Email and online bill pay have really gone far in destroying first class postage. By 2011, less than 50% of bills were paid via mail and first class postage. Other than my credit card bills, which I pay online, all of my bills, including my mortgage, are on autopay. Set it up and forget it, right? It is convenient. I never once considered the impact this could have on the employment of tens of thousands of people or my own, cherished, free daily mail delivery.

I’m not going to go back to writing checks, but I will keep making these cards. When I’ve had enough of this silly card-making business, I’ll make an effort to continue to write. I will rethink holiday cards (I write fewer every year as visions of landfills full of cards dance in my head). Which is more important? Saving free daily mail delivery (including medications to seniors and others), low cost mail, a ton of jobs, charitable works, etc. or wasting less paper? And is it a waste of paper to write someone a letter? Certainly, unless there is some sort of historical value to your writing, the letters are all eventually going to go in the garbage. If you’ve received a COVID card, maybe you cherish it because you know me and care about me — and you vow to keep it forever. Sadly, your forever (with the ability to keep material objects) does have an expiration date (I’m sorry, I don’t mean to bring you down) and when you are gone, the story of the card will be gone and the card itself will probably be put in the trash. On the bright side, paper is less offensive garbage than, say, plastic.

I won’t keep finger babbling here. I’ll confine the rest of the conversation to my ill-equipped brain. For now, I’m going to keep writing and drawing and mailing.

When was the last time you put a stamp on something? Please consider writing someone at least once per week.