Hand-Written Notes

I really liked what this guy had to say. It was in The Naked PC newsletter today (don't let the title fool you - it's a great newsletter and you can see it at http://www.thenakedpc.com )

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No Electronic Christmas Cards, Please...
Ruminations on the Written Word in Our Digital World
by Dan Butler

Recently I was discussing the differences in digital documents and handwritten documents with another gentleman online (hi Bob!). Here is what I discussed with him. With Holiday cards in the making, you too may find these thoughts timely.

On my desk are many scraps of paper. Some are written in red, some blue, some black, some pencil. Some are printed documents that I've scribbled a note on. A few are documents someone else has handwritten to me and I have jotted a note on. With all those varied documents I can still distinguish one from the other and find exactly the one I'm after. With computer printed documents they are all the same.

My old dog-eared address book has lined out items and penciled in updates. I see the old addresses for people and it brings back memories of when I visited them at the old address and other things. It's a time line of my life.

Think of the love letters some save and revisit year after year. There is a look, a smell, a touch that is unique to each one. They take the owner back in the same way a high school yearbook does. What would this experience be like if each of those documents were printed from a computer?

Even a typewritten letter was signed with a certain pen, on a certain stationary, chosen by the sender. A special stamp they liked. All that is lost today. What is the value of a personally written, carefully worded note today? What will it be in 10 years? 20 years?

These are things I ponder and these thoughts I endeavor to pass on to my children. So as you compose notes this season make the extra effort to create something cherished enough to be revisited by the receiver of your gift.

I learned long ago a handwritten thank you note is worth a million dollars. Before I retired I was a project manager, my job was dependent on many people getting their jobs completed in a timely manner.

If a person did a good job I would write them a thank you note. It paid off ten fold the next time I worked with that person.


I still continue to do that today a simple thank you or word of encouragement to someone in need can lift a persons spirit to no end.

I fear thank this simple task is being lost on todays generation... If so, its really too bad.

Paul

I like the hand written word so much!! Today I was nearly blown over by Vic who sent me a most beautiful get well card!! I really have found some wonderful people here who have all touched my heart with their kindness :-) But if it wasn't for technology I wouldn't be here now feeling right at home with people I have never met (well I have met a few).

Yep! One of my favorite "documents" is our travel journal. We (mostly DW) keep a journal when we travel even if just a day trip by auto. It makes a fabulous reference when you are re-tracing the same routes or even when You want to travel a little without ever leaving that comfortable chair.

Which leads me to a question raised a little while back when I said I preferred to look at photos in my album and not on a screen. Definitely the photo album has to be my favourite document along with my old records. I like the idea of keeping a journal for journeys but don't think I could have managed it for the three weeks recently spent in Europe - there wasn't much free time to do anything with a sick new-born baby!!

As concerns handwritten, yes! I love writing, and I collect vintage writing instruments which I love using. Often in the past, I bought little boxes of personal papers at auctions, because the contents included some of that marvelous penmanship from long ago. It makes me feel good to see it and handle it, even though the content has nothing to do with me. Arthritis has greatly compromised this activity, but not my appreciation of the writings. My mother has beautiful penmanship, and I save her letters so when she is gone I will still be able to enjoy it and share it with the grands and great-grands. Some of the papers acquired at sales include old greeting cards and Valentines, and they are treasures to me. I wonder if the writers ever imagined how much pleasure their little billet doux would bring.

Lovely story Aimee and can empathise!!

WE are a family of genetic packrats.I have Christmas cards and Valentines that have been handed down in our family since the turn of the century!

The earliest documents that I have are bills from the general store where my ancestors ran an account. 1823 is the oldest one. They are in wonderful script and I have them framed. It's amazing what they bought each month. The list reads..bed ticking ,gallon of whisky ,pitchfork ,6 yards calico ,gallon of whisky ,pocket knife ,harness ,gallon of whisky...

Guess we can tell what was important in THAT branch of the family!! LOL

WOW...How neat to have family things passed along like that! So often ephemera is lost as clutter and thrown away. It's wonderful to have that connection. I have some old hand-written invitations from my great-grandmother. They were written around 1900 when she was a young adult and was invited to get-togethers at friends' homes. Sooo neat! One is really creative - I'll have to scan it and post it to my journal for you guys to see!

