{"id":6625,"date":"2023-04-18T06:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-04-18T10:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/azadkinsiii.com\/blog\/?p=6625"},"modified":"2023-04-27T13:42:25","modified_gmt":"2023-04-27T17:42:25","slug":"141-letter-writing-a-different-generation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/azadkinsiii.com\/blog\/141-letter-writing-a-different-generation\/","title":{"rendered":"#141\u2014Letter Writing: A Different Generation"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Trivia Questions (Answers @ end)<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n
  1. Who said, \u201cI fear the man who drinks only water and wakes up this morning, remembering what the rest of us said last night.\u201d<\/em>?<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. In what TV show (and who said it) did we hear, \u201cIf \u2018less is more,\u2019 then just think how much more \u2018more\u2019 would be!\u201d?<\/em><\/li>\n\n\n\n
  3. In what song (and who sang it) did we hear the following?
    We all have pain<\/em>
    We all have sorrow<\/em>
    But if we are wise<\/em>
    We know that there\u2019s always tomorrow.<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n
    \n\n\n\n
    \"\"
    My first letter home to my parents from boot camp. Orlando RTC July 1973.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

    In one of my earliest blogs, I wrote about letter writing, asking the question, \u201cDoes anybody write letters anymore?<\/a>\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Back in the \u201870s (I\u2019m a \u201cchild of the \u201860s\u201d), there was no e-mail and there was no Internet. In fact, the fax machine (thermal printing) was just beginning to make its way into the business world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    And while we\u2019re at it, there were no iPhones or Droids or even portable telephones. Everything back then was still a landline. And yes, Superman could still find a payphone booth\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    And while I\u2019m at it, did you know back in 1973, it cost about $20 in quarters to make a 3-minute phone call from NAS Agana, Guam<\/a><\/strong> to Gainesville, Florida to wish my mom & dad, Merry Christmas?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    That was a lifetime ago.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Since those medieval times, we\u2019ve experienced generations of newly developed technologies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Technology Changes<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

    For me, I\u2019m fortunate to have grown up in this new technology age and participate in it. My education background is an electronics engineer (I have both a Bachelor\u2019s and a Master\u2019s Degree in Engineering). I came into the industry in the early 80s, when mainframe computers were the standard\u2014before<\/em> PCs and Macs\u2014and we programmed in \u201creal\u201d programming languages, like FORTRAN, Cobal, and PL\/M. A little Pascal and C+ were added in during those marvelous heydays.<\/p>\n\n\n

    \n
    \"DEC<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

    Now\u2026 I can\u2019t begin to even talk intelligently about programming languages. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Java? Back in my day, it was a good cup of strong, black Navy coffee. Python? That\u2019s a rather large snake, usually found down south in a \u201ccountry\u201d called Miami. Rust? We all know that\u2019s what needle guns are for, right? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    SQL, HTML, CSS, Perl, and so many others I can\u2019t even begin to remember, much less pronounce.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    But I digress.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Does anyone write letters anymore?<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

    I mean, with e-mail and instant messaging and every social media platform messengeritis, you can send a text message with<\/em> photos and it\u2019s instantly delivered. Why would anyone want to write a letter when you have all this instantaneous technology at your fingertips?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    I agree, albeit reluctantly, texting and email are great communicators nowadays; that is, if <\/em>used properly. And as I mentioned in my earlier blog post, for those away from home and aboard a ship or overseas with expectant wives, getting a text, email, photo, or video with a baby within minutes of being born sure beats the heck outta waiting several weeks for the postal mail to catch up with the ship.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    But back in my time, my mom used to write weekly letters, sometimes 8 to 10 pages on a legal pad (my dad was a lawyer), keeping me up to date on what was happening at home with her & my dad, my one and only sister, Anne, who was away in college, and our family and friends. I wish I\u2019d kept those letters. But when you\u2019re aboard a US Navy ship (USS Kitty Hawk<\/a>, <\/em><\/strong>CV-63<\/em>, an aircraft carrier), you only have so much storage room in your locker. There just wasn\u2019t enough room. So, after a few letters, I had to toss them to make room for others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Fortunately, my mom kept all the letters I wrote home during my four years (actually, Three Years, 11 Months & 29 Days, But Who\u2019s Counting?<\/a>) <\/strong>and I still have them. Periodically, I\u2019ll pull them out and read a few. Keep in mind, these letters were written when I was 18-21 years old and I could still read my own handwriting. I\u2019m 68 now and while I can read THAT handwriting from 45+ years ago, I can barely read my own handwriting now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Am I the only one here with that problem?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    You can\u2019t smell an email<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

    I didn\u2019t meet my wife, Becky, until I was out of the Navy and 26 years old. If you must know, we met in karate class. Our joke is, \u201cshe threw me, and I fell for her.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    But during my time in the Navy, I was 18 when I joined and had just completed a year of college at Florida State University. Well, \u201ccompleted\u201d is a relative<\/em> term. Actually, I flunked out\u2026 \u201cDismissed for academic reasons<\/a>.\u201d I think I\u2019ve still got that \u201cletter\u201d somewhere around here.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    My point is that even at 18 years old, I\u2019d made a lot of friends at college, many of them female. Back then, it was somewhat \u201cromantic\u201d to write a serviceman who was stationed overseas. And, many times, my lady friends would dab a bit of perfume on the letter. Even though it took several weeks for the mail to reach me (either in Guam or aboard Kitty Hawk<\/em>), the perfume still lingered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    While texting and email are a certainly a quicker way to communicate, you can\u2019t smell an email.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Grandchildren<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

    I don\u2019t know if it\u2019s true or not, but I\u2019ve heard that schools no longer teach cursive writing. I think I understand why. In my mind, it\u2019s a way for us seniors to write \u201ccode\u201d to keep information secret from upcoming generations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Am I the only one with that line of thinking?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    No, I get it\u2026 it\u2019s much faster to use keyboards and tablets, so why bother with cursive writing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    However, I\u2019m a little leery to send my grandsons an email. They\u2019re a bit too young and while I\u2019d love to communicate with them more often, I find that if I can muster up the energy to periodically write them a letter, then I can still stay in touch with them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    I\u2019ve also learned something else. My cursive handwriting is so bad now that I make doctor\u2019s handwriting look like a calligraphic prize. So instead, I print my letters. It takes a little longer, but I find that I can actually read what I wrote.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    I also realize that I won\u2019t be around forever. I mentioned I still have the letters I wrote home during my time in the Navy (\u201973-77). I also have my father\u2019s letters he <\/em>wrote home from the time he first went to The Citadel for college, through the end of the war. I keep them in transparent plastic sleeves, and they are still in great shape.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    I hope my grandkids will cherish them (both mine and my dad\u2019s) long after I\u2019m gone. I can honestly say that they\u2019re much more fun to read than my emails and texts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Until we meet again,
    Andy Adkins<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Answers<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

      \n
    1. Ben Franklin.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    2. Frasier Crane.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    3. Lean on Me (1972), Bill Withers; written by Bill Withers.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

      Previous Posts Mentioned in this Blog:<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n