I'm a voyeur...

Well that certainly got your attention didn't it?

I am, though but not in the naughty sense (btw: Samantha, Cori...yeah, and the rest of you...I can hear you snickering...stop yourselves). I mean in the sense that I like to look at people's lives. I wonder about what they are thinking or feeling. What the world is like for them on a daily basis. I check the blogs of friends (and the friends of friends) on a fairly regular basis. Dare I admit I get a little disappointed if they don't update them for days at a time (you know who you are). I'm just curious about it all. One of the things I've found myself most curious about was life in the past...no, not passed lives...but what was it like to live in the 30s, 40s or 50s. Given my lack of family, I don't have grandparents or great aunts that I can call up and say "Hey, tell me what it was like"

However, one day spending some time with Marcie I was introduced to a whole new way of learning. She collects stamps and covers (some with letters), primarily for the aesthetics as she is a graphic designer, but sometimes the contents can be an even greater find. We were looking thru her collection when I decided to read some of the letters. She had work to get done, so left me to my reading.

Some were a bit dull. Family is fine, how's yours? Not much detail. But there were others:

It was the 1960s. A mother was going to jail for drug related charges and was writing to her son. Hoping that he would take care of his siblings and not follow in her footsteps.

Another started off with the usual small talk, but on the last page written at the top it said "For your eyes only". The author asked his friend not to reveal to anyone what he was about to say. I wondered what was to follow. And for a brief...albeit very brief...moment I hesitated. Part of me felt bad for continuing on, but I did. His wife was very sick. The Dr. wasn't sure if she was going to make it. It was so very hard on his family......it turned out she had breast cancer. Yes, for those of you who know me well...I did cry. I also searced thru the stack of remaining letters hoping that I would find something else from him. That his wife would be ok. I didn't find any additional letters.

Fortunately, I found something that I personally think was an AWESOME find. And certainly brought my spirits up. It was a letter from a younger boy in England to an aunt in the US. Again, it started with the usual small talk...but then he started describing something that he wanted, he'd seen an advertisement for it in the paper. He would gladly pay her for it. I'm reading his description, but he hasn't called it by name. Suddenly it hits me and I say outloud "He wants a Red Ryder shotgun". Now you have to understand, one of my favorite movies (certainly my favorite Christmas movie) is A Christmas Story. As I finish his description, he mentions he has included the ad. I look back in the envelope and sure enough: there is an ad for a Red Ryder shotgun!! I was giddy with excitement. (and Marcie let me keep the letter and ad...thanks again!!) And I was hooked.

I went with Marcie a couple of months later to a stamp show. I needed a fix. We picked up a few letters, but nothing really as interesting as those.

It was a natural progression, I think, for me to start scanning eBay. I searched a bit looking to see what I could find. But as I thought about it letters are so hit and miss. I needed a real fix. And then I saw them. Diaries. Now we're talking. In the last 2 weeks I've won 3 auctions for diaries. I've recieved 2 of them so far. I'll be settling in to read one of them tonight.

All this has made me think. What about the "voyeurs" of tomorrow? What are we leaving behind for them? Technology has changed a lot of things, but is that really a good thing? Very rarely do we write actual letters, its all email. Cards are now eCards. Blogs are replacing diaries she types in her blog

Don't get me wrong. I'm going to stick with the quick and easy blog and email. I like it. But I think tonight I will also try, once again, to start up a journal. I'll make every effort to avoid the "Woke up. Brushed my teeth. Showered. Went to work." entries and give them something a bit more interesting to read. I hope I don't frighten them.