ELIZABETH CATCHES UP TO YESTERDAY

About five years ago I gave up on Christmas cards. Just stopped sending them.

Cold turkey.

Yes, I felt guilty, but not enough to do anything about it. As my daughter says, “Guilt is a wasted emotion.”

It wasn’t the cost of Christmas cards and postage that stopped me. It wasn’t even the time I never have. It was the handwriting.

Mine is so terrible that doctors line up and stare in awe.

Before I quit, I considered and rejected performing the year-end summary of ordinary events, printed out and stuffed into the signed card. (I write for a living, not for kicks and giggles.) I tried the pre-printed cards—name, return addy, brief sentiment, etc. The result was boring going on cold. Okay for acquaintances, but not for close friends and family. Each of them demanded a special, personal, handwritten note on the card.

Bring on the slack-jawed doctors.

When I looked at the “personal” result I’d labored over, even I had a tough time reading it. So I stopped.

And guilt niggled.

In a classic DUH moment, it occurred to me that technology has replaced handwriting. *booty-shaking victory dance*

I’ve been working on a computer since the first word processor was available (IBM Displaywriter, now found only in museums). Before that I typed everything on an IBM Selectric (see Smithsonian for illustration). Before that it was an Underwood portable (see Neolithic Age for information).

So last week I attacked the Christmas card problem by typing a note. It went via snail-mail to the faithful friends and family who were still writing Christmas letters to me after all those unrequited years. In the note was my e-mail addy.

Problem solved. New and richer correspondences have begun via e-mail.

How many of you have abandoned snail-mail for e-mail, handwriting for technology? When did you make the change? And for the under-30s out there, do they still teach cursive writing in school?

PS: Suzanne, don’t bother to answer. I’ll just twit you about your perfect “nun’s” handwriting!