Randall Beach: A passionate letter writer spreads the word By Randall Beach Sep. 28, 2019 (Reprinted courtesy of The New Haven Register) When Carol Christmas was a letter carrier for the U.S. Postal Service, she noticed she was delivering fewer and fewer real letters. She also noted that on those rare occasions when she did […]
Postcards to Voters
Speaking of volunteering your penmanship to a cause, I recently offered to hand write postcards to voters for the local mayoral campaign. The cards I worked on are addressed to the folks who live in apartments that are inaccessible to canvassers- knocking on doors. These neighbors are a serious voting block and they deserve time […]
Write for political campaigns
Regardless of your political leanings, a handwritten thank you note from a campaign offers a personal touch that can only deepen the connection. This note from Bernie’s camp, with its visible mistakes written in cursive, reminds us that a real person wrote it. I addressed envelopes for Josh Elliot’s campaign for Connecticut State Representative in […]
Nuts ‘n Bolts
As promised, I want to continue the story surrounding The Write Way. I can’t remember exactly what inspired the idea. I believe it came to me while I was delivering the mail. Perhaps, someone told me that a gift was sent and it was never acknowledged, as no response ever arrived. Or, maybe an email […]
introducing “The Write Way”
“If you can’t write it yourself, then get someone else to write a letter for you.” -Willie Perdomo This one sentence could be the mission statement for my fledgling new business- The Write Way. If people can’t write those thank you notes themselves for whatever reason, be […]
Another Enthusiastic Letter Writer
A few days ago, a friend emailed an alert- fellow speaking about letter-writing on PBS. Must see it! Willie Perdomo, poet, author, teacher, and passionate letter writer gives the most eloquent ode to the handwritten letter. This is a 3 minute inspiration, you’ll want to watch and listen to many times. Willie explains that writing […]
“Gift wrapped words”
So what’s your plan? Cards or no cards- for this holiday season? What have you decided? Holiday greetings are all about connecting with people the old fashioned way with snail mail. It could be in the form of a photo card, a commercial greeting card, a handmade craft card, or a family’s annual newsletter. This piece […]
Postcards to Voters
Tony McMullin of Marietta, Georgia- began his “Postcards to Voters” campaign back in March 2017 in support of Jon Ossoff. Undeterred by Ossoff’s loss, Tony mobilized for the 2018 midterms. Remarkably, his efforts have blossomed into a national postcard writing army of 40,000! Instead of being paralyzed by fear or unsure of how an […]
2018 Graceful Envelope Winners
Whatever the Weather… As a former letter carrier, I can talk from experience about the daily challenges the weather poses. During the course of a single day, a kaleidoscope of possibilities can occur with rain, chill, humidity, varying degrees of sunlight, heat, and wind. Snow, hail, sleet, and ice feature big during Winter months when […]
Royal thanks and 21st century courtesy
Much is known about the beautiful and tragic life of Princess Diana, as she lived in the Royal “fish tank.” Yet of all the things we do know of this young woman, perhaps many of us are unaware of her great fondness for letter writing. Diana Spencer was trained at an early age to write […]