It was the summer of 1983. I had just graduated from Union County High School and was waiting to begin attending Lincoln Memorial University in the fall. I knew that I would be living on campus and that I would have a roommate. The college sent me his name, but nothing else. Of course I was somewhat apprehensive about having to live in such close quarters with a total stranger. My concern was greatly alleviated when my future roommate wrote me a letter more or less introducing himself to me. What a difference a letter can make!
My roommate and I survived fall quarter very well, though we were nothing alike. He was a baseball player, athletic, from the north. I had not one athletic bone in my body and lived about one hour’s drive from the college. Fast forward to early winter quarter 1984. There was a deep snow on the ground, and class was dismissed. My roommate had received a “Dear John” letter from his true love back home. The poor fellow really loved his girl, and had spent all fall quarter being true and faithful to her, trying to do his best as a college man to make her proud. He and I sat on the bottom of one of the stairs in the Campus Center, and he unashamedly cried like a baby over the breakup.
What a difference that letter made in his life! He had been teased by his teammates for being so “reserved” in his attempts to be true to his love. Now all holds were barred! He began to have the conventional good time that a lot of college teenagers pursue (alcohol and girls). I remember one particular evening that my fairly intoxicated roommate and a friend drove across the mountain into Middlesboro very late at night to purchase, of all things, a raw pineapple. Though his personality changed, he and I continued to get along well.
Personal letters are almost a thing of the past. I have one friend from my LMU days who occasionally sends me handwritten letters, and it is always a treat. Now communication is done by Facebook, email, text, and other electronic social means. This makes the flow of information faster, if less personable and meaningful. It doesn’t take long to send an electronic message or sentiment, but someone who takes the time to handwrite a personal letter is investing a lot of effort at keeping in touch. A letter still makes a difference in my life.
And letters continue making a difference in lives even years after they are received. When my basement flooded last week, one of the things that was almost ruined was a box of letters I had saved. Among the treasures included were: a card my now deceased oldest half-sister sent me for my thirty-first birthday; a card from a dear sister-in-law grieving that sister’s death; a thank you card that my now deceased third grade teacher sent to thank me for the flowers I sent when her husband passed; a card from a dear lady that I met at LMU who I commissioned to make me a ceramic church and Christmas tree and for whom I served as pallbearer; a couple of very heartfelt letters from a relative to whom I was once very close. What a difference those letters made in my life. Even after a quarter century or more, they stand as a reminder of those who have loved and still love me.
And speaking of life and love, changing one letter in a word can convey an entirely different message. One of my favorite nephews is a preacher, and he recently conducted a wedding ceremony for one of his cousins. He was reading the vows that had been prepared for him by the couple, and he meant to say, “The man shall be united to his wife.” What he actually said was, “The man shall be untied to his wife.” Interesting. Tying the knot versus untying the knot! Was this couple marrying for better or marring their lives irreparably? I’m sure they’ve tried to make their marriage work—will they be successful or just become tired from the effort? Only time will tell.
How long has it been since a letter made a difference in your life? How long since a letter from you made a difference in someone else’s life?
Just a few days ago I received a card from a dear neighbor who commented upon one of the thoughts I shared from my email world. How gratifying and validating it is to be read and appreciated by such a special person. Until next time, once again I leave you, Dear Reader, with some thoughts from my world of email.

Doctors got together to study the effects of alcohol on a person's walk,
and the results were staggering.

If one places a tiny amount of liquor on a scorpion,
it will instantly go mad and sting itself to death.
(Who who discovered this?)

My wife and I had words,
but I didn't get to use mine.

God made man before woman
so as to give him time to think of an answer
for her first question.