Weekend Musings ~ The Universe Spoke, I Must Write a Letter

When the Universe speaks, we should listen. We certainly don't want to risk ignoring it, right?

Okay, well maybe it was just the ceiling fan, and my over stuffed drawer.

Either way, I got the message and I listened and did what was suggested. 

I was looking for something in one of my junk drawers. Well, not junk, but a drawer where things get thrown to hide if the maid is coming to clean. Mostly it has jewelry, my jewelry cleaning cloths, miscellaneous things I didn't know what to do with and needed to hide. 

Somehow, this box of stationary had been in there for donkey years. Mind you, donkey years here is a few years, 4 maybe that we have been in this house. Not sure, but for all I know this box could have been tossed here when we moved in and there it has been ever since. But, this box itself is truly from donkey years ago, probably from 70 years ago.

I opened the drawer, and the box got stuck so I couldn't fully open the drawer, and the lid came off, and then I struggled a bit trying to open the drawer. I got the topless box out and said 'yeah I should write some letters' but it was a half-hearted promise, I didn't really think I would. 

I went to put it back and a page flew out of the box on the floor and did one of those things where you go to grab it and it blows again. Yes, it was the ceiling fan, but I said to no one in particular - "Okay okay I get it, I WILL write a letter" - and took the box out to the living room to begin to contemplate what I would write to whom.

I took out a piece of the paper, which is the most delicate lightweight paper, took out the envelopes, and found this wonderful offer! 

A booklet to tell us how to have FUN writing letters! Count me in!!

Only twenty five cents? Thirty two pages of advice? Yes please. 

Well since it is 2022, and Google is a verb now to find information about anything, I jumped right down this rabbit hole and found some great history. 

I could summarize this history here and write about the 'good old days' of writing letters and beautiful stationary and great companies to encourage creative writing. But, I fear I cannot spend the next 6 hours (the time it took me to write the last blog) trying to put to words the websites I have found and read and thoroughly enjoyed.

First of all, I have letters to write! Who to write to and what to write? Wow, it is hard to get that pen on paper for this. No, no time for blogging. Must write. 

I will simply give you the links and let you jump down that lovely rabbit hole and get lost in the history of the Eaton Paper Company and its iterations, and its ultimate curse of being out of date. Business continued to decline as the interest in letter-writing declined. What a shame, really. I do remember the thrill of a letter in the mail, back when I tried the pen-pal thing back in the 1970's. That probably lasted for 2 or 2 letters. It just wasn't a 'thing' anymore. It wasn't encouraged after elementary school, and people just didn't invest in it. Although, you can still be a pen-pal! You can sign up, online....

• It's Fun To Write Letters by Jane Eaton (slightly more than $.25, but still available!)
• Berkshire County, Massachusetts History - Paper was big business in 1917.....
• Eaton, Crane & Pike Company Factory - once the Terry Clock Company Factory....

What would someone like in a handwritten, snail-mailed letter? Well, I will only say if it was me I might like a quote. And that rabbit hole is one I am used to jumping in. I will leave you to browse my Pinterest page, So True, that was created for a collection of quotes I find down such rabbit holes. 

Here is a new quote I found and liked. 

Now, perhaps we can make letter-writing trendy again. How about it? Get some beautiful stationary, a nice pen, and then just write. The two letters I wrote already are only one page, believe it or not I kept them short, added a quote, and addressed the envelopes. I can't wait to mail them! I can't wait until the recipients get them, and hopefully they will mention to me they received them, in a text or email...it is 2022 after all and who has the patience to wait these days. 

Or, perhaps they will simply write back, and I will be pleasantly surprised one day when I check the mail. The anticipation is kind of exciting.....