A HALF-CENTURY OF GREETINGS

A HALF-CENTURY OF GREETINGS

While I didn’t know my grandmother, it’s nice knowing that she was loved. I can thank my Aunt Fannie for scrapbooking in her retirement. She included a few cards in the albums, which bring joy so many years hence. (See Make a Scrapbook dated October 13, 2020).

Maybe that is why I have saved all greeting cards, postcards, invitations, and thank you notes. (See What Do People Talk About, dated August 18, 2020). In my hefty collection, shoeboxes are overflowing with handwritten letters.

The time to make a book from the wads of correspondence stored in our house over the past half-century will perhaps be once Kitchen Talk is published. Possibly the senders will appreciate receiving copies of their thoughts from eons ago.

Consider what the current generation is missing by communicating electronically. Laugh at the probable reaction of the minimalists gulping at the thought of trite materials.

Who had the right idea? Will I find the time to reread the old papers and send copies to the senders or write a book that will appeal to a broad audience? There are so many subject matters.

Love letters are tucked away with letters from relatives at war, friends from the Catskills, and more. They sit stored with picture postcards from travels of friends and relatives. The very thought of this next project is exciting me more and more as I write this blog post.

“Timed letters” are part of the collection. My friend Kevin and I wrote the time we started to write a letter and ended with the time we finished. While he’s the college English professor, I’m the faster writer. Although Kevin would attest to my winning speed, he is someone who would not have saved the proof.

With the ball in motion, and since I do write fast, most likely, you will all be the beneficiaries of my compulsion. Hopefully, the outcome will be as positive as the loving feeling from the memorabilia that Aunt Fannie thought to keep. It could even be cathartic for us all.

David was born in 1941 and his baby brother was born in 1948 but his name is not on the card…Norma was born in March 1947. Grandma Sarah passed away in October 1948. Therefore, the cards were probably from 1947.