Letter from John Steinbeck

http://www.lettersofnote.com/2012/12/america-is-like-that-second-kind-of.html

Ahhhh real letters.  Written on paper, placed in an envelope, stamped,  and sent through the postal service.   I miss them.  Close friends and family would likely tell you my e-mails ARE letters, as I ignore the "acceptable, straight-to-the-point" point of e-messages.  When I finally surrendered and included a minimal amount of texting in my phone plan, they thought they'd be getting shorter messages from me.  Ha!  For this lover of words whose lifeblood is  communicating with people I love, texting is a sacrilege.   I simply cannot, will not, get in step with a drummer playing a tune I cannot recognize.  I refuse to "keep it brief."  If anyone is unwilling to spend time reading a paragraph or two (or three) from me, then I can't believe they value me or my presence in their lives very much. 

At any rate, the linked letter is from author John Steinbeck to his friend Adlai Stevenson, sharing, among other things,  his feelings about Americans' consumer gluttony at Christmas. He states his case far more eloquently than I just did!  Enjoy.