Tag Archives: travel

Day 62: Anonymous

I’m in New York City and discovering that writing letters is more of a challenge when you’re on the road. Anyways, I decided to leave my second anonymous letter today. It was either that or a post card!

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I snapped this photo quickly before leaving the letter at the Starbucks.

I got caught in a blizzard that tore through the city around 4pm today. Horizontal snow was pelleting my uncovered face. Seeking a bit of refuge, I ducked into a glowing Starbucks at 55th and Lexington and bought an expresso to warm me up. I had some time to burn so I took over a stool looking north across 55th street at an antiques shop that has several ivory items in display window that are probably illegal.

I felt nervous about this again – not about the ivory. I mean they should be nervous, but I was nervous about leaving the letter without someone seeing me. I’d already been in a Starbucks on 57th between Park and Lexington and couldn’t seem to find the moment to leave the blackberry envelope without being “caught.” Even at the second Starbucks I was quite certain that that woman sitting closest to me was going to look up from her Macbook Air and say, “Hey, you left your letter!”

Day62-2Nope, not today. I bolted straight for the door much like you see in the movies right before a bomb goes off. My pulse quickened…I could have been robbing a bank for all my heart knew. Thankfully I managed a clean getaway.

The letter features a quote (at right) from Ross McCammon who is an editor with Esquire Magazine, columnist with Entrepreneur Magazine and author of the forthcoming book Works Well with Others. He works in New York so I figured a quote from him in the letter I was leaving there was appropriate. And I just love the quote. Anyway, I tweeted a photo of the card this morning and tagged him in it. I didn’t really expect to get a response but he promptly replied saying…

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Classy guy. You should Google him – I enjoy a lot of his writing and am looking forward to reading his book.

Here’s my letter – hopefully the recipient has a sense of humor.

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A handwritten note is worth more than a $100 gift card but probably not more than a $200 gift card.” – Ross McCammon

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I did a little embossing on the front of the card.

I love this quote and in many cases I think Mr. McCammon is correct. I hope you have a great day and hopefully you will be inspired to give someone a handwritten note this week.

All that said – I bet you’re pissed there was no money in here.

Day 59: Ms. Charlotte

charlotte-2On August 19th of 2010 I met 93-year-old Charlotte as she sat on a bench with her sister enjoying the parade of sailboats gliding through Annapolis’ gentle harbor. It was Day 248 of my Year of Giving and I was looking for someone to give my daily $10 t0. Sitting next to her sister Jewell, the New Olreans resident had been in the Baltimore-Washington area for less than 8 hours – having just arrived that morning.

Ms. Charlotte is full of life and has an inviting smile that makes anyone feel welcome. It wasn’t long before I was sitting next to her captivated by the stories of her 10 children and the travels she’s made around the world. My favorite story perhaps though was about her late husband. They went on their first date on a Saturday evening during the final years of Roosevelt’s New Deal programs. On that date he asked her out for the remaining 51 Saturdays that year. Smart guy.

I visited with Ms. Charlotte in 2011. I was in New Orleans for business and wrote to her to see if she might want to get together. It wasn’t easy to schedule. She had plans to go to a baseball game on Monday night with one of her sons and Wednesdays were reserved for bridge – so we ended up meeting Tuesday evening. I picked her up and took her to a local restaurant that had fresh seafood and all the typical cajun delicacies.

Of all 365 people I met during my Year of Giving, Ms. Charlotte was one of my favorites and I wanted to send her a note today to wish her happiness on her 98th birthday.

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Dear Ms. Charlotte,

Happy 98th birthday! I met you in the summer of 2010 when you were visiting your sister Jewell in Annapolis. I was unemployed and had made a commitment to give $10 to someone every day for a year. I met you and gave you my $10 on Day 248. I remember the day very well – you were wearing an elegant white outfit accented with a floral scarf.

I later enjoyed visiting with you when I was in New Orleans in 2011 and taking you to dinner. Your passion for life is contagious and I cherish the fact that our lives crossed paths.

charlotteI hope that your health is well and that you are still getting together with your bridge group on Wednesdays.

Have a wonderful birthday.

Warm wishes from Washington, DC.
Reed Sandridge

 

Day 38: Aunt Betty and Uncle Larry

About a year ago I received a wonderful handwritten letter from my Aunt Betty – one of my Mom’s sisters. She is a thoughtful letter-writer and I thought I would drop her and my Uncle Larry a note to say hello. They use email and Facebook, but I think they still really enjoy sending and receiving handwritten letters.

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Dear Aunt Betty & Uncle Larry,

Just a note to say hello and let you know that I’m thinking about you. Work and some side projects have been keeping me busy. I enjoy it all though. I just got back from a work trip to Florida – not a bad time of year to go there!

Ryan and I are planning to head to TN at the end of February to continue working on getting Sue’s house ready for sale. Hopefully we can stop by and visit with you all.

Also – I’ve got a little project of collecting old family recipes. Maybe you have some that you would like to share for the collection. I love your bran muffins and I know Ryan is a huge fan of your oatmeal chocolate chip cookies.

I hope that you are doing well and I look forward to seeing you later this month. I’ll call you to let you know exact dates.

Love,
Jason (most of my family call me Jason – Reed is my middle name)

Day 6: Matt Hurlburt, Hotel Monaco Alexandria

Did you ever get a gift certificate and have it expire on you before you can use it? Well, that’s exactly what happened here. Expiration dates are often arbitrarily set at a year and have no reason that they could not be extended. I know I have been on the other side of this situation when I have worked for places that issued gift certificates and always worked something out if they expired Continue reading