Do you remember back when postal mail was magic?
The mailperson was a blue-collar Santa, and my mailbox was Santa’s bag. On any given day, opening the miniature doorway might reveal a package or envelope of mystery. It didn’t even have to be December, and there I was, tearing into a present with perhaps only a vague notion of what might be inside.
Cereal box top mail-ins, Kool-Aid point redemptions, comic book order forms, and postcard sweepstakes were the order of the day. The possibilities were endless, and I was keen on exploring every surprise my mailbox had to offer.
Only, these days, the magic has evaporated. Gone off into the atmosphere somewhere.
This letter I’m writing you now, three decades ago it may have arrived in an envelope, packed with some stickers and a promise that someday soon, you’d receive another one. Maybe it’s silly to miss those days when physical mail does still exist, but it’s not so much the loss of the medium as it is the loss of our younger selves.
If you did get that physical newsletter in your mailbox tomorrow, would it make you feel the same way as it did when you were a twelve-year-old looking forward to that rare communication from your favorite band or author?
I’m not so sure, but I do hope you answered with an emphatic yes!
The good news is, there are still some that try to keep the magic alive. Members of my Patreon, for instance, can get a quarterly physical letter, and once a year, a free Halloween mystery box. And I know there are others out there, doing the same.
If you’re looking to get some of that old magic back, you can also watch some of the nostalgic videos I write scripts for, over on RetroDaze. Earlier today we published a wild ride into the past so we could experience the Thundercats Live stage show at Madison Square Garden.
And I just finished writing a script about videogame mailers from the 80s and 90s, which is probably why postal mail was on my mind today.
But, you tell me. Am I the only weirdo who is nostalgic for mail? What kind of special parcels did you send away for as a kid? Do you still get excited for letters and packages the way you used to?
Anyway, we’ll talk soon. I hope you have a totally excellent weekend!
Your friend in horror,
Tony.