I’ve been back in the cleaning, clearing, sorting, and reorganizing mode. A few days ago, I went through a collection of note cards from a plastic drawer in a plastic organizer that I had not opened for as much as ten years.
There were lots of cards of varying sizes, some blank and a couple of pre-printed “thank yous.” They were remnants of the times when I was sending out resumes, getting the occasional job interview, and making it a point to send a hand written “thank you.”
Does anything like that happen anymore? Egad but I’m gland I’m not job shopping in today’s work environment. I was overmatched in the world of classified ads (from the newspaper) and paper resumes. today, I feel as though it would be entirely hopeless.
A Fine Find
Way in the back of the drawer, I found a card that had writing on it. Of course I opened and read it. It was a “thank you” sent to me, from two organizers of a dancing and singing party at a Unitarian Fellowship. (Dancing and singing — just the sorts of things those UUs will do.
And the words they sent me were really, really nice. The event took place about 18 years ago. Maybe that explains why they sent a note card instead of an e-mail message or a text.
Instead, they sent this little bit of paper with a message that, even 15 years later, made me feel really good.
Another Idea Unfulfilled
I’ve had a notion for a few years now that I wanted to do some more physical communication with people—make stuff that is real and share it via the good old USPS. (I’ve always had a soft spot for the Post Office. My grandfather on my father’s side, Daddy Joe, got hired as a mail sorter for the central post office in Philadelphia toward the end of the Great Depression. I don’t know if he loved the job, but he surely did love the job security it provided. He referred to the Post Office as “snug harbor.”)
My “vision” if you will, was to send stuff to people. What stuff? Don’t know. The only thing that was clear was that it had to fit in a No. 10 Envelope.
Maybe I’d make a rubber stamp of some sort to mark the envelope. have some sketches I made. Somewhere. Maybe, maybe, maybe . . .
Thoughts?
When was the last time you received a personal note—hand written—from someone. How rare has the experience become. I suppose it is still de rigeur with wedding gifts. Properly raised kids may still send personal thank yous for birthday gifts and such. Otherwise? Don’t know.
However, If you, dear reader, would like to receive something in the mail from me, send me your name and address. (You can send it by e-mail to ridgek@gmail.com. Or, if you want to support the USPS, send a note via mail to me at Hedgehog House, 28 Yale Terrace, West Orange, NJ 07052.
A note or two will get me off of top dead center (a automotive mechanic’s term for a situation where an engine’s pistons are stalled) and make something—something good happen, I hope.
Anon.
Ridge