Soup Or A Stamp

 

When I was a fifth grader at the St. Joseph the Worker Detention Center, Sister Mother Mary Comestome, requested we find a pen pal from her approved list of school aged participants from around the world. I noticed a girl who lived in Korea was on the list and since my father fought beside them to fight the commies, I chose her.

Shockingly, I never heard back from Joon. I'm not sure when I realized my faux pas. It didn't stop me from writing letters, however. When my bestie moved away during our first year in high school, we wrote back to each other for ten years, sharing our deepest thoughts and experiences. When I began, one stamp cost 8 cents. I usually nabbed a few from my parents who had a roll of stamps. I don't think Dad, who worked for the post office got a discount, but we always had a supply, plus, he was my conduit to sending off my letters. I must have had hundreds of letters saved. Writing letters was how we stayed in touch with family. My father wrote in his beautiful script to his baby sister at least once a month, so it's what you did back then. The way of letter writing has gone the way of dinosaurs. 

I bring this up because I recently read an advice column where an elderly lady wanted to know if she was being rude because she can no longer send out thank-you notes because of the cost. She stated she could buy a can of soup instead. I went online to see what a stamp costs these days. 82 cents. A cheap can of soup costs 75 cents. For people, especially the elderly, who still believe in etiquette and writing thank-you notes, I could see this truly bothered her. The response back didn't make her or me feel any better. It was snarky, as if choosing to eat instead of buying a stamp was a selfish act. We still need to keep up appearances and be civilized, writing an email just won't do. Toughen up and mind your manners. The advice lady didn't go so far as to write maybe the woman could lose a few pounds anyway, but she was definitely on the side of sending that thank-you no matter the hunger pangs.

Never have I felt slighted if I didn't receive a card or note of thanks. My older sister is the only one I know who still sends cards of any kind to friends and family. Usually they are placed on a table or desk for a few days, then moved to the crafty bin, then tossed in the garbage. 

Sometimes we just have to move on. I use gifs all the time during the holidays to send off to loved ones. They do the same. I use emojis to convey my feelings. Not one person feels slighted. The last time I wrote a letter was six years ago when my MAGA auntie was still with us. I honestly hated the whole ordeal, but she was old school and the last of the old tribe so I did it. 

Sadly, the correspondence with my former bestie came to an end after we finally met again in person and realized we had absolutely nothing in common. I kept her letters for a very long time, but eventually they were thrown away - making more for the landfill. 

Have some soup and forget the letter- that's my advice anyway.