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Post by alcyone on Jul 28, 2018 18:08:35 GMT
Now, in this time of Mercury Retrograde, I somehow thought it was the right time to tip a glass of my favorite beverage on the ground for correspondences lost. Of course, these things happen. It's part of the hobby we have and it's part of life. Still, I miss every pen pal who I ever wrote who didn't write back. If you read that and said "But YOU didn't write back to ME!" -- I did, sorry I didn't follow up to see if you got it. Or I didn't get your reply. I have had letters lost in the mail before. I keep a little list of people who I haven't heard from in over 2 months. Some I follow up on, some I haven't. Anyway, here's an invitation: If we have a dropped correspondence and you'd like to write again, or just want to let me know how you are, that'd be swell. And if not, that's totally fine too. Know that I enjoyed reading and responding to everything. Also, feel free to hijack the thread for your own general messages to those whose correspondences stopped.
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Post by katiel on Jul 28, 2018 19:12:59 GMT
I feel just the same way! And ditto to anyone who hasn’t heard from me. I only have two letters in my reply pile right now (both only 2 weeks old), so if I got your letter, I’ve written back. If you haven’t heard from me, feel free to check in and we can try again. And I, too, raise a glass to all those “pen friends” who have been lost in the past. May your lives have turned out beautifully and your hearts be full.
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Post by stompie on Jul 29, 2018 18:53:45 GMT
Don't think that has happened to me yet but hey, any excuse to raise a glass in solidarity !
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mskafka
Crayons
Posts: 40
Looking for Penpals?: Yes. Global penpals welcome
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Post by mskafka on Jul 30, 2018 5:20:07 GMT
It's happened to me and it was very painful. For me, it was like losing a brother. It was all very strange, we had been writing for years and all of a sudden, silence. He no longer answered my emails and never gave an explanation. It's been 3 years since then and I still wonder what did I do wrong.
But I have no right to complain. I've had a very, very busy year full of new challenges (including a regular job) and another bad experience with a male pen pal (I have a curse, I tell you), so I've made some sort of break. I had no energy to explain why, and I feel awful about it as none of my pen pals deserve it. So I'm also using this post as some sort of apology to all of you who are wondering where I am. I'm sorry.
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Post by mailartist on Jul 30, 2018 12:57:32 GMT
I think that there will be some sort of wax and wane to correspondence, even among those who are actively committed to snail mail. Life happens, or enthusiasm may dip for a while (loss of words . . . failure of the muse . . . laziness?), but for me, it eventually returns.
Also, sometimes my letters are longer or more involved, and those just take longer than the breezy "Hey, howya doin?" note. So that factors in (for me, anyway) in how many letters I can write, and how often.
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Post by tramplingrose on Jul 30, 2018 14:43:24 GMT
I wonder how many dropped or missed correspondences are sort of self-fulfilling prophecies, if you will. There’s been a lag in response time, and the person who’s to respond delays even longer, and it’s sort of a whole that just gets deeper and deeper.
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Post by Bob on Jul 30, 2018 18:20:27 GMT
And sometimes mail is stolen or thrown away.
best to all,
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Post by sails on Aug 4, 2018 14:21:41 GMT
It's happened to me and it was very painful. For me, it was like losing a brother. It was all very strange, we had been writing for years and all of a sudden, silence. He no longer answered my emails and never gave an explanation. It's been 3 years since then and I still wonder what did I do wrong. But I have no right to complain. I've had a very, very busy year full of new challenges (including a regular job) and another bad experience with a male pen pal (I have a curse, I tell you), so I've made some sort of break. I had no energy to explain why, and I feel awful about it as none of my pen pals deserve it. So I'm also using this post as some sort of apology to all of you who are wondering where I am. I'm sorry. Is it possible you pen pal was ill, or even passed away? I lost two very dear to me this year, but was fortunate to hear of their passing from other friends and family.
