Remember the world of longhand correspondence? Remember how the greatest part of it was taken up in expressing guilty feelings over infrequent correspondence? I'll refresh your memory with a sample letter:

April 7
Dear Phyllis,

I am really, really sorry that it's taken me so long to write back. Your letter from last September has been sitting on my desk since . . . last September. I look at it every day and feel a pang. I have taken pen in hand to begin a reply about seventeen separate times, but something always seems to demand my attention before I can get anywhere. You know how it is. But I shouldn't make excuses. It's just that

May 13
Golly! Has it already been 6 weeks since I started this letter? A lot has happened since then. I really intended to get this in the mail before the three-week maple syrup expedition, but I had so much to do before I went, and then I

June 24
Okay. This time I'm serious. I'm going to finish this and get it in the mail in one sitting, and-- crap! -- the doorbell is ringing.

June 30
I'm going to make this brief, or else it will never go out. There's really not much new here, anyway. I'm still doing the job and the other stuff. Hope things are going well there. Keep in touch, and I'll try not to be so pathetic about writing back next time!