Category Archives: Replies

Day 237: Jeannine

Posted on August 25, 2015 | Leave a comment

Day 237-2I got such a nice handwritten letter from my friend Jeannine. The words were wonderful and so was the paper, but what made her correspondence stand out was her envelope. It was sealed with her initial into hot wax. Nice touch!

Day 237

Dear Jeannine,

I’m overdue on replying to your thoughtful letter postmarked July 17th. I couldn’t agree more with you on your sentiments about handwritten letters and their timeless appeal. And while words may last longer these days in electronic format, words placed on fine paper by hand carry exceptional meaning.

You must be getting ready to say goodbye to the summer concerts and trade in your seat at those great shows for a place on stage in your classroom. What will you be asking your students to read this fall? I used to loathe the required reading in high school although I sometimes think about rereading some of the books: Great Expectations, Of Mice and Men, The Great Gatsby, A Raisin in the Sun, etc. I’m still upset that someone wrote on the inside cover of my Gatsby book, “Don’t waste your time, Myrtle and Gatsby both die.” Ruined it for me.

Anyway – have a wonderful school year, stay in touch and know that I appreciate you following yet another one of my yearlong journeys.

Take care,
Reed

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Day 171: Korrin

Posted on June 20, 2015 | Leave a comment

You may recall that I stumbled upon Lovely Handwritten Notes, another letter writing project here in DC, a few months ago…I even sent them a letter and they sent me one back.

I had an idea I wanted to share with Korrin, who started Lovely Handwritten Notes. I decided to send her one of my new cards I got courtesy of the good people at 1canoe2.

Day 171-2 Day 171

Korrin,

It was so nice to receive your note and learn that LHN is back up and running. Since we both live in DC and share a passion for handwritten notes, I was thinking thqt we should get together. I started doing some meet-ups where people come together to write their letters – usually an hour or two at a coffee shop on a Saturday morning. I was thinking that we might try to plan one together and unite the DC letter writing community.

What do you think?
-Reed

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Day 159: Christy

Posted on June 8, 2015 | 2 comments

Yesterday I mentioned that last week I received some great handwritten letters. One of them was from my friend and former colleague Christy who lives on Long Island.

Photo: NBC

Photo: NBC

Here’s an interesting tidbit and teaser. Along with Christy’s letter, I found a letter addressed to a celebrity who apparently has a PO Box just one number off from mine. I’m not going to reveal who it is just yet, but I’ll give you a hint: he starred on the Emmy Award winning series The West Wing. Stay tuned this week and you’ll see my letter to him. Oh yeah, you better believe I’m sending him a letter!

Day 159

Dear Christy,

What a fantastic surprise it was to find a letter from you in my mailbox. I am not sure when we caught up last, regardless it has been too long.

I’ve been busy this year with my consulting work, the Year of Letters, launching my own greeting card company (Second Story Cards) and some Board related work for some nonprofits that I care a great deal about.

Christy is passionate about music and her stationery reflects that.

Christy is passionate about music and her stationery reflects that.

I’m sorry to hear that your dad was in the hospital earlier this year. Glad to hear that he is doing better. While I have never met him, I feel like I know him a bit through your stories. Who knows how many young people, and adults, he has inspired to pursue their dreams in music. Does he still play…was it trombone?

What are you doing these days? Are you enjoying it? Still singing? You have a beautiful voice.

I do get to New York from time to time and might get to Long Island too. I’ll definitely let you know the next time I’m up in your area.

Thanks so much for saying hello – keep up the handwritten letters!
Reed

P.S. I’m actually supposed to meet up with John Wilson, Randi Tetenbaum and Kim Perry tomorrow. Wish you were here to join us.

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Sunday Notes and Letters for Week 19

Posted on May 3, 2015 | Leave a comment

Today I want to share a letter I received this week. You may remember that three weeks ago on Day 100 I wrote to Dr. Ellsworth Wareham, the 100-year-old cardiologist that was interviewed recently by Dr. Sanjay Gupta.

He wrote me back! How cool is that. You should watch the link above with Dr. Sanjay Gupta – you’ll be inspired by Dr. Wareham.

Dr Wareham letter

Dear Read-

What an achievement – to write a letter a day!

Concerning prevention of coronary artery disease, I refer you to 2 books: Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease by Caldwell Esselstyn and The China Study by Colin Campbell. In summary – you must not eat animal products. 

I think the material in these books is scientific and highly reliable.

Remember all tastes are acquired except for breast milk. Your taste buds can be changed in 3 months, so you can learn to like what is healthy. Just start eating healthfully.

All the best,
Ellsworth W.

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Day 107: Laura

Posted on April 18, 2015 | Leave a comment

The other day I came home to find a manila envelope completely dominating the space in my tiny mailbox. It was hand addressed to me and had what seemed to be way more stamps on it than it probably needed – it wasn’t heavy, it was just larger than normal, about the size of a restaurant menu.

Day 107-2Inside it was a note from a friend of mine along with a small package of unrecognizable food and a dollar bill. The note said, “This dollar is yours to keep if you eat this dried fruit patty. Looks delicious….give it a try!”

Well, on one hand I was happy to have someone looking out for me and sending me nourishing food – on the other hand I was a bit skeptical of eating anything that involved me receiving money in exchange for eating it. I mean, why would you need to give me money to try something unless it was awful.

So imagine a small dense patty made up of semi-hard fruit bits. I didn’t just ease into it with  tiny nibble, I full committed and took a healthy bite. After the first bit made contact with my tongue I for some reason felt compelled to look at the packaging to see what the expiration date was. There was none. Nope, because this thing could last for centuries. I had to chew for quite a long time…it’s good practice if you’re trying to teach children to chew 20 times before they swallow. There’s a certain grittiness to it that I couldn’t quite discern and the ingredients didn’t list sawdust, so who knows what it was.

I’m keeping the dollar.

Oh, and if you want to send me things, go ahead. See if you can top the mystery fruit patty.

Day 107 

Dear Laura,

Thank you for taking the time to drop me a handwritten note in the mail. While a few people have sent me stationery, you have the distinct honor of being the first person to do two unique things with your letter.

The first is sending me food and the second is sending me money – both are things that I enjoy very much, so please accept my most sincere thanks. I am eating the mixed fruit snack as I write you this note (sorry if the paper got a bit sticky). I’m not sure I have ever had anything quite like it and I appreciate your thoughtfulness.

Assuming I don’t fall deathly ill from the mixed fruit snack – we should find time to meet up. I miss you guys.

Reed

P.S. As per the terms of your note, I am holding on to the dollar.

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