Looking through some boxes last evening, I came across stacks of letters I had saved and there were a few things I noticed.  They pretty much stopped coming in when I got the computer in 1996 and signed on to the information super highway.    Names of those who did not get nerdy along with me in 1996 quickly fell away from sending letters, then Chirstmas cards by 2000, then Christmas cards sent and received have thinned out entirely over the last few years.  I used to send masses of letters.  I used to even send wacky faxes to pals with fax machines before we were on email.   Ross is now my sole regular correspondent by pen.  I hardly ever reply.   I phone or email.  I have a few replies to him never sent or really finished as I know the letter is a pretty crappy letter.  Writing a good letter is different than an email, a newspaper column or certainly a blog post.  It takes more long term thinking - of the recipient, of what was said two months and four letters ago.  If you do not write like that, you do not think like that.