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mskafka
Crayons
Posts: 40
Looking for Penpals?: Yes. Global penpals welcome
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Post by mskafka on Aug 8, 2018 17:09:26 GMT
It's happened to me and it was very painful. For me, it was like losing a brother. It was all very strange, we had been writing for years and all of a sudden, silence. He no longer answered my emails and never gave an explanation. It's been 3 years since then and I still wonder what did I do wrong. But I have no right to complain. I've had a very, very busy year full of new challenges (including a regular job) and another bad experience with a male pen pal (I have a curse, I tell you), so I've made some sort of break. I had no energy to explain why, and I feel awful about it as none of my pen pals deserve it. So I'm also using this post as some sort of apology to all of you who are wondering where I am. I'm sorry. Is it possible you pen pal was ill, or even passed away? I lost two very dear to me this year, but was fortunate to hear of their passing from other friends and family. I'm so sorry to hear that! It must be really hard. Mine is healthy as an apple and alive. He's very active on Twitter. I guess I have to accept he doesn't want to be in touch any more.
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mlp2147
Crayons
Posts: 15
Looking for Penpals?: Yes. Global penpals welcome
Country I live in is: US
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Post by mlp2147 on Aug 9, 2018 3:08:53 GMT
Lost in the mail is a real thing... My last deployment saw about 85% of my letters written home to my wife and daughter "lost" or not delivered. I can only assume a similar occurrence happened as I witnessed in Iraq back in 2003 where the mail was so far behind and guys were already returning home that they missed their mail and care packages from their loved ones that it was dumped by the truck load into a big huge burn pile as they didn't have the time or resources to resort and send back to the states. Sad but it is a reality...
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Post by blessed on Aug 27, 2018 16:29:45 GMT
I owe a big apology to several pen pals who I haven't written to in months (yes, months! sigh) but I had underestimated how busy work, studies and family life would keep me and how little energy would be left for things like letter writing and other hobbies like reading etc.
I am now slowly (and sadly I mean slowly) tackling my reply pile...so please continue to be patient with me if you haven't heard from me.
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Post by radellaf on Aug 29, 2018 16:56:32 GMT
If not an apology (anyone who's written me a few times know I'm slow, like a few months each slow) at least an update. It's not like having a job this year has taken up all my time, but between a lack of writing and more or less abandoning World of Warcraft (which I've played hours a week since 2005), something I don't quite get is up. In my free time I just want to watch movies or shows, sleep extra, or read a bit at my old favorite indie coffee shop. It has been great having some "disposable income" for the first time in years (tho one could argue it all should go to restoring the rainy-year fund), so I've bought some great pens, beaucoup ink (just got the MV Gemstone set - with Onyx, just what I need, another black ink), and even Pipsticks sticker packs. Plus all the latest cool stamps. And some cards from Target plus Rhodia from the June Raleigh Pen Show. And a Jaxman Nichia (high color-rendering-index) 3 LED flashlight to illuminate the writing area of the desk and make the ink extra pretty. New supplies are usually a sure way to get excited about writing, but at this point I have new pens with new ink that have yet to write more than a line or two. And not just some extra Jinhaos.
IDK, lemme say definitely this weekend I'll get two written. Maybe that'll get me started again. Once I write a couple it should be easier to remember, viscerally rather than just thinking about it, why I like letters so much.
It's weird to miss doing something, that you could easily do, but just aren't.
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Post by gellerbing on Oct 8, 2018 18:58:07 GMT
i know that feeling too well. some pals who have stopped writing i havent thought much of, but theres always that one who you think would never desert you like that and it hurts. happened to me recently when somebody deleted me from facebook
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Post by penguy on Apr 14, 2019 1:18:10 GMT
In just the past couple days I have been going through and checking addresses, and updating, and noting pen friends I haven't heard from. My inbox was empty...I finally caught up...so I looked for people I hadn't heard from in a while (in some cases a year or more) and sat down and wrote them a letter. Perhaps it is something like priming a pump to get things flowing again. If they don't reply, well you have tried.
And, yes there are some I really miss hearing from.
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Post by distractedmom on Apr 15, 2019 16:56:36 GMT
I don't know how I missed this thread last year. I think it's a good, important one. Last April-June I just took a hiatus. I didn't enjoy it because letter writing is my "me" time. It's my time to have slow conversations and enjoy the beauty of inks and papers and smile as I re-read my letters. But life was simply too busy to write so I tried to send postcards to anyone who was waiting for a letter from me so they wouldn't think I was a big jerk. Like penguy, I just went through my correspondence logs to see who I hadn't heard from and found a couple of correspondences where I think things got lost in the mail. I have had a couple drop without explanation and I am not so much hurt as I am paranoid that I said something offensive...
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