to ensure that as well. 

 I've been thinking about what to write. Although we have talked with each other over the years I'd say we only have the briefest of outlines concerning each other's lives over the last forty plus years. A very old friend that has been absent in my everyday life for all those years. Yet, he is one of those friends that you can just pick up the conversation wherever you left off. That level of comfort exists, that level of trust. The letter he wrote to me seemed to express the desire to share his life with me once again. It was a rather pensive narrative. I understand that completely, I know just what he means. He is happy with his choices in life and for that I am grateful. It's what I want to hear from my friends. Our lives certainly haven't been anything like we thought they would be. Nothing like all the plans that were discussed all those years ago. The years, the decades, have passed, and we find ourselves looking back. His birthday is this month, he'll be seventy and in July I will join him in the septuagenarian club. Our plans were made when we were in our twenties! 

 It's my feeling it is time to catch up. I'm thinking of writing a synopsis. There are many things I haven't told him about, things left unsaid, unspoken that had we been together most certainly would have been discussed. That's what you do with your closest friends, indeed, that is the basis of friendship. You can trust your innermost feelings and thoughts with your friends. Things you just can't share with others. The tricky part is in not making it sound like a solemn thing, a recounting of things gone by. Our friendship is a lifetime thing not something that used to be. But we tend to remember the more traumatic things in our lives rather than the everyday blessings we receive. We remember the moments of loss, health scares, disappointments and defeats. And, truth be told that is what interests most. Drama. But our friendship was never about drama, it has always been a more comedic approach to life. It has been said by those that know us well, we clowned around, a lot! And yes, it was certainly the truth. We didn't take life too seriously. And so, I have a task to perform today. An obligation to fulfill. A letter to write. Been a long time since I last wrote a letter. Most likely in the latter part of the 1980's while still in the Navy. Stamps cost 20 cents then. I remember buying air mail stamps! That was in the heyday of my letter writing days. I had stationary too. Corresponding takes practice and I'm feeling a little rusty at it. Easier to write a blog! 

                                                                       

                                           Now where are those envelopes?