The Pandemic Postal Service

“Write About Now”
9/2/2022
M.A.P. /

This is a reflective essay written, strangely enough, after a phone conversation with a Verizon representative called Matt. Topics like technology, values and history came up. We chatted about how we tell and keep track of it all, and what we care about, and how much he loves and has learned from his father and grandpa.

We agreed that because of the position of ‘elder millennials’ in our 30s etc., (and of any liminal time between majorly different divides in history), we remember and have a unique and important perspective on both.

There’s a saying that once something is on the internet, it’s online forever. But as emails replace hard-copy letters and social media accounts are regularly deleted, what information will future historians have as they try to document the important events and gain insight into what life was truly like during the first half of the 21st century?

“There’s this sense that what happens on the internet is never really gone — that it’s always out there, just waiting to be found,” Jarosz said. “And that’s kind of true…”
What that means for US, (and the authors), archivists and historians, is that we are going to have to develop some new skillsets and learn to use different tools.”

We are the future ancestors of generations now and to come. let’s preserve our history. As my mother, Catherine H Briggs and my Nana & Bompa, Catherine Murphy and Charles ‘Chuck’ Briggs would say, make a hard copy! Write it down. No matter your age, why not make an old fashioned time capsule, put a keepsake and a letter from the past in the ground. After all, without device passwords or physical artifacts and evidence for when we each pass on, how future students and descendants know who we are, who we were, and all that has been fought for, experienced, loved, lost as a foreground for what CAN be, should no longer be, as we always move forward in time toward what is to come?

If you want a simple way to help preserve and make deathless our own stories and cultural imprints and feelings to stick around...write it down. Send someone a letter. Take a picture and print a copy, not just a text or email, which aren’t just vulnerable to privacy concerns, but in the end, are completely disposable.

For those of us with , or ‘fear of missing out,’ it’s ok to be here now. No one can experience the whole universe, in every way, savoring every possibility, offer, distraction, dream, or bite of media news feed all the time. That isn’t actually physically possible anyway. Dream your dreams. Live your life. Don’t just give it away. Protect it, preserve it. This very second is history in motion. We are the the dreamers and weavers of the now, all over the world, and from East to West and North to South.

Life and the body exist in grander scopes than just the mind - inundated, entertained, bombarded, torn, confused, pained, overstimulated, idle, lost, longing or weary. There too is the ground beneath us and in spite of us. Make a mark in it. It is the reason we are able to stand at all, and the place to which all biotic life is a part, and the same place to which it feeds on, will be fed from, and to which 8+ billion dreams and bright flashes of our beautiful machines, our bodies, will return.

All to say, write yourself, or send to your family, love, a friend, a first line worker, front door man, a store manager or local beloved business, a future grandchild, or even stranger, an idol, doctor, teacher, or mentor a letter. Oh, and don’t just text, but call your mother!

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Article and quote source:
California State University
Publication
California State University, Northridge

Preserving History During the Digital Age There’s a saying that once something is on the internet, it’s online forever. But as emails replace hard-copy letters and social media accounts are regularly deleted, what information will future historians have as they try to document the important events and gain insight into what life was tru...

Speaking of letter-writing…ATTENTION: ANY STRUGGLING PARENTS‼️

If your child writes a letter out to Santa and mails it to this address below, USPS Operation Santa posts it to the website and someone anonymously will adopt your letter and buy the things (or similar), and it will be shipped to your house from “Santa”!!! All you have to do is write the letter. Make sure to include their name, age, favorite color, clothes size, shoe size, and anything they might want or need! Make sure you put your exact mailing address on the envelope when you mail it so that way the person who adopts your letter to play Santa can ship the gifts! Link follows:

If you would like anymore information go to
https://www.uspsoperationsanta.com/

Fan Mails, or The Art of Articulating Admiration What you can learn from great fan letters written by people who do good work.

