Write Til Your Ink Be Dry…Thy Mailbox Lies Barren!!

 

It has been 460 years since the birth of Shakespeare, but his words still live on. I particularly like that line from Two Gentlemen from Verona, 

“Write till your ink be dry and with your tears moist it again, and frame some feeling line that may discover such integrity.”

They’re surely talking about keeping up their correspondence, right? 😉 

I was first introduced to Shakespeare by Mrs. Hultgren, my high school English teacher. She loved the Bard and tried to inspire her somewhat reluctant students with his greatness. We memorized monologues, read whole plays aloud in class and took turns acting out our favorite death scenes. “Et tu, Brute?” 😵 

At first I struggled with the language. What is this guy taking about?!? But the more I read the easier it became. I soon got swept up in the stories which were amazing… both witty and profound. In the end it’s the words that do it for me. Shakespeare invented so many phrases, clever quips and salty insults. A lot of his lingo is still in use today. Here is just a sampling of what I discovered with the help of those interwebs…

• as luck would have it
•  bated breath
•  the be-all and the end-all
•  break the ice
• brave new world
• cold comfort
• dead as a doornail
• the dogs of war
• faint-hearted
• for goodness sake
• foregone conclusion
• good riddance
• kill with kindness
• laughing stock
• one fell swoop
• wear my heart upon my sleeve
• wild-goose chase

Isn’t that amazing? Four and a half centuries later and Shakespearean quips are still common! 

So in honor of the greatest English writer of all time, I decided to send a Shakespeare inspired letter to a friend in honor of her birthday. She loves books and words as I do so I hope she will enjoy it! 

“To be a well-favoured man is the gift of fortune; but to write and read comes by nature.” (Much Ado About Nothing)

Hie thee, good folk, and let thy missives fly with all haste!

XOXO, 

Mrs. Murphy 

And I Quote...Snailmail Rocks!

 

Our letters, unless you write radically different from me, contain, by definition, pretty much all our own words. But I’ve discovered that most of my fellow snailmail enthusiasts are often logophiles (word lovers), philologos (lovers of words) or logomaniacs (obsessively interested in words)! 🙋🏼‍♀️ 😉 

“Well done is better than well said.” Benjamin Franklin

I decided that an interesting idea for a letter might be to write a letter using other people’s words as much as possible!🤔💡 These can be quotes that are famous and inspiring and something you read in a book...or it can be something your first grade teacher said to you that changed your life! Or devastated it. 😕

“That’s one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind.” Neil Armstrong

A few things I’ve shared with and asked of some of my pen friends include:

What is your favorite line in your favorite book?

“The truth does not change according to our ability to stomach it.” Flannery O’Connor

What are your ten favorite quotes about love?

“I carry your heart with me, I carry it in my heart.” E.E. Cummings

What are your five favorite poems? 

“Only by acceptance of the past will you alter its meaning.” T.S. Eliot

What is the most important thing anyone ever told you?

“Imagination is more important than knowledge.” Albert Einstein

What word always makes you think of someone who has passed away? 

Take these bits of other people's words and turn them into a interesting letter for a fellow logophile penpal! Words are powerful! Those that have shaped our lives are an interesting part of our individual life stories. Words can encourage and strengthen others, heal wounded hearts and bring delight! So share some today! 

Go postal, people! It’s a beautiful thing!

XOXO,

Mrs. Murphy 

Once Upon A Time.. I Opened the Mailbox

 I love stories. I think that’s why I love snailmail so much. I can read the stories of my friends’ lives and share mine with them. While I’m sure my life story is thrilling,🙄 why not send a REAL book through the post?

 

February 14 is International Book Giving Day! A group of volunteers who wanted every child in the world to have a book, started International Book Giving Day in 2012. Their goals also include increasing children’s enthusiasm for books and reading by encouraging everyone to give a book to someone else!! 

