The lost art of writing an old-fashioned letter

During my many years of teaching, I often spent time teaching “life skills.” Life skills were those skills that supposedly my students would use throughout their lives. One such life skill was the ability to write a friendly letter.

I recall spending many hours each year teaching my students the correct way to write a friendly letter. They learned the proper way to write the date, greeting, body, salutation, and signature. Then they put this new knowledge into practice by exchanging pen pal letters with other students from around the country. Of course, my students wrote these letters the old fashioned way. They wrote in longhand, and they used cursive writing.

It is sad to say, but I believe the art of writing a friendly letter using longhand and cursive is perhaps gone forever. I cannot remember the last time I received a friendly letter in the mail. Any correspondence I now get from family and friends comes by text messages, emails, Facebook, or other social media. I have to admit that I miss opening an envelope containing a handwritten letter.

Receiving letters in the mail was a common and welcomed occurrence in Mayberry. I have watched many episodes of The Andy Griffith Show where a friendly letter in the mail was an essential part of the story. Aunt Bee once received an unexpected letter from a long lost beau from her past. Roger Hanover was interested in seeing Aunt Bee again. It only took her a few minutes before she sat down and wrote to Roger, inviting him for a visit. However, Roger was not the man she used to know. Aunt Bee learned a valuable lesson with her letter writing. Perhaps she should not rekindle old flames, but instead, let them remain a wonderful memory from the past.

Andy once received a letter from Luke Comstock, a man Andy had shot in the leg during a robbery. Of course, when Barney read the letter, he “read between the lines” and created a lot of havoc believing Luke was coming to Mayberry to gun down Andy. I recall getting chain letters years ago. Barney received one such letter, and it said if he broke the chain, he would have bad luck. He received the letter just before he had to have his shooting qualifications, which caused him to panic. Barney, you see, was very superstitious. So he insisted on sending out letters, much to the chagrin of Andy.

Perhaps the most poignant letter ever received in Mayberry was the letter Andy received from Barney following a class reunion, and Barney’s return to Raleigh. Andy brought the letter home and read it to Aunt Bee while they sat on the front porch. It was the best kind of letter to receive — a letter from one friend to another.

Ken Anderson, the “Mayberry Guru,” can be reached at themayberryguru@gmail.com and www.themayberryguru. com

BE OUR

G UEST

KEN ANDERSON “THE MAYBERRY GURU”