Lost art of letter writing

That's what I miss. The art of talking through letters. The lost art of letter writing. 

With greetings in the beginning and sincerely and take cares in the end. Clearly for someone you cared enough. Imagine you get a letter hand written beautifully asking for something. Will you ever be able to refuse that. That invitation, that exchange, that anecdote, that sharing, that emotion, that smile, that joy, that respect which only letter receivers know, the best part about letter writing is that they care to respond. Always have pen friend, one or many they are a joy forever. Each letter saved and cherished as a keepsake for an old age full of nostalgia. 

I found this beautiful piece on letter writing from the marvellous book of Three Sisters by Bi Feiyu. It's about courtship and subtle messages... That's how prospective lovers communicated in a different era...

"The issue now was her letter. Peng Guiliang had been somewhat vague in his, not boastful but certainly not modest. He emphasised only that "He had string feelings for his home town" and that when he was in his airplane "all he wanted to do was fly back home to be with the people there." The most revealing line was his positive reaction to Uncle Peng's suggestion. He wrote that "he would place absolute trust" in "any person Uncle Peng's liked." But he hasn't stated outright that Yumi was the woman for him. 

Which meant that she had to skirt the issue as well: being too obvious indicated a lack of class, and that would never do. On the other hand, it would be worse to be overly vague; if he felt she was uninterested, the match would be lost and Un salvageable."

The lost art, the lost need, the one thing which technology took away from us. The joy of receiving paper post. Letters from friends are now replaced by email or FB updates. The joy of reviving post, A letter box full, birthday cards on our special day and a note of best wishes.

Those letters are dearly missed which  were never written. 

(Image source: http://globe-views.com/dreams/letter.html)