It was quite dramatic! This envelope originally contained a letter from my friend Kelly. Her and I started writing somewhat recently, but hit it off so well that there has been letters fired across the Atlantic at a fairly rapid pace. It was her turn and I was really looking forward to her letter.And then this happened! I got an empty envelope! Just an envelope with nothing inside!
This made me think about privacy... Now there's a letter out there, somewhere, with a part of our personal conversation. Anyone coming across it could read it. In all honesty, it has probably just slipped out somewhere, maybe with the pages scattered all over, and no one has read it. But, just the idea made both of us a bit uncomfortable.
In my mind, however, it feels a smidgen better if it was read by a stranger. I'll never actually know that they read it, nor will I ever meet that person. Maybe I'd feel differently if it was a letter I wrote...
What are your thoughts on this? How would you feel if this happened? Has this ever happened to you?
I would be devastated if an envelope showed up with a missing letter, however, I would not let that incident stop me from expressing myself as honestly and raw as possible. Part of the reason people write letters is to express themselves, and to leave an imprint here on this earth as a historical record. I want someone 50 years from now to find letters I've written and be excited about reading them. I hope that someday someone will say, wow, this chick was quite interesting for her day.
ReplyDeleteThis certainly won't make me stop. I've lost a few letters over the years, but this was the first one that I know for sure that the letter is out there somewhere. It makes me feel a lot better to know that it was just lost. The envelope was thin paper and it just ripped.
DeleteI love what you said about preserving a historical record. I would like to think future generations will think I'm pretty rad :D I have a few thoughts on the topic actually, once they fully formulate, I think I'll share those in a separate post.
Thank you for your comment!
I received last week an open envelope. It contained a postcard, but I'm not sure if something else was lost in way... I didn't told to my friend because I didn't want to worry her (she's having a bad time, and writing is a lot of effort to her...). I'm not sure what is worse, a lost letter or an empty envelope... I'm sorry. I've had some lost letters last years, and this is just so annoying...!
ReplyDeleteI'm glad to hear you got at least a postcard, even if something else might be missing... In this case maybe it is best to not mention it to your friend.
DeleteI actually preferred to get the empty envelope! I was thinking that if the entire thing went missing, quite a bit of time might have lapsed before either one of us might have reached out to ask why the other isn't writing... This way at least I know she sent something and it didn't make it here!