Letters to Tags - Gert Scholtz - South Africa

Gert Scholtz

6 years ago · 2 min. reading time · ~100 ·

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Letters to Tags

A friend showed him her photo. Green eyed as far as he could make out the print. It struck him the way she looked at the camera; quizzical and determined at the same time. He wrote her a letter, pleasantries mainly. He folded it into an envelope adding a photo of himself and sent it to her, not really expecting her to reply but hoping she would.

She was surprised, not sure what to make of it. His handwriting was bold but not aggressive. The tone was friendly, conversational. She forgot about it for a few days and one evening while the radio was on, she felt to write back. Her friends and her hobbies including some which she thought she should be doing. Ending: “Thank you for your letter.”

Their letters became frequent. Some days both watched the daily round of the mailman hoping to see the familiar envelope arrive. On Sundays they spoke on the phone for fifteen minutes, costs were high. Once he sent her a poem which ended “and as the sun set, their hearts met” or something silly that she forgot. But she appreciated his effort.

Months later they met for the first time, both with some hesitation but in anticipation. She was more pensive than he imagined, and often happy to let moments of silence fall between them. He spoke faster, less flowing than what she thought. Her green eyes were lively; his photo different than his presence. Both liked the frisson of getting acquainted.

Their meetings became more and the letters less. More conversation flowed, sometimes few words in a day, often many. He always dated his letters; the last one was written on 5 October 1980. They were seeing each other more and more now, almost daily in conversational exchange.

And they stopped sending letters altogether.

______________________________________________________________________________

She was tagged by a friend and he sent her an invite. She accepted immediately. For a few days nothing more, her profile photo was still in his mind. She looked cool. She continually changed her profile shot. “Hi”, you busy? “Soon will be - what you doing?” “Not much, you?” A few lines more. “Talk later”. “Bye”. Later was that same day, early evening. The sentences a bit longer. More data exchanged virtually.

Chats became daily. Sometime in the morning, often early evening, once late at night. She traveled for a week, for work at first, a few days holiday added. She sent him photos, mostly selfies. Messaging was less during her trip but longer. On her return he asked to meet, the coffee bar nearby, around five. While having coffee both checked their phones a few times. The spoke some and virtual became bits of reality, for fragments of time.

For no reason at all they made no contact for a week. Strange, he thought. Bit weird, she thought. Then again daily, hourly texts sometimes. They rarely spoke on the phone as both were always in the presence of others or in open plan offices. He sent her an email once; two paragraphs, no address, actually nonsensical, but she appreciated his time.

One late afternoon they exchanged the coffee stand for a dinner, they were back at their own places by eight. They arranged to meet at a music festival. Obligatory selfies, no friends tagged. Afterwards they rode together in a taxi, had drinks somewhere, spoke some more. He glanced at his phone only when he arrived in his flat. The date glowed on the screen: 5 October 2015.

She only saw his text message the next morning. “See you for lunch?” “Sounds good, thanks”. Over lunch they conversed more and met again that same evening, where he waited for her without checking for her messages. That evening they spoke for a very long time about many things.

And both had switched off their phones completely.

( Written while thinking how the world was years ago, and how different it is today for my teen son and daughter)

#October #Green #holiday #Tags #Messaging

Comments

🐝 Fatima G. Williams

6 years ago #37

Gert this buzz resonates with me. I have been in both places. Nostalgia when you said letter's. When I was training to be a teacher at Church Park. The rules were parent's not allowed except to visit once in two month's and no mobile phones allowed even though it was booming during that period. I am talking about 2005. My family lived about 30 Kilometres away, a bus ride but we were made to feel like we were in another country. We were forced on every Friday to like letter's home. Some of friends lived in different states and it made sense for them to write letters but absolutely made no sense to me then but it does now. I still cherish those letter's I sent and received from my parent's. Golden memories. I guess we need to bring the habit back. Thanks for yet another awesome buzz.

