[kieckerjan]

I have been a correspondent all my life, starting long before computers and e-mail showed up (at least in my life). Thoughts would be exchanged on paper and in handwriting and through the grateful use of the postal system. (There is nothing like hearing the sound of the mailbox and racing downstairs to find a heavily stamped, bulky envelope on the doormat with your name on it in a familiar hand, but that is another matter.)

Part of corresponding that way is becoming familiar with each other's handwriting. This can be laborious but it is rewarding in its own right.

When I was at the university I had a lengthy correspondence with a friend who had, even at that tender age, a well exercised hand: thick expressive staccato lines in pitch black fountain pen ink. They looked more like the outlines of spiky mountain ranges than words. Deciphering her handwriting would mean you had to go slowly, letting the words sink in one by one. Which only enhanced their impact for she wrote achingly beautiful letters. Her handwriting befitted her fearless character, complemented her writing and forced me to pay close attention. Try saying that about an e-mail in Helvetica 12pt.