Missing the Snail Mail?

            I love to receive and send letters through snail mail. It's something that has become out-of-fashion. I think it's a little more special than an email or a text message. It's real, it's tangible and it’s enduring. It's just so much more intimate, getting a letter in the mail rather than through e-mail or social media sites. I gained a lot of online friends when I first joined the internet.

Snail mail is a slightly playful and slightly derogatory way of referring to mail that comes in mailbox. Snail mail is delivered by a mail person. The mail person sorts the mail and delivers it to the designated house or apartment complex. Snail mail is a much easier way to send packages and important documents. The recipient of the letter or document can confirm in writing that he has received the documents in question with a simple signature. A letter writer can write on scented paper the user can smell when the letter is opened.

Sending a letter costs money. A letter writer may need to take a walk or drive to the post office in order to mail the letter. A letter can easily be lost or delivered to the wrong house. Mail carriers still have the responsibility of delivering the mail during the worst conditions, which is not the case with email. If your computer crashes, your email server is locked or malfunctioning or you have a power outage, your email access can be down---for a short time or indefinitely. If your email service abruptly terminates, you will lose all files and messages unless you have saved them elsewhere on your computer. Snail mail gives you the hard copies of any important documents, letters or other items you wish to save.

            The main disadvantages of snail mail are the speed at which it gets to the person. It can also get lost in the post and be subject to other delays. The cost of snail mail is another thing and the amount of time it takes if you want to send multiple letters.