Lake Highlands resident Julie Alexander has taken up what many fear is a lost cause but what she claims is a lost art – handwriting.
If you’re of a certain age, you recall being taught the precise movements involved in correctly making the strokes of each letter (and you may recall the rap of a ruler if you improperly or lazily completed your handwriting exercises.) Cleanliness may have been next to godliness, but good penmanship was a sign of good character.
Julie has issued a challenge to all her friends and relatives: At the first of each month, write at least one letter. “You remember letters,” she reminded us, “pieces of paper sent in an envelope.”
“Write to your child, write to a long lost friend, (heck, write to me),” Julie implored us, “but take the time to sit down and write someone a note. Just try it once and see if you like it, and someone will sure be surprised to get a letter in the mail, just like in the good old days.”
Julie says her campaign called ‘Bring Back Personal Correspondence’ began when she read an article about handwriting becoming ancient history. With the advent of email, text messaging, Facebook and Twitter, no one writes letters anymore, and finding someone with legible handwriting may become as difficult as finding someone to repair your cassette player or shoe your horse.
Surprisingly, Julie’s challenge went out by email. “I know I could have written you each this message,” she said, “but then I’d have to sell a kidney for the postage!”