Why writing a ‘thank-you’ note trumps a text every time

How coincidental can it get? Just as I am in the process of writing my Christmas gift thank-you notes, I see this in the Dec. 30 Island Packet: “One day, people will stop writing thank-you notes forever” by David Lauderdale.

I enjoy all of David’s columns. I don’t know how old he is, but judging from the photo that runs with his column, I can see he’s probably not too far behind me in terms of “having dug his share of taters” from the garden of life. So a lot of his thoughts correlate with mine.

In fact, my Bluffton Packet column of June 1 fed off one of his. David’s was called “Art of sitting fading away” and discussed cellphones and our young people. My thoughts on cellphones are judgmental, even though I have one. It’s an old-style, fit-in-the-pocket “flip-phone.”

Surely this technology keeps us in touch with the world 24/7. But I, for one, get the feeling of being ostracized by friends and relatives who have a fancier cellphone in which the user can press a button, speak to it and have it type out a text message to the person you’re getting in touch with. Me, I just dial my number and speak when the person answers. I love hearing a human voice. If you have something to say to me, call, don’t text.

At least that’s what a person has to do with the other anachronism, the home telephone. I have one of those, too, installed on a post in my kitchen and four other rooms in the house. Hello! Land line phones are really chic even if they belong to an earlier time. When the electricity is off for days on end, as it was when Hurricane Matthew blew in, a cellphone is going to die sooner or later. Hello again! My land line still has a dial tone, allowing my “fingers to do the walking through the yellow pages” for help. Most folks nowadays depend solely on cellphones. Some of them don’t even have a phone directory in the home because they’re used to asking Siri for anything they need. If the lights go out in Georgia — or anywhere else — they’re up the creek without a paddle.

But back to thank-you notes. My granddaughter, just shy of 30, bless her heart, still takes the time to send me thank-you notes for my support in her various endeavors, for mending a piece of her clothing on my sewing machine or for any of the things I lovingly do for her. It dearly warms my heart to receive her handwritten notes.

Some folks are under the impression such notes are only sent for wedding gifts, which means my last one would have been sent nearly 60 years ago. Weddings aren’t the only time they should be written.

Anytime you receive a gift, enjoy a nice meal at a friend’s home, or experience a nice gesture or an act of kindness, these are the times to express your appreciation in words, on paper, and placed in a stamped envelope and mailed. Do not text your thanks.

As Clint Eastwood used to say, a handwritten thank-you note “makes my day.”

This story was originally published January 9, 2017 at 6:46 AM with the headline "Why writing a ‘thank-you’ note trumps a text every time."