100 Letter Mark

On January 1, 2020,  I embarked on a letter writing campaign via the U.S. postal service.  The objective was to send substantive, unique correspondence to 365 individuals.  One letter per day for the entire year.  Keep in mind, back when I started, I had no idea the Coronavirus would sweep the planet and result in a worldwide pandemic.  So it’s been an especially interesting time to launch such a project.  As social distancing and self-isolation becomes the new norm.  Not to mention the perceived level of hysteria and paranoia.  Hey, far be it from me, to promote a climate of fear and terror.  Yeah, right!

March 6, 2020 was my 100th letter (Amanda P.).  All correspondence is 2-3 pages along with a cover letter.  I’ve made a significant effort to “mix it up,” i.e, sending letters to a wide variety of individuals.  Immediate family, close friends, people I barely know, even a person I’ve never met.  People I haven’t seen since grade school, teachers, fellow coworkers from the past, and so on .  All of them either occupy a space in my head or a place in my heart.  But not necessarily.

I used the fastpeoplesearch.com website to find everyone's address.  It does a pretty accurate job.  And it doesn’t pester you with those annoying advertisements, pop-up ads and criminal reports. Only 3 letters so far have been marked undeliverable and returned to sender (me).  Not bad.

About 25 letters in, I began to realize a few things.  So I made a top 10 list that pretty much covers all of my technical observations.

1 —  Around letter #40, I decided to start labeling the outside of each envelope with its corresponding daily number.  Letter #44, Letter #76, etc.  However, it dawned on me that recipients might get the impression that this was some twisted attempt at a popularity contest.  NOT EVEN REMOTELY TRUE.  I chose every individual entirely at random.  I tried to go with a male, female, male, female progression.  But then realized it was easier to just go with “clusters” of people, as the trajectory of life often introduces you to certain groups at certain times.

2 — The only social media format I personally use is facebook.  I’m not on twitter, instagunt, snapshit, whatever.  Still, I’ve made a genuine effort to avoid using facebook as a barometer for determining my recipients.  After all, the specificity of my facebook friends is more of a “tangential” representation.  I mean, I know pretty much all of them.  But with some people, I haven’t necessarily felt a memorable impact.  This isn’t a smear.  It’s simply the truth.

3 —  I stopped using the generic U.S. flag stamps.  Fret not!  I don’t hate Old Glory.  It’s simply because the act of flag waving really irks me during the reign of Trump.  So after I ran out of flag stamps, I went to the post office and purchased some that were a little more colorful.  Regrettably, I let the post office employee decide which kind of stamps as I didn’t really give a shit.  And she gave me all these disconnected themes — Hot Wheels, Disney villains, military guard dogs, county fairs, and so on.  So long story short, the next time I stock up on stamps, I’ll take a minute and try to find some, that are, at the very least, a bit more “relevant”… as opposed to a philatelist series attributed to the origins of pancakes and maple syrup.  Note: I find carb heavy, sugar laden breakfasts increasingly unacceptable.

4 — Out of nowhere, it dawned on me that I might be sending a letter to someone who doesn’t identify as male or female, maybe someone who has transitioned or considers themselves gender fluid.  After all, I haven’t seen some of these people in like 40 years.  I particularly enjoy reaching out (figuratively) to people from “way back when,” as the letters are often easier to write.  The shared experiences are usually very specific, less emotional perhaps, but still etched in my memory.  Hope that makes sense. 

5 — The content of every letter is designed to be freely shared with anyone’s respective spouse.  But I had to be realistic.  Some of my past friends and acquaintances are just simply not well-suited for this type of endeavor.  Whether it be jealousy, contempt, old grudges, whatever… Maybe it’s me.  Maybe it’s them.  Maybe it’s their significant other.  Maybe I know they secretly hate my guts.  Like I said, whatever.  Trust me, this ain’t some attempt to start World War III.  Although, believe me, I could see why some people might view it as such.  I messaged a couple of female friends for their current address and they went “silent.”  Obviously, they probably thought I was gunning for a good ol’ fashioned social media stalking.  Please believe me when I say, I am NOT a creeper.  Although, I’ll freely admit to being a creep, and even a little creepy from time to time. 

6 — Responses and reactions have been admittedly few and far between.  But that’s totally okay.  The small number of people that did reach out has made the entire project well worth the effort.  I didn’t do this with the intention of being bombarded with compliments and adoration.  Truth be told, I think it would make me feel uncomfortable.  Trust me, this is NOT a clandestine effort to become the most popular person of all-time.  Although I imagine some would certainly think that.  Please know, I’m just trying something a little different.

7 — A month in, I realized that some people don’t even check their mail.  My wife was on the phone with a dear friend of ours and I asked, “What did she think of the letter I sent her?”  She didn’t have a clue as to what the hell I was talking about.  And they had to dig through all their “junk mail.”  Some of the younger population simply doesn’t connect with the U.S. Postal Service.  Understandable in these days of electronic billing, endless donation requests and misc. unsolicited crap.

8 — The general consensus is that about 1% of the adult population is functionally illiterate.  So it’s a virtual certainty that I’ll send a letter to someone who cannot read or has difficulty deciphering the content.  My sincerest apologies.  My only recourse would be to deliberately avoid mailing said letter, which in my mind, is unacceptable. 

9 — If you're too afraid to open a sealed letter during the current state of affairs, you have my deepest sympathies.  May I suggest some Trumpian Oval Office psycho-therapy?  Doesn't that piece of shit dumbshit brag about the incredible, beautiful, oversized letters he receives from third world dictators with comparably moronic haircuts?

10 --- I’ll do another update/blog entry at the 200 and 300 letter mark.  And then, assuming the world hasn’t imploded, ring in the New Year with a 2021 observational finale.  🎉

SAF