The Imagination Library is a similar initiative started by Dolly Parton in 1995. Inspired by her father’s inability to read and write Dolly started her program for the children within her home county in East Tennessee. Her Imagination Library currently is active in five countries and gives over 1 million free books each month to children around the world!! These free books come in the mail!! Yay!! Talk about a good mail day! 

I plan on sending some book post during Letter Month and of course, I’ll include a letter telling my penpal all about my love of the story. 

Read on, postal pals! 

XOXO, 

Mrs. Murphy

The Time Is Always Right To Do What Is Right - And Send Some Mail

 

Every February people in the US celebrate the achievements, contributions and history of African Americans during Black History Month. Mrs. Murphy’s Mailbox enjoys celebrating African American heritage through stamps and letters, of course!! 📬💌

My favorite way to learn about history is through the words and letters of the people that lived it. I found a fabulous epistolary book entitled, Letters From Black America by Pamela Newkirk. 

This book contains letters from famous politicians, entertainers, writers, activists and educators, but it also includes amazing, heartfelt correspondence from ordinary people from the 1700s through the twenty-first century.  

If you are overwhelmed with where to start, do what I do and look through your stamp collection! The USPS has had some wonderful Black Heritage postage stamps through the years and they are the perfect place to start your research. Not sure what Anna Julia Cooper is known for? Now is the perfect time to look her up!! Never read an Anne Spencer poem? Why don’t you search for one today? Do you know who Salem Poor is? Have you ever seen a Henry Ossawa Tanner painting? Have you listened to the music of Scott Joplin or Ottis Redding or Dinah Washington? The world is full of so many remarkable people!! I encourage you to check out some new-to-you folks this Black History Month!! Remember Mrs. Murphy’s Motto... ”Interested people are interesting people!!” 

According to the USPS, the first US stamp to honor an African American was the Booker T. Washington stamp, issued in 1940. In 1978, the USPS initiated the Black Heritage stamp series to recognize the achievements of individual African Americans. There have been over 180 stamps issued that honor and celebrate Black history and achievements. A vast array of interesting people and events to learn about! 🧐

I also have discovered a wonderful stationery shop, Posterity Paper, on Etsy that is owned by woman of color, Tiffany Grimes. Inspired by her grandmother’s snailmail legacy, she designs cards for people to express love and support for the people in their lives. 🥰📬 (That sounds like a familiar mission!!) I encourage all my postal pals to check out the shop and support her business. Check out her Instagram feed here:  @posteritypaper

I encourage you to find your own ways to learn about and celebrate Black History Month. Another reason February is fabulous! 

“The greatness of man is not how much wealth he acquires, but in his integrity and his ability to affect those around him positively.” Bob Marley. 

Go postal, people!

XOXO

Mrs. Murphy 

Dewey Belong Together? ❤️

“It’s only a room with shelves and books, but it’s far more magical than it looks.” 

So begins a poem by Varda One about the wonder of the library. 🥰 📚 February is known as the month of love but don’t just send your sweetie a Valentine, it’s also Library Lover’s Month! The entire month is dedicated to celebrating libraries, librarians, books, and lovers of libraries! 

I love libraries. Sadly, I live in a very rural area with no library. 😭 I have tried to get library cards from many nearby places with great difficulty. It all has to do with where one lives and taxes and all kinds of red tape stuff that makes me very frustrated. I’ve borrowed family members’ cards who live in bigger cities but that is not very convenient and I JUST REALLY WANT MY OWN LIBRARY CARD!😤

How wonderful is it then, that just yesterday February 2, 2021, right at the start of Library Lover’s Month, I was issued my very own library card from a small town library not too far from my home!? Woo Hoo! Talk about a Library Lover’s Month celebration!! I checked out, not one, but two books. 🥳 

I am planning to write a letter to my librarian to thank her for the wonderful work she is doing in keeping the library going and I will enclose a donation for the library fund. I also have a couple pen pals who are librarians and/or work in the library so I plan to add them to my Letter Month outgoing list! 

But right now I am going to read my library book. 🥰 

Go postal, people! And visit your library.

