Correction on previous post- “National Handwriting Day” and John Hancock’s birthday is actually January 23rd (not the 26th). Yet since I have your attention, allow me to offer the added bonus to “Look and Touch History with John Hancock’s Original Quill.” This project was designed by middle-school student, Ken Ellis back in 2015. Master Ellis […]
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 […]
Pat Yourself on the Back
Condolence mobile
It’s been two months since my sister’s passing. Then, two days ago, the phone rang with the sad news that my teacher and mentor from college died on April 15th. Elaine Rapp was my all time favorite teacher. She was a Gestalt therapist, a large stone sculptor, and one of the founding minds behind Pratt […]
“Betty Bonkers working on jet lag”
My favorite younger sister, Andrea, died on February 22, 2019. It was sudden and unexpected with dubious circumstances. She had just come back from a dream vacation to Hawaii. Her last text to me said, “Betty Bonkers working on jet lag.” Next, I heard Andrea was dead. So many parts of this jigsaw puzzle will […]
Summertime is for postcards
“I still think that to receive a postcard in your mailbox is happiness.” Margaretta Magnusson Postcards are synonymous with Summer and fun. Friends and family leave for vacation. You wave goodbye and hear yourself say, “Send me a postcard.” Hopefully, they will. One way to be sure to get one is by signing up with […]
A thank you letter from MLK
What a treasure to find this draft for Mr. Hunter’s thank you letter. It speaks volumes in a few short lines about Martin Luther King Jr. who was definitely “his brother’s keeper.” Here he stands, hand-in-hand with the crowd in the midst of the March on Washington, 1963. Martin Luther King, Jr. would have turned 89 […]
Universal Letter Writing Week 2018
Universal Letter Writing Week begins today January 14th and will continue through till January 20th. Join forces with all the letter writers in the world to get your correspondence done. And what better way to start off the week than by tackling your thank you notes! The rule of thumb for expressing written gratitude is […]
Recycle those cards and stamps
December 31, 2017 There’s always the question: What to do with all those cards once the holiday is over? Do they all go out with the wrapping into the trash? WAIT! You can recycle some of those cards. And, before the envelopes disappear, you can cut out the return addresses and paste them onto a […]
120 Handwritten Letters of Encouragement
October 21, 2017…..A story appeared in the news last week, that illustrates all that I love about letter writing! Logan Pullin, a teacher at Bay Middle School in BAY ST. LOUIS, Miss., wrote individual letters of encouragement to all the students in the current senior class. These were handwritten and hand delivered. Mr. Pullin began his […]