Gert Scholtz

6 years ago #36

#42
Phil Friedman "Great piece" coming from you is as high an accolade as I could wish for. Thank you very much Phil, for reading and the kind words. In return to your salutation: Cheers!

Gert Scholtz

6 years ago #35

#41
Donna-Luisa Eversley You state the most important element of the post - the constant of the need for human connection. Many thanks Donna-Luisa, I appreciate your reading and commenting.

Gert Scholtz

6 years ago #34

#43
Worthwhile intentions yes, in different times and in different ways. Thank you for reading Mohammed.!

Mohammed Abdul Jawad

6 years ago #33

Aha...An intense intention makes sense for worthwhile priorities!

Phil Friedman

6 years ago #32

Gert, I often upbraid those who post generic comments like "Great post!" But the fact is sometimes a piece is so good that any comment should be simply about it and not, as is so often the case, about the commenter. This is one of those times. Great piece! Cheers.

Gert Scholtz

6 years ago #31

Ali Anani, Brand Ambassador @beBee To keep a mind such as yours reading with interest I consider a large feather in my cap. Many thanks for reading and commenting on my story Ali, I value your engagement highly.

Gert Scholtz

6 years ago #30

Franci\ud83d\udc1dEugenia Hoffman I do so agree with you that “the mystery and personal touch have left the building” when it comes to instant messaging. I guess the quick immediacy of communication today loses some of the depth of old fashioned letters on paper. Thanks for reading and sharing Franci.

Gert Scholtz

6 years ago #29

Donna-Luisa Eversley I thought I would tag you on this one Donna-Luisa. Perhaps a post you will enjoy.

Ali Anani

6 years ago #28

You have your own style of writing Gert Scholtz and it is lvely. I kept reading your buzz wit increasing interest. You know how to communicate in stories. I enjoyed reading your buzz immensely. Is it time to message you?

Sara Jacobovici

6 years ago #27

#25
Like your idea Chas \u270c\ufe0f Wyatt. It's a kind of a cynical remake of, The Shop Around the Corner (1940) remade, In the Good Old Summertime (1949) and You've Got Mail (1998). The first two films are about two employees at a small shop who can barely stand each other, not realizing they're falling in love as anonymous correspondents through their letters.

Gert Scholtz

6 years ago #26

#25
Chas \u270c\ufe0f Wyatt Sounds like a terrific idea for a story!. Strange how today with instant communication people communicate differently and often complacently. Many thanks for reading and stopping by Chas.

Gert Scholtz

6 years ago #25

#27
Susan \ud83d\udc1d Rooks So true what you say - with today's communication many subtleties are lost. Thank you kindly for reading and sharing Susan, I appreciate your time.

Gert Scholtz

6 years ago #24

#29
Joanne Gardocki I wonder too how current communication influences anticipation. Perhaps it is more continuous today, whereas waiting for a letter is in sporadic intervals. Many thanks for your kind words, Joanne!

Gert Scholtz

6 years ago #23

#24
Sara Jacobovici Dylan did have a way with words: "Your sons and your daughters, Are beyond your command". Thanks for the song Sara - it fits the theme of the post perfectly.

Gert Scholtz

6 years ago #22

#25
Tani Paxton Many thanks for reading Tani.

Susan 🐝 Rooks, The Grammar Goddess

6 years ago #21

Something different and very welcome from Gert Scholtz.

Susan 🐝 Rooks, The Grammar Goddess

6 years ago #20

You have me smiling on this rainy day, Gert Scholtz, because I can remember so many times waiting for the mailman (they were all men back in the day) to arrive, hoping there would be a letter from someone special. While the way we communicate has changed from waiting for days to sometimes waiting for minutes, I think the anticipation is the same. But the content has certainly shifted, hasn't it! From a full page -- or pages in a letter -- to one or two words in a text, a lot of the subtleties are gone. I remember my 15th summer, away at camp for the last time, having a boyfriend back home whom I wouldn't see for nearly two months. We wrote long letters constantly, and I know how much I wanted to hear from him every day! No cell phones, no actual phones to use to "just" call a boyfriend. But the letters. Yes. Thanks for a lovely article, Gert!