I agree that a short note is a great thought but does it absolutely have to be handwritten?

I have the most dreadful handwriting, I've seen 9 year olds work with neater, more legible script. My family joke that my lost vocation is as a doctor because you can never read their writing either. Seriously, I can't keep the cases correct and it slants both ways as well as having an upright hand too.

Thanks goodness for the word processor at least I can get the message across now.

Handwriting is special, even if it is messy. It's a part of you and years later, it will be uniquely yours. ':O)

GW even I can't read it after a few days I may as well be writing in Welsh LOL. No sorry its typed letters for me.

Well, then, it just isn't your thing! Everyone should do something they can feel good about, not feel there is one thing everyone should do. I think we know what yours is, and you don't have time to worry about writing when you have important work to do. You are mighty effective with a keyboard and internet connection.

My handwriting varies with my mood and stress level. If I'm calm cool and collected, I have very nice handwriting. If I'm stressed and trying to do too many things at the same time, my handwriting reflects that. My daughter pointed this out to me the other day.

If anyone was to try to analyse my handwriting, they would have to follow me around for awhile. LOL!!!

Edited.

This message was edited May 21, 2005 1:23 PM

Oh, I would LOVE to see that letter from your Choctaw ancestor - I bet that is neat!! :o)

Well,I've also kept everything written from my ancestors and have thought of donating some to the museum here in Kansas for future generations' I myself document everything,cards,books,photos anything' Coming from generations of packrats creates problems too' Never could throw anything away,old valentine candy boxes with notes in them,I'm a mess to say the least' Something I cherish the most is someone taking the time,don't care how messy the script is,writing me' It's heartbreaking when families in their haste or sorrow pitch out memories,history is forever lost'We're still searching for my Ggrandmothers' family Bible as it logs our family. Ggrandfather remarried and the new wife stole it after he died. Without it none of us were able to prove our Headrights' Our mineral rights were also stolen by her' That's life'

Bummer, Sis! I know my grandpa threw away many of my grandma's hand-written recipe cards after she died. He was in pain and threw away many reminders of her when he started going through things. Some things, we think, he didn't realize the importance of. :o( Fortunately, we had other letters and such already.

I tend to not handwrite anything because I have rheumatoid arthritis in both my hands at this early age. It runs in my family and I got hit with it early in life. There are days when my hands cramp up just by me signing my name. The weather change makes my hands stiff too. The only good thing is is that it bothers me more when I have to hold somehting like a pen or whatever, in my hand. Talking about peeling potatoes............oh my, I'm in tears when I'm done.......DBF usually helps out because of that. Lucky for me though my hands can remain open and pretty much free on the keyboard so it doesn't bother me much there. Handwritten anything from me is a treat as I am in serious pain if I try to write a letter.

Susan, I have more and more of that, and it is such a chore to even hold a pen some days. The keyboard is often my worst enemy. I've had these pains since I was a child, and the weather has always bothered me. And I handed it down to most of my offspring, it's amazing they even speak to me when they think of all I gave them. Oddly enough, washing dishes feels good, just the warm water and easy motion. But there are times when I don't dare tackle the good china, as if I had any, because I drop everything I try to handle. This week has been really bad in that sense. We just have to lean on each other when it gets bad. Bet I can outlean you!

My chiropractor recommended I get one of those parrafin baths for my hands. My DBF bought me one last year for christmas............it sure is a relief when your hands hurt

Flowox, I have wondered about that. Gives me ideas. Now if I can just find something that will work for my leg pains and the peripheral neuropathy left over from chemo! Aren't we a mess here in the garden, with all our varied types of dysfunction? Little microcosms of society here.

This sounds weird but my grandmother in Germany has always spread farmers cheese on her legs for leg pains and swelling. You just spread it on and wrap with a warm towel.

LOL!!!! it's real early here, and I read 'my grandmother in Germany has always had farmers spread cheese on her legs for leg pains and swelling"
ROFLOL!!! sorry Flo, I'm glad I read it the third time.

LMBO....tiG, that's a good one :o)

Flowox, that does sound weird, but I bet there is a good explanation to be found in the chemical properties of the cheese. And cheese sounds expensive to use like that, until you consider the cost of medicine these days.

Farmer's cheese comes in a tub like cottage cheese does here and costs about as much as cottage cheese does here so it's pretty cheap