When snail mail meant something

By:Jan Michaels

Some of us reading this may not realize that before email, there was just the United State Post Office delivering our precious mail thru rain, sleet, snow and dogs with bad attitudes. And even if it took them 50 years (yep, it really happened) they would deliver you're mail to whomever was still alive by then. Well, the post office still delivers mail, but now we have options … yes, I'm talking about email, which has revolutionized the way we send and receive mail.

Lets look at the differences between old and new ...

1. Stamps
No need for those with email of course. If you've ever tried to mail several letters, you probably remember the awful taste of the stamps (does anybody remember those special flavor stamps like "Beef Stew"?) and the envelopes. Nor do you any longer suffer through those nasty little tongue paper cuts from the envelopes. Plus, if you needed more than a couple of stamps, you got them in rolls. Take the first stamp off and *Boing* ... a string of stamps! Much worse than map folding.

2. Spam
Well, there isn't much improvement there. Even during snailmail's heyday there was spam. In fact, my parents used to send me to the mailbox and sort out the Sears, Magazine offers, JC Penny's and other spam from the regular mail. I was kinda like a homemade "Spam" filter and all the ads were thrown in the garbage ... Mostly .. there may have been a few that found their way into my room.

3. Composing a Letter
Before email we had to write out our letters with a pen or pencil and several pieces of paper. Ever had a pen leak all over you're fingers and the letter? And it always seemed to happen when you were just about finished. That was about the worse thing that could happen, except for the deep grooves in you're fingers from clenching the pencil for a few hours. Now we can type our letter out and correct them with out the steaked eraser marks and correction fluid (unless you use it on you're monitor screen), and the worse thing is getting carpel tunnel or frustrated trying to find the right keys.

4. Speed of Delivery
As a kid, I had to write a letter, lick the stamp and envelope, run out to the mailbox, and the letter would sit there until the mailman (later "Femailman") picked it up in the afternoon. Then I got to anticipate a return letter for days,

weeks or even months! This may have been a good thing to teach patience, but it sucked later when I needed my Income Tax Return. Now I compose my letter, and send it to the recipient who can read it at his/her leisure almost instantly.

It is obvious to me that email is far superior to snailmail in many diferent ways .. but one thing still hasn't changed ... you can send your email really fast, but you can STILL wait day, weeks or even months for a reply!

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You can see more of Jan Michaels musings or various and sundry humorous items at: Articles Heaven

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