XOXO

Mrs. Murphy 

No Complain November

 

November is approaching quickly. It’s one of my favorite seasons with one of my favorite holidays. Thanksgiving! I love Thanksgiving! It has the family, food and fellowship of Christmas but none of the pressure of gifts. (I get stressed out by gifts! 😩) Also, I ALWAYS root for the underdog. Thanksgiving really is the humble underdog of the holidays. Smashed in between Halloween and Christmas, it gets very little respect. Unfortunately the spirit of the holiday, giving thanks to our Creator for our many blessings, is often overshadowed by family fights and football...very little respect, indeed.

This year seems especially bad...what with the global pandemic, political division, racial unrest, financial insecurities, quarantine and social isolation. What is there to be thankful for? 

Now is not the time to blame, withdraw, retreat or lose hope!! It’s Thanksgiving season! I recently re-read the book Pollyanna and watched the old Disney movie. (The book is better, by the way.🤓📖❤️) You may think you know the story, but I challenge you to read the book again!! When I read the book, I realized Pollyanna was not a naive nitwit who was absurdly wishful as some tend to think of her. On the contrary, she was blessed with the ability to recognize the value of being faithful to gratitude. She was a THANKFUL person. She liked to play what she called the “glad game.” In every situation, no matter how dire, she liked to find something to feel glad about. While this sounds a bit silly, it was actually a courageous reaction to the enormous tragedy she had faced. Pollyanna was not ignorant of the tragedy of her life. She knew that she was poor, that other people had parents and dolls and clothes that fit and did not have to live off the mercy of the Ladies’ Aid. The glad game gave her the courage to rise above her tragedy, and eventually it puts to shame the self-obsessed adults in the town who believe they are struggling, though the lives they perceive as horrible in fact contain more than a fair share of blessings. That sure sounds familiar, doesn’t it? 

The Thanksgiving holiday, Pollyanna and the state of the world got me thinking about gratitude. 

William Law once said, “Could you, therefore, work miracles, you could not do more for yourself than by this thankful spirit; for it heals with a word speaking and turns all that it touches into happiness!” 

Now that’s quite an endorsement. Feeling thus encouraged, I’ve decided to start a No Complain November Challenge!! Times are extremely trying and everything feels rather hopeless, but if we take William Law’s words to heart even the ability to work MIRACLES would not do as much for us as being grateful! As a Christian, my goal in life should be to obey God’s will. “Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” (1 Thess 5:16-18) That’s pretty clear, isn’t it?! 

 

“As Christians, we were chosen for this time in history to make a difference—to be the salt, the light, and the love of God manifested in everyday life. It will not be easy. We will need to think clearly, pray deeply, and draw near to God with the promise that He will draw near to us. Our God will give us all we need. We cannot control what has or will happen in our country, or our circumstances—but we can control how we respond!” (C. Ingram) 

Won’t you join me in the No Complain November Challenge? 😊 Practice the spiritual discipline of gratitude with me!!  Don’t be a whiner or complainer. Play the glad game like Pollyanna! Join me on this journey to joy! 

If you’re interested in connecting by post during the No Complain November Challenge, I’d love to send you some Mrs. Murphy Mail. 📬🐌 Study the Bible along with me on the subject of Thanksgiving! Let’s see what God thinks about the attitude of gratitude! Send me a private message with your snailmail address and I will add you to the No Complain November penpal list! 

Ever thankful for snailmail! 

XOXO

Mrs. Murphy 

The Age of Mail

I recently received a wonderful gift from my father... his stamp collection!! (All of the un-cancelled stamps, so I can use them on my snailmail creations!!) 💌📬  As I was perusing my treasures I came across an Edith Wharton stamp.

