Text, Email or Write

Last week I did a "What's Bugging You" report on the vanishing practice of handwriting letters.

I blamed our reluctance to put pen to paper on technology such as instant messages, email and online social networking like Myspace and Dogster. Even my dog, Willamena, insists on having a page because her boyfriend, Otis, has one.

Don't get me wrong. I like the ease and immediacy of keeping in touch and getting to know new people. I just want both! But I can't remember the last time I received or mailed a letter. I started thinking about it while I was digging through an old popcorn tin of letters, all about 20-years-old. With it, I have a  stamp collection, cool postmarks from all over the world, pictures and interesting letters from people, some I have to admit I don't even remember. However, young people who rely on the internet to communicate with pen pals and write love letters aren't going to have the memories. I mean, really, when is the last time you printed an email that you ended up saving? Plus I only keep sent pictures as long as they stay in my inbox.

I started thinking about the issue again yesterday after receiving an email from a Peter Kovar in Germany. Attached was this picture to the left, with a message reading: hi heather,
my name is peter kovar and i'm a university lecturer in germany.
i find your e-mail adress by seaching a picture of my own. do you know something of your regional provenance?
i wrote this e-mail simply because of your friendly picture and your name.
i send you greetings from germany
peter kovar

I think getting an email from someone with my same last name in Germany is pretty cool. It didn't come with a postage stamp, but it did prompt me to look again at the region my family is from.  I thanked him for the email and told him my Kovars were from Ublo, Moravia Czechoslovakia. He wrote back saying that's the basic area his family is from as well.

I'm not sure how long his picture will remain in my inbox. I'll try to find a way to save it like I try to save some email addresses that somehow have disappeared whenever I need them. But another thought about those old letters: I wonder what I wrote in return and if anyone still has mine? Oh, no! Maybe instantly deleted text messaging is the way to go.

Five Years Later

Its one of those moments in history where you will never forget where you were when you heard.

I was getting ready to spend the day covering the New York City Democratic Mayoral Primary. When the first plane hit, I started worrying how the "accident" would affect my planned political coverage. Things unfolded pretty quickly after that, and ultimately the New York City Primary Elections were re-scheduled for September 25th, 2001.

Everyone remembers where he or she was on September 11th, 2001. It's known as a day that changed the lives of Americans forever. So it seems appropriate on this five year anniversary to take a look at where we are today. Yes, the country is still involved in war and security measures have been tightened. However, are we any different as individuals than we were five years ago? For the families who lost loved ones in the attacks, I'm sure their hearts will never be the same. I can't begin to understand the loss for them or their struggle to ensure a proper memorial. Can the average American name at least one of the nearly 3,000 people killed that day?

Needing to do a little meditation on the subject, I jogged along Riverside Park from the Upper West Side to Chambers Street yesterday. It was a nice sunny breezy day that had rollerbladers, bikers, families and all kinds out enjoying the view and the weather. Steps from the World Trade Center site, families were in the park in high spirits. One of the most touching images was a little girl singing while shaking some sort of tambourine over her head, and behind her I could see a crane with the American Flag still hanging on it. I haven't been to the area in at least two years. But instead of the fence memorial with posters and teddy bears and messages, it seems the area has picked up life. I noticed many new residential high rises surrounding the site. Of course the site itself is still empty. But it's cleaned up. There is even this website dedicated to renovation in the area.

Anything so painful is bound to be controversial. The planning and rebuilding hasn't come easy. Memorials have been placed around Connecticut to commemorate the lives ended that day. This picture is an artist's rendering of a memorial proposed for Greenwich. The statue would be placed where the Twin Towers were visible from Connecticut. Robert Perless has an exhibit at the  Flinn Library.

Looking back five years, thinking about where we are today, makes me wonder what it will be like in 2011.