Dear Reader, Let me start by admitting that I am as lost as anyone after this “dumpster fire” of a year. I’ve often pictured Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz in the tornado funnel watching fragments of what-used-to-be swirl about, or Anne Frank, huddled in the attic with her family, hiding to save their […]
The Big Send
Last Saturday was the “Big Send.” That was the day all the Vote Forward handwritten, Get-Out-The-Vote letters went into the mail. The campaign’s original goal of 10 million letters was quickly reached, so another 5 million was added on. I wrote 120 letters to voters in Minnesota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Texas. I hand printed why […]
Making News
Randall Beach writes: Sending out your thoughts during this pandemic June 23, 2020 Updated: June 24, 2020 11:34 a.m. Carol Christmas of Hamden, who has a card-writing service, offers advice on writing condolence cards in this time of many deaths from COVID-19. Photo: Peter Hvizdak / Hearst Connecticut Media Carol Christmas sat on her front porch in […]
The “Quarantine Challenge”
How are you managing to make sense of this COVID-19 global pandemic? I confess, I haven’t written a single letter in a long time. I feel so bummed-out by the coronavirus situation, the different government responses to it, the massive layoffs, and the resultant, ever-increasing world-wide death toll. I am overwhelmed AND often paralyzed […]
Penmanship Revisited
Today is John Hancock’s birthday. Let’s celebrate by talking about penmanship. Last month a friend sent me an article featuring a business with robots writing thank you notes. Human handwriting is being mimicked, complete with smudges. “Grrrrr,” I say. We’ve come to that? Everything has become so fake. To counteract that robot story, a current […]
25 Years of Graceful Envelopes
At last, here’s some “eye candy”- the 2019 Graceful Envelope Contest Winners with their Put Your Stamp On It masterpieces. There is no question, The Graceful Envelope Contest elevates “mail art” to museum quality levels. Every year, since 1994, the Washington Calligraphers’ Guild and the National Association of Letter Carriers team up to sponsor the […]
Letters to the Dead
“It gets very lonely sometimes. No one talks to me anymore.” – Andy As many of you know, my youngest sister died early this year of a drug overdose. Andy, short for Andrea, was my favorite family member. She was quite skilled at telling you what she felt you wanted to hear. Andy was […]
The Write Way makes the news
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 […]
Climate Strike at the New Haven Green
Let’s face it, there is nothing more important than attending to the place we call “Home,” the planet Earth. Last Friday, I participated in a local rally for the Climate Crisis. It was designed by The New Haven Climate Movement, a group of determined New Haven high school students with some help from students from […]
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 […]
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