Suddenly, I realized that the teenagers of today have no idea how we communicated years ago. Many actually cannot read a handwritten note in cursive! The most effective, quickest, and most expensive way to get out information in the old days was by sending a telegram. It had to be short and to the point. Usually, there was the possibility for personal, next-day delivery. A telegram always contained very good news or very bad news that could not wait. Because of that, it was always exciting to receive a telegram, always meaningful. The price was set according to the number of words. Even the words of the address were counted in the cost.
The other way to communicate, the more usual way, was through letters. Handwritten on "letter paper," a letter always started with the recipient’s name, usually "Dear ... " and ended with the writer's name, after some message, like, “With love, kisses, regards," etc. In case we forgot something, it was customary to add that something after two letters—P.S. (post script)—added after the signature.
Then, there were official letters, written on a typewriter, starting and ending in more official ways. Those letters were then placed in an envelope. The front of the envelope was addressed to the recipient, with the sender’s address usually written on the backside of the envelope. There was a stamp placed on the top-right corner of the front of the envelope. We had to place the letter in a mailbox that could be found on almost every street. Sometimes, it was taken to the post office to check the weight of a letter. Sometimes, we had to add more stamps if it was too heavy.
I cannot believe that there are people today, reading this, wondering how this process worked exactly. I cannot believe that these forms of communication have ended. When did it stop being my everyday way of communication? When did we do away with the papers, envelopes, stamps, and address books that took up most of the space on my desk? I had not noticed how this changed or when the change happened. Was it over in a day, in a week … ?
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