Le monde
n e P tpo er a P BY SAMANTHA ACCOLA
I AM ALWAYS JOYFULLY SURPRISED WHEN I RECEIVE A LETTER. IT’S A FEELING I NEVER WANT TO LET GO OF, SO I DON’T. MOST OF US HOLD ON TO HANDWRITTEN MESSAGES, WHETHER IT IS AN APPRECIATIVE NOTE LEFT ON THE KITCHEN COUNTERTOP, A YEARLY BIRTHDAY CARD FROM A BELOVED GRANDMOTHER, OR A SURPRISE WRITING FROM A FRIEND. THIS SLOW FORM OF COMMUNICATION ALWAYS SEEMS TO DEEPEN CONNECTIONS. BECAUSE HANDWRITTEN MESSAGES ARE SOME OF THE RAREST GIFTS, WE OFTEN END UP KEEPING EVEN THE SIMPLEST “I LOVE YOU” NOTES.
There is something extraordinary about the idea of someone settling themselves at a desk with you in mind, stroking the paper with sloppy cursive and a cramped hand, saying, “You mean more to me than words on a screen.”
116 | OCTOBER 2020