Sara Jacobovici

6 years ago #19

#23
Another, sorry couldn't resist comment. bob Dylan said it best; "Come mothers and fathers Throughout the land And don't criticize What you can't understand Your sons and your daughters Are beyond your command Your old road is rapidly aging Please get out of the new one if you can't lend your hand Cause the times they are a-changing" It's nice to see Gert that you are a father that is learning to navigate the road in order to live side by side with your son and daughter.

Gert Scholtz

6 years ago #18

Sara Jacobovici Thanks for your comments Sara. I have tried a few times to get my children to write letters- to no avail. Instead what is happening is that I am sending them instant messages and tagging them :) Talk about how times are changing…

Sara Jacobovici

6 years ago #17

#18
Just realized Gert Scholtz, that I read into your last line something that came from me. You wrote that you were "thinking how the world was years ago, and how different it is today for my son and daughter." And I read, that you were writing this "for my son and daughter". Sorry, my interpretation.

Sara Jacobovici

6 years ago #16

#18
So glad you "tagged" me (sigh)...sorry, couldn't resist....seriously Gert Scholtz, I echo the comments from your readers. This was great! Loved the idea, the style and most of all the story. Interesting that you would want to capture this for your son and daughter. I hope it has sparked some interesting conversations. Looking forward to the next story Gert.

Gert Scholtz

6 years ago #15

Dean Owen A bit of a different genre yes on observations of my children. Some nostalgia I guess and a view on how things are today. Thanks for your comments and for reading - always appreciate the wise men from the east!

Gert Scholtz

6 years ago #14

#16
Vincent Andrew Very true Vincent - probably because of the immediacy of messages and the time lag on postal letters. Thanks for reading and commenting.

Gert Scholtz

6 years ago #13

Sara Jacobovici I very seldom tag but hope you get a chance to read this one. Thanks Sara.

Gert Scholtz

6 years ago #12

Milos Djukic Many thanks for sharing this post Milos - much appreciated.

Dean Owen

6 years ago #11

Nostalgic! Perhaps technology will enable us to fabricate the past. Maybe one day they will invent the ability to perfume scent emails?

Paul Walters

6 years ago #10

Gert Scholtz Do I detect a shift to the short story genre? Great stuff

Gert Scholtz

6 years ago #9

#5
Pascal Derrien That is high praise coming from your artistic pen Pascal. Thank you very much - also for sharing.

Gert Scholtz

6 years ago #8

#4
Ian Weinberg I don't know about a new literary direction - perhaps just a "letter-airy" post :) Thanks very much for the the comment Ian!

Gert Scholtz

6 years ago #7

#6
"I guess that's why they call it the blues" - Elton John. Yes, it was a different time you and I grew up - different ways today. Thanks for reading Chris.

Gert Scholtz

6 years ago #6

#3
Tausif Mundrawala Thanks for reading and sharing my friend Tausif. The story is not real - but it could have been. Yes, a bit different to my other posts.

Gert Scholtz

6 years ago #5

#2
Eeva Maria Al-Khazaali Thank you for reading and commenting Eeva. Eggplant emoji :)

Gert Scholtz

6 years ago #4

#1
Joyce \ud83d\udc1d Bowen Brand Ambassador @ beBee Indeed very different today - I wonder what it will look like in another thirty years.

Pascal Derrien

6 years ago #3

that's damn excellent , what a great idea Gert Scholtz !!!!

Ian Weinberg

6 years ago #2

Gert Scholtz This is excellent stuff Oom! I am sensing that you are about to seriously launch into a new literary direction. I wait in anticipation for the next literary buzz.

Joyce 🐝 Bowen Brand Ambassador @ beBee

6 years ago #1

So very different today

Articles from Gert Scholtz

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6 years ago · 1 min. reading time

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