Philada. July 5. 1775 

Mr. Strahan 

You are a Member of Parliament, and one of that Majority which has doomed my Country to Destruction. You have begun to burn our Towns and murder our People. — Look upon your hands! They are stained with the Blood of your Relations! — You and I were long Friends:— You are now my Enemy, — and  

I am,  

Yours. 

B. Franklin

There's much to admire in Ben Franklin. He was a activist, a revolutionary, a publisher, and a lech. But the title of his I admire most is letter writer.

I've always been an avid letter writer. When I was a kid, I was a pen pal. When I was in college, an activist with Amnesty International. It hasn't been until recently that I've slacked off, e-mail and text messaging filling in the void.

As convenient as those media are, they are not the same. Letter writing — pen to paper, stamp and post — is artful; it remains one of life's great pleasures for me. I hope I'll have more time to do it this year.

When I do, I hope I can follow Ben's example: concise, poetic, and clear. “I am yours.” Indeed.

That letter comes from this website, Letters of Note.

I've recommended it before, when I discovered what a misogynistic shit Mickey Mantle was. Keep in mind, “misogynistic shit” does not mean “not funny” because I laughed aloud when I read his contribution to the site. It's worth revisiting.