Postage is Passé

It is quite rare when I send a letter through the post now. As I first worked overseas before email, I did quite get into the habit of correspondence through the mail. In the 80's and early 90's, putting greetings on paper and then into an envelope did not seem unusual. After the purchase of my first PC in 1985, all letters were typed. At first, they were produced on a dot-matrix printer. I fondly recall the noise all those little pins used to make when striking the ribbon and paper. Nowadays, of course, little personal correspondence takes place on paper. I can count the number of stamps I buy annually on my fingers.

Several times per year though, I write the old-fashioned way to our sponsored kid. The World Vision folks translate and also pass along several photos which I put into each envelope.

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December 16, 2008

Dear Isuru,

Although we are sending this letter in 2008, we’re pretty sure that it won’t actually get to you until after the new year. We hope that 2009 is a safe and happy one for you, your family, and friends.

In the last letter we sent pictures from a trip to the Grand Canyon. Since that time we have worked but also gone on other trips. Some people enjoy staying comfortably at home, while others like to see other places and things. We are the second type. We’re older now and work hard to make sure we have time to visit different parts of the world.

In the pictures this time, we went to Italy. We were there back for a part of September and October. The country has a lot of interesting cities to see. We ended up using train passes to see a great deal of the country. The picture of Jay shows the Tower of Pisa. It was built hundreds of years ago on ground that was not solid. So, it is not straight. It is a very famous symbol of Italy. Lots of people pretend that they are holding it up by taking a picture with their hands up in the air close to the camera. The other photo is Dennis near the famous Roman Coliseum. The big, round sports arena was built in ancient times.

On the day I am writing this, the temperature outside is -8 degrees Centigrade. If you could feel the cutting wind, you would think it is very, very cold. Usually the weather in this part of Canada stays a little warmer because we are next to the Pacific Ocean. The water usually keeps winter at least near +8 degrees Centigrade. Usually it rains during winters near our apartment. If one goes up into the high mountains that surround Vancouver, one can find snow all winter though. In fact, next year, in February of 2010 the international Winter Olympics will be held here.

Hopefully, everything is going well for you. Give our best wishes to all the people you know. You must have grown very much since we visited you so long ago. We may visit Sri Lanka again in 2009 but are not sure.

Be good and help your family.

Your friends,