Thursday, May 20, 2010

Lost Letters


finally a hot May day, yay

There is a new movie entitled Letters to Juliet http://www.letterstojuliet-movie.com/
Apparently people are and have been writing to Juliet (yes, of Romeo and Juliet) for many years seeking her advice in love. They tack these missives on the wall beneath the famous balcony in Verona, Italy. These postings are collected each day and answered by a group of volunteers. Yeah, really. The movie's story is woven around just one lost letter found in a crevice in the wall. This letter has been lost or maybe better phrased "waiting" for over 50 years. A stone from the wall loosens and a letter is extricated carefully and gently from behind it by a lovely young woman Sophie, played by Amanda Seyfreid. She knows she has discovered something special.
I am no Amanda Seyfried. However, I am doing the same thing. I am collecting letters, my mother's letters.
And just like Sophie, her character in Letters to Juliet, I would love for one to just fall out from behind somewhere. My mother Ruth wrote me letters often and for many years.
Where are they all?
I have been on a quest to find these letters. postcards, notes, greetings. Where would have I tucked them away? I must have saved them I am sure.
If only I had the wall of Verona where everyday these communications are retrieved, read and saved. They would all have been collected, catalogued, remembered, stored by a team.
I do not have a wall or a team.
I have had letters, cards and notes pop out of places where they have been resting undisturbed for weeks. months and years. They seemingly announce themselves to me. I am looking through photo albums and find one from my 50th birthday.

I am looking though stored receipts in my desk drawer and one folded paper looks a bit different, Ruth's last letter I think. I am looking in a cabinet for a flashlight and see a postcard from Spain dated 12/03/04 or 3/12/04? Is this how it will be? Like Letters to Juliet, a surprise each time?
I hope for more - a volume discovery, a trove, a stash, a labeled envelope Letters to Carol
Until then I will enjoy my serendipitous discoveries.
Liam loving the sun and Ruth's birthday card to him for his first birthday in August 2008.Liam rolling in joy at our mutual discoveries and always looking for more, he is part hound

Woof, woof

4 comments:

  1. I'm in the process of going thru old pictures and documents and have begun to put them in albums. It's a great project for a retiree. I've also found a postcard that I wrote to my grandmother from camp, circa 1964. Some of the pictures date from 1915. Great piece.

    Izzy

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  2. Hi Izzy

    Thanks for reading and appreciating. I am happy for you and your project. I can understand your excitement. I wish you many delighted discoveries.

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  3. Good luck finding Ruth's letters; or maybe they will just appear when you need one.
    I love your photos of Liam rolling in the grass! Wish our backyard looked like that; we planted some seed a week ago but still no grass.

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  4. Hi Judy

    Our gardener does a swell job; Liam likes to walk the edges stalking birds and rabbits so maybe he is helping by accident.

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