Part of why I started this initiative, is because I feel it is important for us to document this time in history. I’m reaching out through this project in a new way today. Instead of sending letters or cards to loved ones, significant influencers in your life, or essential workers, it is also meaningful to write to ourselves. What have you learned and experienced during this global pandemic and time of crisis? FutureMe is a free service for writing a letter to yourself at a time in the future that you choose, either 1 or 5 years from now, etc. Give this resource a try, or do on your own and write about the world in 2020+. Send it to yourself or a child to open in the future. That person will surely value what you have to say. All the best to you and yours
- Melissa Ann Parker

FutureMe: Write a Letter to your Future Self Write a letter to the future and read the public (but anonymous) letters from others. FutureMe has been delivering letters to the future for millions of people since 2002.

We never know when we may lose someone unexpectedly. One way to show love and care is to write someone a letter. Life is a precious and all too vulnerable thing. Just think of the peace and joy a bit of kind communication can bring.

My community has just lost a dear friend, and a mentor of mine, to a tragic car accident on Easter. If I could write letters to the great beyond that could get to him, I surely would.

Writing letters draws forth my hope. Who can we express care for today? How will we choose
to show admiration, respect, sympathy, support, kindness, and love in this one, fragile and beautiful life? 📝 ✉️❤️

A beautiful essay that encourages us to participate in the magic of letter-writing

For the Love of Mail: Letter Writing in a Pandemic My favorite activity, my only faithful daily ritual, is to check the mail. My husband pokes fun, but whenever I’m not traveling he lovingly leaves the task to me. These days, it goes without saying…

One of the greatest impacts of social-distancing during the pandemic has been for children. This time is weighing heavily on their relational development, especially in regard to a sense of connection, belonging, and a kind of commiseration in going through this together. While we’re all trying our best to make up for in-person bonds in the virtual world, something feels just naturally off, right? Letter-writing provides something that’s physically real and feels real. It can help us to nurture ourselves and one another. Here are some letter-writing prompts for elementary and middle school aged children. (And for adults too; I love these!) Grab some pen and paper, an envelope and a stamp. Don’t be afraid to ask for an address! Practicing vulnerability is just a chance to grow.

Bonus reminders - every time you send a letter, you make something that lays, and you support the US Postal Service! 📝 ✉️ 📫

32+ Letter Writing Prompts: Letter Writing Ideas ✉️ | Imagine Forest Over 32 creative letter writing prompts for kids in middle school. Encourage your students to write letters for fun with these prompts.

“LOOKING TO DO SOMETHING THAT FEEDS THE SOUL THIS CHRISTMAS SEASON?

Sign up to be a pen pal to an incarcerated individual.

They would love to receive your Christmas card and letter! To learn more about our work check out the great interview with Compassion Prison Project's Executive Director Fritzi Horstman to showcase the big issues challenging today's prison systems and what we plan to do about it.

DM me for more information on how to get involved with the Compassion Prison Project.” - Katie Shannon

Bringing Compassion to Prisons Founder of the Compassion Prison Project Fritzi Horstman speaks with Francesca Fiorentini on The Conversation about how trauma leads to incarceration. https:...

The Pandemic Postal Service is getting out materials for making and mailing holiday cards to essential workers, friends, and loved ones this year to support people, businesses, and The US Postal Service along the way! Cards and letters are a very meaningful way to share your care, and goodness knows showing gratitude, respect, support, appreciation, and affection for others is especially important in times like these.

Send Joy During a Stressful Year With a Holiday Card You can still connect with loved ones near and far with a holiday card, and referencing the pandemic is OK. Just be mindful of your tone.

What I Learned From Writing Letters To Strangers Across America Writing letters to strangers in almost all 50 states became an outlet to process anxieties about the pandemic. And a reminder of all the ways we are connected.

Expressing gratitude during the coronavirus crisis – video Australian academic, psychologist and author Lea Waters discusses the beneficial power of expressing gratitude during times of stress and uncertainty.

It’s time to write some letters to loved ones, essential workers and patients. We will be starting ‘Mail Out Monday’ starting this coming week. Will you get involved to send encouragement, gratitude and support? Be safe. Be well. Spread love.

