This morning, I went to the post office to check my P.O. box. It was a lovely winter morning, freezing cold, crispy clear. The first rays of the sun touched the mountain peaks.
January delight – I felt like singing and swinging.
Soundtrack of my Youth
A song came to my mind: Please Mr Postman.
And I remembered John Lennon’s voice, energetic and exuberant, while longing for a card or a letter in the postman’s bag.
Please … wait a minute, wait a minute … o yeah …
Back then, the guys from Liverpool had been around for some time. But this was the first Beatles song that I listened to with full awareness. It was so contagious that it made me jump right into what the rather conservative and grumpy German radio people of those days called the “stupid noise of long-haired imbeciles“.
How I loved the great bands of the Sixties and their music – the soundtrack of my teenage years.
Mail today - far from romantic
What an unromantic contrast at the post office of modern days.
No more Beatle poetry. No more longing for letters from people you missed.
My P.O.box? Boring.
Only an invoice, new terms and conditions of an insurance, some advertisements and other stuff for the waste paper basket.
Am I looking forward to some letter or card nowadays? Do I still feel curiosity or anticipation?
Not really.
Very rarely, I find something „personal“ in my mailbox. When it happens it is always a wonderful surprise usually coming from a dear friend. Another boomer, of course.
Today, almost all communication has shifted to email or PN. And I make considerable use of it.
The days of handwritten letters have gone for me, too.
Everlasting Individuality
Has the internet made contacts more distant, impersonal and clinical?
I don’t think so. It all depends on what you put into your communication. If you can keep your individual, personal „sound“ and content that is special, whatever medium you use.
The two of us have chosen this blog, for instance, and we are very happy about you being part of our new adventure with „Big Paul“ and our exploration of digital nomadism.
And since Paul is running smoothly now, we will soon – depending on the weather – take the next step:
Starting renovation and build-up of the van.
So, another story on the doorstep.
