“Hoping you’ll find comfort in the memories that are yours to cherish always, and strength in the companionship of those who share your loss,” wrote Coastal Star reporter Rich Pollack to me following my mother’s death in 2007.
The handwritten note was tucked into a thoughtfully chosen card — “tasteful,” Mom would have said approvingly.
I stumbled over this and many other family “Fabergé eggs” while pruning the guest room closets and cabinets. I would recommend this activity to all my fellow septuagenarians.
Those cedar chests and bankers boxes that have been gathering dust in out-of-the-way nooks and crannies are full of memorabilia that unleash waves of endorphins you just can’t get from mahjong, bingo or Netflix.
Perfunctory thoughts and prayers on Facebook and sad-faced emojis on Twitter are all too easily tapped out on our iPhone keyboards. It’s so much less effort than putting pen to paper and expressing a genuine emotion to a grieving family. Thanks, Rich, for the reminder that snail mail is a timeless gift.
Florence Snyder,
Tallahassee
Note: Ms. Snyder’s mother, Adelaide Snyder, spent 28 years at FAU, handling public information and community relations and writing speeches. In 1980, she was named vice president for university relations and development. She also was executive director of the FAU Foundation.
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