U.S. Coronavirus Death Toll Approaches 100,000 Coronavirus infections rose in the U.S. as states eased lockdown measures, while many countries in the Muslim world marked an end to the holy month of Ramadan with fresh restrictions on mass gatherings.

Dear community, friends and family,
A front line worker from the Giant in Potomac, Maryland (store #198) wrote in and asked for our help to boost morale. This is just one example. There is so much work being done and so much gratitude to express. Let’s join together and help raise spirits and show our thanks for essential workers! Where would we be without them? Find addresses for places you shop and services you use!

Here’s how to help. The next time you go to a grocery store (and you can also do this with open cafes, when you get take out, go to the pharmacy, doctor, post office, etc.), please bring a thank you card, poem, a child’s drawing, art, music recording, or other form of appreciation and hand it to a worker. It’s easy to do and it means a lot. Here are a few ways to get involved with this project:

-Wearing gloves, (or sealed in a bag), put a card for your postal worker/fedex/Amazon/UPS delivery person in or attached to your mail box with sanitized hands to surprise them when they make a delivery.
-Give mail by using the post office, blue boxes or marked as outgoing in your own mail box
-Hand your letter, art, etc. in person, to a worker at check out or to an employee at the bakery, deli, seafood, customer service desk or someone who is stocking at the grocer. You can do this in person (wearing a mask please).

* Remember too, you can directly help the USPS heroes as well by leaving a note in the mailbox and buying stamps at the post office or online.

Finally, if you need letter or card writing materials, if you cannot leave the house, or have other needs with mailing, or in general, please let me know. If you have any other ideas or ways you want to get involved, don’t hesitate to reach out.

Thanks so very much, Melissa Ann Parker

Your kids can write cards to nursing homes, others in isolation Even preschoolers can help!

Hello Hampden, Baltimore and beyond! Want to write letters to essential workers? Would your children like to make a drawing or thank you card? Join us and spread some love and gratitude. Thanks, and sending best wishes for safety, healthy and joy to you and yours.

Tell Congress: During This Pandemic, Support Our Public Postal Service Postal workers are keeping the US economy moving during this time of crisis - getting medicine delivered, making e-commerce possible and keeping families connected. It is the emergency distribution system when our country is in crisis. But at this unprecedented time, that work is under threat. The C...

You can help save the United States Postal Service by buying stamps. What do you need stamps for? Writing letters! Ask for the address of a friend or family member and make a drawing, write a letter or a poem. Mail is meaningful. I bet it will make their day and help workers along the way.

If you are aware of essential workers, patients who may desire letters of support, or assisted living homes where letters can be sent, please share as I gather information for everyone. Thanks!

The Pandemic Postal Service promotes correspondence with pen pals, loved ones, friends, & family during the pandemic by sending a weekly written letter in the mail, or wellness wishes to patients and the elderly, and thank you letters or donations to support essential workers.

How writing letters can help you through the coronavirus pandemic If you're homebound with some time on your hands during the COVID-19 emergency, you might as well write a letter or two. Here's why.

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How to say ‘thank you’ to your favorite essential worker during coronavirus Thank a bus driver, a nurse or a restaurant worker with this guide.

When was the last time you wrote someone a letter? The pandemic is a perfect time to really show appreciation and care to essential workers and loved ones. I am putting a list together for ways to mail thank you cards to doctors, nurses, postal workers, grocery store staff, and other essential workers we can write to. In the meantime, put a thank you note on your mailbox, bring a thank you card to the store, make a plan with a friend or family member you are socially distanced from to write, and send weekly letters in the mail.

Want to support the United States Post Office and their essential workers? Find out how and buy some stamps to help out!

How You Can Support the USPS As a result of the pandemic, the United States Postal Service (USPS) is currently in need of financial help—with companies sending out far fewer advertisements, mail volume has dropped by a third, drastically impacting cash flow. To make matters worse, the president has threatened to veto any stim...

If you would like to connect with someone who may benefit from a letter in the mail, connect here! Introduce yourselves and exchange mailing information privately.