On the drive back to my parents’ this evening I was listening to a discussion about historical artifacts. It was an NPR (National Public Radio) feature on letters that were preserved from centuries ago. The interviewer began to ask about the codings, readings and implications of the letters.

The curator made an interesting point about letters in general, and about e-mail. He mentioned that, in the now, we may be endangering our past. He added that he deletes his e-mail, but would keep any actual/tangible letters sent to him.

I have a few small boxes of letters that I received from friends I wrote to in Thailand [when I returned from being an International School student in Bangkok... back in 1992]. Additionally I have Christmas Cards, etcetera.

The oldest surviving e-mail message I still have on file (after many e-mail program transitions) is from 1996. It was from a girl named Christine who I met in person after six months of e-mail, phone conversations and so on.

The whole “psychology” of using the internet is always intriguing to me. While most would pass off an email message, I tend to read between the lines. There’s too much room to misinterpret such writing. Handwritten letters might be the same but there is still some sense of patience attached to them. E-mails can be too immediate. The same for text messaging. Or instant messaging for that matter.

Sometimes I e-mail my friends, asking them how they are doing. The answer I receive, instead, comes back to me in the form of some chain or forwarded mail. I would hope for something more personal. Maybe that is why I still send postcards to friends, randomly, on occasion.