Other people's mail written April 28, 2009

Other People’s Mail
Written April 28, 2009

The mail races are sort of in their marathon stage. I care less about how fast a letter arrives and more that it is written. Most of the sprinters have dropped out, finding that pen and paper in an electronic age is just too complicated. I applaud their efforts and to the best of my ability, have tried to remain in contact through e-mails. Now, it’s the endurance correspondents remaining. I have a strong core, and I have no doubt they will pull me through the finish line with their upbeat missives about life, the universe, and, well, everything.

In particular, I must thank Anne from BC who has responded to every letter I sent, Kathy from BC who takes time from med school insanity to encourage me, Kat from BC who rejoins the pack just when I think she’s out of the race, Father Keenan from BC who sends fantastic Christmas cards, Norm from GS because it’s rare that after 7 years we still have so much to say, Moses who is gone but hasn’t forgotten, Sarah who e-mails to tell me there’s a letter in the mail, Aunt Elaine who is generous with photos, family news, and granola bars, and of course the parental all-stars. I think I can count the number of times there hasn’t been a letter from one or both of them in the mail box on one hand.

In addition to my gratitude, there’s another mail race update! Sudan not only joined the mail race, but also did so successfully. After nearly two months of planes, trains, and camel caravans, a letter mailed by my father in Juba (February 13, 2009) arrived at the post office in Mary (April 23, 2009), with a layover in Karachi. I’m accumulating quite the collection of postmarks. No pages were missing, and it didn’t even look to be open. So, faint-of-heart, fear not because wherever it’s from, the mail will go through.