40 years ago today
40 years ago today my dad wrote this letter to his dad from the island of Crete, where he and my mom were living for a few months while traveling around Europe in their VW bus. He found it amidst my Grandpa’s stamp collection, ostensibly saved there due to its interesting Greek aerogramme postage. Reading this letter was like being given a glimpse into my own history. You see my parents had decided to make me on Crete so I was a tiny fetus snug in my mom’s womb on March 29, 1970. My dad’s descriptions of Crete in Spring as a paradise of wildflowers, friendly people, and fresh oranges made me cry, mostly out of appreciation that I could read what this era of family lore was like for him at the time.
I also began to think, once again, about how much memory and history will be lost in this generation of digital transition. When my husband and I traveled in Europe for several months in 2003 my dad the graphic designer diligently saved and typeset all my emails to him. He gave them to me as a booklet when we returned to the States. How sweet to have those emails, those travel records, but who else does that? I have followed my friends travels via email and Facebook but haven’t gotten a postcard or letter from anyone overseas in ages. We are losing out here and so are our kids and grandkids and those historians who will want to use our correspondence as primary sources.
Traveling heightens the senses and inspires me to write and share what I am experiencing. Travel writing, both in letters and diaries, is its own colorful tradition and genre. I hope that we can find a way to save these words, whether they are written on paper or pixels.
March 30th, 2010 at 7:31 pm
alex made the comment the other day that this generation won’t even have handwriting–another thing lost! they’ll be typing on their ipads and won’t write in slanty all caps like your dad.
nice to know you were conceived in a place with so many wildflowers and fresh citrus!
March 31st, 2010 at 7:09 pm
Note to self: send more postcards.
April 1st, 2010 at 12:34 am
I also think longhand writing compels us to crystallize. It’s just too blame hard to blather on. Of course, if I weren’t a good typist I might feel the same way about email.
July 29th, 2010 at 6:51 pm
I just found your blog today and have greatly enjoyed reading through it. I was especially touched by this post. To have both a letter written from your dad to your grandfather and to have the booklet of your own writings made for you by your dad is amazing!
It is sad, however, that hand written (or even typed and mailed) correspondence is so infrequent these days. I am 36 and still have several pen pals and love snail mail. My friends find the pen pal thing odd and quirky but they always oblige with postcards anytime they travel (well, most of them do…).
I was smitten with my friend’s daughter when, upon learning that my son and I are moving 3,000 miles away, the young miss asked, “Will you be my pen pal?” Of course, my son and I both agreed!