Tag Archives: handwriting

Day 91: Karin

Posted on April 2, 2015 | Leave a comment

Day 91-3You really get to know someone when travel with them. When we go on vacation, we choose who are traveling companions are, but when we travel for work we often don’t have a choice. So when you travel with a work colleague who you really like, it makes the trip that much more enjoyable.

I arrived at her home in Bethesda to pick her up for our drive to Pennsylvania. After her dogs gave their approval, I made my way into the foyer. Her daughter Carolyn was by her side, her eyes heavy holding back tears. Karin had been traveling for work a lot recently and now I was making her mother miss another night at home. My heart became heavy, remembering how I felt when my dad would leave for long business trips when I was about Carolyn’s age. I’d cry while I waved goodbye to him at the airport.

I didn’t know Karin very well before this trip, but I really enjoyed spending time with her. She’s smart, interesting and very easy to talk with. I felt bad about Carolyn, but hopefully she will like this little polar bear.

Day 91-2

Karin,

Vitaj doma! I hope you had a wonderful trip to Slovakia.

Day 91I wanted to thank you for taking time to travel with me to PA last week. Spending 4 hours in a car can seem like an eternity – but you made the time go by quickly and I enjoyed very much the opportunity to get to know you better. Here’s a little something for Carolyn to keep her inspired for your trip to see polar bears this fall.

Best,
Reed

P.S. And thank you for the Swiss chocolates, they were delicious!

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Day 76: Downtown Frederick Partnership

Posted on March 17, 2015 | Leave a comment


Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

I had the pleasure of spending Tuesday in Frederick, MD working with several companies on elevating their social media through the power of storytelling. So much of the social media that you see from companies focuses on their product and not on the real hero of their story – their audience. And I say audience deliberately instead of customers. With social media, we need to focus our messages toward the people who believe what we believe, and not those who want to buy what we sell. It sounds counterintuitive but it works.

I had a little fun and embossed the front of this card with a city skyline.

I had a little fun and embossed the front of this card with a city skyline.

After my talk in the morning, which competed with the 8am rise and shine “Kegs and Eggs” festivities two blocks away at the local Irish watering whole, I then visited five local companies and sat down with each of them to work on crafting their social story.

It was a fun day chock full of thought provoking conversations. I enjoyed getting to know each of the businesses I worked with and am thankful to the Downtown Frederick Partnership for making it all happen. They’re a fantastic organization working to enhance, promote and preserve the charming downtown area of Frederick. The next time you’re there, please stop into these five businesses and say hello. Tell them Reed sent you.

Gerry at The Trail House
Richard at Earthly Elements
Murray at Hunting Creek Outfitters
Maria at Unique Optique
and Lianne at Nido’s

Day 7576

If the address on the envelope isn’t crystal clear – you need to visit Dr. Maria at Unique Optique!

 

Dear Kara, Brittany and Danielle,

Thank you so much for inviting me to speak at the Competitive Edge Series today– I thoroughly enjoyed meeting you and so many of the wonderful people that represent the companies from your vibrant downtown business district.

I particularly enjoyed meeting one on one with some of the businesses and working with them on creating an effective social media presence. I look forward to keeping in touch with them – as well as with each of you.

Thanks again,
Reed

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Day 75: Meg

Posted on March 16, 2015 | Leave a comment

Day 7576-4My friend Meg lost her mother last week. She died the day after her 78th birthday. Losing family members is painful – it’s been 8 years since my mother died and I miss her just as much today as I did back in December of 2006 when she passed away.

Meg is smart, caring and has a generous sense of humor – she’s the type of person everyone likes. I’m sad for my friend today – I know how much her heart must be aching.

Day 7576-3

Dear Meg,

I am so sorry to hear about your mother. While I never knew her, I can imagine what a wonderful person she was – she raised an incredible daughter.

I believe that you are in Missouri right now – I hope it helps knowing how many people are keeping you and your family in our thoughts.

Let’s find time to get together when you are back.
Reed

 

 

 

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Sunday Notes & Letters

Posted on March 15, 2015 | Leave a comment


Wow, this project takes a lot more time than I thought! Don’t let that discourage you from writing your letters though. If it was just writing a letter now and then that would be fine. But writing the letter, photographing it, creating the social media posts for it – all that takes time! That being said, I’m enjoying this adventure very much.

Today, as I do on Sundays, I take a break from sharing my daily letter with you and share with you a story about handwritten letters. Today’s story comes from BBC News Europe.

michelangelo

teachhub.com

It’s about a handwritten letter by Michelangelo that was stolen from the Vatican. Yep, a former Vatican employee pilfered several 500-year-old letters and is now demanding money, lots of money, for the safe return. A ransom note, made to the cardinal in charge of St. Peter’s Basilica, asked for €100,000 – or about $105,000.

The odd thing is these letters went missing nearly 20 years ago and the Vatican never reported them stolen. Either they didn’t know they were missing, which doesn’t bode well for their tidiness and security, or they kept it a secret which begs further questioning.

Michelangelo_menu_fish_bread_wine_1518

This is reportedly Michelangelo’s handwriting. Not the letter in question here – there does not seem to be a copy of that, but this seems to be a grocery list. Still very cool to see someone’s writing from 500 years ago. Credit: openculture.com

In any event, this is particularly interesting because there are very few letters in existence penned from the hand of the great renaissance artist. According to Il Messaggero newspaper in Italy he typically only signed his name and had one of his many assistants do the laborious tasks of putting words on paper.

Whoever you are, you are a thief. Just put the letters in an envelope and mail them back to the Vatican and be done with this.

 

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Day 71: Peik

Posted on March 12, 2015 | Leave a comment
Day 71

I embossed this card myself!

I spent seven years working for a great company from Helsinki, Finland and through that experience I met some outstanding people and made friendships that I hope to keep for the rest of my life. One of those people is Peik. A Swedish speaking Finn with an affinity for classic cars, Peik was a fantastic colleague. He knew a little something about everything in the company and was always willing to help out when needed – even if it wasn’t directly related to his job. I had the pleasure of working with him in Arlington, VA and then from afar when I was based in Brazil and he was working for the company at the headquarters in Finland.

Today is his 41st birthday and I wanted to wish him well. He and his wife, Kitty, send me a nice holiday card every year and I am usually so bad about those kind of things I never get to mailing my own – I do buy them though! Hopefully this is a start of being better at keeping in touch with Peik and Kitty and a lot of other friends I haven’t written to in years.

Day 71-2

Moi Peik!

Grattis på födelsedagen! 

I hope you had a great birthday and apologize that this surely arrived well after your birthday – but hopefully you are so surprised to get a letter that you will forgive the timing.

I hope that this letter finds you, Kitty, Leo and Elsie doing well. Life here is good. I continue to do consulting work – mostly for WWF. No Mrs. Sandridge yet and not little Sandridges that I know of. My brother Ryan and his wife Mandy are expecting their second child within the week. I’m really enjoying being an uncle to my beautiful 2-year-old niece Jacqueline.

I read a little about MODZ – sounds like a great company. Congratulations on the new challenges.

It’s nice that you and Kitty post photos on Facebook of you and the kids – seeing Leo and Elsie grow up!

I hope to get to Finland some day soon…you are always welcome here in DC. I have such good memories of the time you and Kitty were here.

Terveisin,
Reed

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