It got me thinking about The Age of Innocence, one of my favorite books of all time. (I just recently loaned my copy to a fellow bibliophile. 🥰📚)

This year marks the 100th anniversary of it’s publication!! I first read the book back in 1994. Mr. Murphy and I had only been married a couple years. We were young, poor and in love...with each other and books. We decided to spend a little of our meager income on a classic literature book of the month club! (Yes, we are nerds.📚🧐) 

We had just seen the most recent movie version of The Age of Innocence, staring Daniel Day Lewis, Michelle Pfeiffer and Winona Rider. It was a beautiful movie and I loved it so much I wanted to read the book. (My favorite part of the movie was the narration by Joann Woodward. Her beautiful voice reading Edith’s lovely words!! 🥰) 

Serendipitously, The Age of Innocence  was one of our book of the month selections!! The book, of course, was even better than the film. If you’ve never read the book or seen the movie, I recommend both. The themes of societal conventions, love, marriage, scandal, innocence, hypocrisy, traditions, change and double standards are timeless and thought provoking. Edith won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction for The Age of Innocence, her 12th novel, becoming the first woman to ever win it. 

I watched a documentary about Edith and was just as fascinated by the woman as I was by her work. She was so brilliant and interesting. Born in New York in 1862 to a wealthy family, Edith’s life must not have been too different from the high society families she wrote about. She opposed the oppressive feminine ideals of the time and desired to get a better education than most girls received. She read extensively and wrote poetry and fiction as a child. She wrote her first novel at the age of 11 and was first published at the age of 15!! Despite her obvious talent her family discouraged her from writing professionally. She married Edward Wharton in 1885. They both loved travel and spent time together abroad. She published a few poems, a short story, did some travel writing and wrote a two-act play during the years 1889-1901. 

At the age of 40 she published her first novel, The Valley of Decision.  After that, she really started cranking out the work. Over the next 30 years she would write numerous poems, short stories and novels. She is best known for her psychological examinations of characters dealing with changes in society. And I love the way she can turn a phrase. 🥰 🎶 

When WWI broke out she traveled to Paris to support the French war effort. She did much humanitarian work including running a workroom for unemployed women and opening a hostel for Belgian refugees. She was able to raise over $100,000 for refugee aid. At the age of 53 she started writing for Scibner’s as a war correspondent sending back reports from the front lines!! She was awarded the Legion of Honour, France’s highest honor, for her war work by the French president. 

You can still visit her famous home and gardens, The Mount, in Lennox, Massachusetts (which is on my “Literary Locations Bucket List”!!! 🤩) 

The anniversary of her death is August 11, 1937. In honor of Mrs. Wharton and the 100th anniversary of The Age of Innocence, I encourage you to read her books and write someone a letter telling them all about it!!  

Go postal, people! It’s the age of mail!!

XOXO

Mrs. Murphy 

Of Books & Letters

I love the library. I go every few weeks and check out a large stack of books. Some are from my “want to read” list and some are just random selections that happen to catch my eye. Just recently I happened to find a book that has long been on my list. 84 Charing Cross Road  by Helene Hanff. It’s an epistolary book!! That’s a book that uses letters or diaries to tell the story. (My nerd heart was bursting!) ❤️🥰📚📬

Released in 1984 in celebration of Library Week

Published in 1970 it is a collection of letters from American Helene Hanff, a freelance writer living in New York, to Frank Doel, the manager of a used bookshop located at 84 Charing Cross Road, London.  Their correspondence spans 20 years (1949-1968), and although they never met, they developed a charming and winsome friendship through their shared love of books. Helene was brilliant, funny, kind, generous and amazing and I wish I could have been her pen pal!! I know we would have been kindred spirits. 🥰📚📬 

The book was made into a stage play and later a movie starring Anne Bancroft, Anthony Hopkins and Judy Dench in 1987. After I finished the book I watched the film (Thank you, Amazon!) and found it delightful, the script closely follows the real letters.

 If you are a book and letter nerd...and let’s face it, you probably are if you are reading this blog😉...I encourage you to add this book and film to your own list! ❤️ 

Now I’m off to write a letter to a pen pal that lives across the pond! 🇬🇧 Go postal, people! It truly is a beautiful experience.

XOXO

Mrs. Murphy