To Whom it May Concern

We're all familiar with the idea of the dreaded cover letter; a professional representation of the choicest parts of our character unmarred by foibles, mistakes, or anything bordering on real life.  But many have, I believe, lost the delicate and beautiful art of personal correspondence.  When it comes to the flesh and blood (or should I say wood pulp and ink) world of honest to goodness pen to paper letter writing we often opt for the insta-obsession of our age and "shoot you an email."
I will be the last one to say that technology is all bad, I love being able to quickly communicate or talk face to face with people in different states or continents.  But my thinly veiled inner Luddite rests just below the surface to remind me that I was and am a hopeless Romantic.  There will always be something nearly magical in knowing that someone took time to write a real letter.
I'm setting myself up for a bit of failure here.  While I love many people and would love to provide for them the aforementioned nearly-magical experience I am quite horrid at regularly corresponding in the idyllic manner I describe.  But this month, the challenge is set: 4 very real letters a week.  And off we go!
I've done some research on the history of letters and plan to post my results on Repeat the Sounding Joy.
~ALB