{"id":4547,"date":"2011-05-04T19:29:32","date_gmt":"2011-05-04T23:29:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/joyfullyjobless.com\/blog\/?p=4547"},"modified":"2011-05-04T19:29:32","modified_gmt":"2011-05-04T23:29:32","slug":"joy-in-my-mailbox","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/joyfullyjobless.com\/blog\/2011\/05\/joy-in-my-mailbox\/","title":{"rendered":"Joy in My Mailbox"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

When she was a college student, my daughter wrote a fan letter to Linda Barry whose cartoons graced a local entertainment paper. In return, Barry sent her a drawing, which has been a cherished keepsake.<\/p>\n

Jennie also devised her own rules for writing a fan letter. They are:<\/p>\n

1) Don\u2019t gush.<\/p>\n

2) Do not assume the person getting the letter is interested in your life.<\/p>\n

3) Stick to the point.<\/p>\n

I don’t believe I’ve written a fan letter since without following those rules.<\/p>\n

I thought of that as I was going through some old file folders today and came across one labeled Letters to Keep. At the front of the file was my all-time favorite letter that I\u2019ve ever received in response to writing a fan letter.<\/p>\n

I also have the original letter that I wrote, but it\u2019s not nearly as amusing as the one I got back two months later. Even if you aren\u2019t familiar with the letter writer, I think you\u2019ll figure out that he knows a thing or two about \u00a0writing.<\/p>\n

This is what\u00a0 I found waiting one morning in my mailbox.<\/p>\n

Dear (if I may be so forward) Barbara:<\/em><\/p>\n

<\/em><\/p>\n

Many thanks for your letter of March 13, and huge, blushing apologies for the long, long delay in replying, but I have been away since March hiking the Appalachian Trail, so I am afraid your letter just missed me. I hope you can forgive me.<\/em><\/p>\n

<\/em><\/p>\n

What can I possibly say in response to so many kind and flattering words, other than that I am having your letter enlarged and framed, and am instructing my children to memorize it? (They think I am a dork. I am not quite sure what that is, but I gather it is not a condition to aspire to.)<\/em><\/p>\n

<\/em><\/p>\n

As you can see, we have indeed moved back to the States, specifically to New Hampshire, which we chose because we wanted to be on the east coast for easier access to England. It is wonderful and everybody loves it. If you are ever out this way, it would be my honor and pleasure to take you for meat loaf at\u00a0 Lou\u2019s Diner\u2014a better offer than it sounds, believe me.<\/em><\/p>\n

<\/em><\/p>\n

Until that happy day, I can but offer you my sincerest thanks for your very generous words. You don\u2019t say what kind of author you are, and I fear that I am hopelessly out of touch with American letters, but I shall be looking for your work from now on, and can assure you that your books will now be displayed face out in all the leading bookstores in New England. (It\u2019s not a problem; I go in to do my own regularly.)<\/em><\/p>\n

<\/em><\/p>\n

Hope to meet you one day. Until then, and once again, many, many thanks and all very best wishes.<\/em><\/p>\n

<\/em><\/p>\n

Yours sincerely,<\/em><\/p>\n

Bill Bryson<\/em><\/p>\n

By the way, we did eventually meet. I have a picture of Bryson, my sister Margaret and me at Vroman\u2019s Bookstore to prove it. Alas, I can’t get WordPress to let me share it with you.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When she was a college student, my daughter wrote a fan letter to Linda Barry whose cartoons graced a local entertainment paper. In return, Barry sent her a drawing, which has been a cherished keepsake. Jennie also devised her own rules for writing a fan letter. They are: 1) Don\u2019t gush. 2) Do not assume…<\/p>\n

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