Letters on the Intrepid

Before the invention of personal computers and mobile phones, do you remember paper, pencil, and pen? And post stamps?

I remember as a child, I used to love scouring for old letters. They aren’t all love letters. Some times, it’s just letters between families and friends.

When I visited the Intrepid not too long ago, I was amazed to find some beautiful hand written letters and even diaries from sailors who had been on the ship.

The handwritten notes range from very legible writing to some very fast handwritten cursive writing. Imagine, they didn’t even have spell check yet.

Who knows how many drafts were made to write these letters? But imagine, how slow your mind must have been to write what your brain was saying? But there’s something meditative about taking every word you want to write in a mindful, slow, and considerate speed, and often makes you aware of what you write before posting out there to offend someone.