Oh I remember. It sounded like this: "BEEEEooooop-k’CHKKK-K’CHKKK-SKREEEEEEEEEEEE-blerp! blerp! blerp!-PSSSHHHHHT-KZZZZT-KRRRNNNGGGHHH-baDOOP baDOOP-CLIRRRRP-CHLIRPT-SHHHHHHHHHHHHHH-tk-tk-tk-tk-EEEEEEEEEEEEEE-BooP... BooP... BooP..." ...and it was glorious.
Great to see (and read) your post, Robin. Hope everything is going well in your world. You’ve reminded me of having penpals when I was a freshman in college. Maybe I’ll restart writing to them. Hugs
what a lovely piece, Robin! you capture the magic of letters / letter writing so beautifully. letters to friends & family in life for me, as well as signing up for a pen pal service, must have been around fourth or fifth grade? one in NSW Australia, the other in Ankara, Turkey. i still think of them often, quite frankly...
More like if you were born after 1995. I am an '85 baby and I most assuredly remember waiting. And microfiche and index cards and land lines and when answering machines were New and people had Opinions about them, and dial up and that until I was 19 I didn't have a mobile phone and couldn't be reached anywhere, anytime and yes, it was really lovely.
I am very slowly getting into a letter exchange pattern (that I hope will continue) with a glorious writer whom I met here on Substack. You are right; a personal letter for you, from somewhere else? It give you tingles. The delight of antici.....pation! (Sorry, had to channel Frank N Furter for a moment there.)
Letters! Yes! They are magic little time capsules, linking space and time, like a tiny TARDIS. 📫
Oh I remember. It sounded like this: "BEEEEooooop-k’CHKKK-K’CHKKK-SKREEEEEEEEEEEE-blerp! blerp! blerp!-PSSSHHHHHT-KZZZZT-KRRRNNNGGGHHH-baDOOP baDOOP-CLIRRRRP-CHLIRPT-SHHHHHHHHHHHHHH-tk-tk-tk-tk-EEEEEEEEEEEEEE-BooP... BooP... BooP..." ...and it was glorious.
HA! That was pretty accurate. I feel like we bonded over trauma right there.
Great to see (and read) your post, Robin. Hope everything is going well in your world. You’ve reminded me of having penpals when I was a freshman in college. Maybe I’ll restart writing to them. Hugs
what a lovely piece, Robin! you capture the magic of letters / letter writing so beautifully. letters to friends & family in life for me, as well as signing up for a pen pal service, must have been around fourth or fifth grade? one in NSW Australia, the other in Ankara, Turkey. i still think of them often, quite frankly...
More like if you were born after 1995. I am an '85 baby and I most assuredly remember waiting. And microfiche and index cards and land lines and when answering machines were New and people had Opinions about them, and dial up and that until I was 19 I didn't have a mobile phone and couldn't be reached anywhere, anytime and yes, it was really lovely.
You forgot the rolodex for finding someone’s number.
Ooooh! I still have my little address booooook!
This is a delightful post, about the post!
I am very slowly getting into a letter exchange pattern (that I hope will continue) with a glorious writer whom I met here on Substack. You are right; a personal letter for you, from somewhere else? It give you tingles. The delight of antici.....pation! (Sorry, had to channel Frank N Furter for a moment there.)
Letters! Yes! They are magic little time capsules, linking space and time, like a tiny TARDIS. 📫
Ah I'm going to have to revise the substack (about letters) I just posted to link to this!