Dear You,
Yes, you, the person reading this. Did you know that today is Christmas, Hanukkah, and my birthday all wrapped up and rolled into one glorious celebratory day?
No? Well, it is.
Why? Because today is World Letter Writing Day!
This means that as soon as you finish reading this Substack (and then, of course, sharing it with your aunt in Boca Raton), you’re going to go grab a pen, a pencil, heck, grab a quill (any writing instrument will do) and some stationery (the back of your electric bill’s envelope works too). Then, once armed and ready, think of someone you love or like or haven’t spoken to in years and… (drum roll please) write them a letter!
If you’re thinking, “But Felice, I don’t know what to write about,” here’s the thing: write about whatever comes to mind.
What you ate for breakfast.
What you saw on your morning walk.
That you found an old photograph and it made you think of them.
Or you can tell them absolutely nothing important.
Remember, it doesn’t matter what you write, it’s that you write it.
But I get it. Writing a letter (something you probably haven’t done since Clinton was president, or, for Generation Z, maybe never) can be daunting. So, to make it even easier for you, I’ve drafted an example of my letter today to show just how stress-free it can be.
Here goes.
Dear Belinda,
In honor of World Letter Writing Day, I immediately thought of you. Actually, no, that’s not true. I thought of Harry first, but he still owes me $23 from a dinner in 2004, so that’s awkward.
Then I thought of Gladys, but she moved to an ashram in 1998, and, despite my best efforts, I have yet to locate her. I did briefly consider sending the letter to the last address I had for her, but I’m pretty sure that’s now a yak farm. Which made me think about yak wool, which made me wonder if yak wool is itchy, which made me think about sweaters, which reminded me that I still need to return your sweater that you loaned me in 2007, and I’ve been meaning to get it back to you. It’s probably time.
But I digress.
Frank was next on my list, but then I remembered we got into an argument on the roller coaster at Six Flags during college, so obviously that relationship had run its course.
Phil was a possibility, but after our bike trip with friends to Utah in 2016 he became a monk. Apparently, monks don’t want mail.
So here we are with you. And honestly, I’m glad I thought of you. I hope you’re doing well. I’d tell you what’s been going on with me, but that would require another page and I really just wanted to use you as an example in my Substack. So I’ll save that for the next letter.
Hugs,
Felice
See? Wasn’t so hard.
You don’t need a perfect opening or anything profound to say, you just need a person.
So go find a pen and a piece of paper, think of someone, and write. And if you can’t think of anyone, start with Harry. And please remind him he still owes me $23.
With love (and a growing list of people to write to),
P.S. Tell me who you wrote to! I’ll be checking my inbox all day like it’s my birthday. (It is.)
SONG OF THE WEEK
Rock and Roll Love Letter by Bay City Rollers
That sweater has had time to develop its own relationship with Belinda.
The wonderfully unhelpful opening is actually helpful: it shows that a letter can sound like a conversation already in progress. For anyone frozen at ‘Dear…’, try starting with the P.S.—the small odd thing you'd mention on the way out the door. You can add hello afterwards.
Wow, I loved the Bay City Rollers when I was in the 6th grade. They seemed to have disappeared after that. I've never heard the song you posted but it still brought back some good memories.