Holiday Cards, Postal Letters and Old “Five and Dimes”

Dec 15, 2009 by Terry Bryan Russell

An envelope addressed to me this week somehow ended the work week on a more relaxing note.  I received a letter from my mom the other day.  The holiday season is underway, and the New Year is fast approaching.  The paper case seemed much easier to open, as compared to looking for the appropriate “hot key,” or “tool bar,” to interpret my regular, annual, electronic greetings.

As I opened the letter, the smell of “time” and “shop worn” paper filled the corner of my room, next to the computer desk.  A memory of the old “Five and Dime” store my mom used to work through the day, slowly entered my mind.

I began to read the words, “Have A Happy Day!” with a “Smiley Face” hand drawn in salutation.  The closing was well worth a longer moment of admiration, versus any holiday greeting I receive from a hundred or a thousand dollar computer program.  Oddly speaking, my mom still has the ability to hand draw “Smiley Faces” better than me, which is holiday greeting enough.

My “window shopping” at Christmas this year for many cards and graphics wasn’t with Windows 2000, or the XP version.  In turn, I made a “wish list” for Christmas asking all my family to use ball point pens and paper, instead of electronic text.

Traditional handwriting that we have almost forgotten, nonetheless, can turn a fond recollection, perhaps putting a smile on all our faces.

Frequently however, I still look through the window at that old drug store.  Things aren’t a “nickel or a dime” any more, and I’m still amazed the “battery operated” robot could actually talk, in the day of “way back when.”   I’m so glad that it didn’t say “You’ve Got Mail!” with all the rest of the dummies.  In addition, a simple greeting written to family or a friend may be a better answer to a repeated computer electronic mail cliché.  It may even bring back a memory or two.


Terry Bryan Russell is a 41 year old male who studies literature and freelance writing in his spare time. Other interests include full figure illustration, portraits, design, and landscape illustration. Terry is divorced with loving children and enjoys many forms of literature he says, ranging from “hard news articles, to poetry; My number one is short story fiction.”