by Louisa Cohen

The last three things I received in the mail were my cable bill, a wedding invitation, and a vintage blouse I ordered off ebay that I am pretty sure is haunted by the spirit of its former owner.

These days, long flowery notes are a thing of the past. Letters to or from loved ones are most often electronic. They arrive as squat, stunted messages interpreted as rude; or excessively sweet text-bombs that can almost always be blamed on the a-a-a-a-a-alcohol…

While tipsy text-ing has its place, as does Facebook and email correspondence, nothing says, ‘I love you,’ ‘I miss you,’ or ‘I’m stalking you’…like a hand written note or letter.

I recently re-discovered the lost art of letter writing at The Regional Assembly of Text, a charming stationary and paper store on Main Street. The Regional Assembly of Text hosts a monthly letter writing club and since I’ve made the Toronto – Vancouver transition, I’ve been trying to maintain that golden threat to the big smoke with hand written letters.

The letter writing club takes place on the first Thursday of every month. The owners serve, tea, cookies, and typewriters to their passionately pen-palling clientele… what better activity to participate in on a rainy Thursday evening? Best of all, its free! BYOAB – Bring Your Own Address Book!

If you can’t make it to the letter writing club, go and at least check out the eclectic, quirky, and delightful collection of note cards, postcards, and buttons or chill in ‘the lowercase reading room’ a former closet turned reading cubby stockpiled with magazines and clip-books.

Give the mailbox key its dignity back… write a letter.

Regional Assembly of Text 3934 Main Street www.assemblyoftext.com