They are latchkeys to the soul. Enduring the wasting ravages of time and circumstance, they simultaneously expose our hearts and put their hands around our needs. They are words.
"Like apples of gold in settings of silver," so says the Bible, "is a word spoken in the right circumstances." The simile may be obscure, but the meaning is clear: words communicate. And written words are doubly potent.
There's an effort underway to locate, collect and catalog thousands of personal letters written by famed American novelist Ernest Hemingway. Reasons vary, but a primary motivation is to gain more insight into the man himself than he reveals through his published writings.
There are already an estimated 8,000 to 10,000 letters in libraries and private collections, but a worldwide search hopes to ferret out others. What secrets will they reveal about the Nobel Prize-winning author who committed suicide in 1961? Hemingway himself described his letters as "often libelous, always indiscreet, an often obscene."
At the opposite pole stands another famous American who cheerfully corresponded for a half-century with children who wrote him. He also described his own letters: "Answering these letters… has been a great relief from sleepless nights haunted by public anxieties, and they are a restoration of confidence in America's future." He was Herbert Hoover, our 31st president.
To one young writer's inquiry about how he spent his time, Hoover personally answered, "My secretaries might use too much time and paper if they replied to your inquiry, so I will do it for you." One of Hemingway's letters of that era invited then-powerful Sen. Joseph McCarthy to come to Cuba to fight. Revealing words.
Hoover encouraged his young correspondents to work hard, be honest, to get an education and to play by the rules. Motivating words.
A good friend confides that his wife carries in her purse a sympathy card written in a time of painful family tragedy. When shadows come, she fetches the card and reviews its words–and sunshine returns. Comforting words.
And you can't imagine the boost this anonymous handwritten response to a column gave me: "These few words of yours have grabbed my heart and won't let go. These 25 words are a complete sermon without any other adornments thrown in." Encouraging words.
Or this card from a long-time friend: "You were with me when my mother died 20 years ago. You've been with me every time I've had a setback–and you're with me today." Enduring words.
A good letter costs something in time and emotional energy. One elderly reader struggled, "I type with one finger. Hope you can read it." Her effort shouts. Grateful words.
With pen and paper you can do what no doctor on earth can achieve. For as Rudyard Kipling noted, "Words are, of course, the most powerful drug used by mankind." Perhaps someone who is discouraged or suffering or lonely needs this unique medicine–a written note from you.
Do it now.
Copyright 2002 James McAlister
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