Reminiscing about the days of old and Thank You notes.

November 9, 3:12 PMTampa Bay Sustainable Agriculture ExaminerRobin Montanye

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Thank You Note

ilker: www.sxc.hu

Do you remember, a long long time ago, in a technological age far, far away when people used to send each other Thank You notes through the mail? It was just a little card or letter saying, "Thank you" for all that you had done or for the little trinket you gave them or kind thought that you had sent their way. Thank You notes were nothing terribly elaborate – usually a fold over card with the words "Thank You" on the front scribed in some casual or elegant script font with some handwritten scrawl on the inside thanking you for something.

The Thank You Note Etiquette

Thank You note etiquette used to be that when someone did something for you; invited you to a party, sent or gave you a gift, attended an event that you held or some other "noteworthy" event occurred, you would send a Thank You note. The problem that many people saw with this was that it became an expected thing. Every time a gift was given, it was expected that a Thank You note would arrive within a certain amount of time. It was customary – it was expected – and it was downright demanded in certain circles.

The Slow Death of the Thank You Note

After a while, it became the rebellious thing to do to NOT send a Thank You note – to just thank the person over the phone or in person. Then came the invention of the computers and chat rooms and email and texting. They took over our lives, moving us faster and faster through cyberspace shortening "Thank You" to "Thanks" and finally, over time, those glorious words "Thank You", the simple means of expressing our appreciation became "ty".

Some wondered if the world became a more cynical place: if it could shorten "Thank You" to an almost-non-existent "ty" what next? Would "You're Welcome" become "yw"? Well, yes, what else would it be? Oh, wait, it would be "np", the ecclesiastical abbreviation for "no problem". Many feared that appreciation had simply fled from the vocabulary of this high-tech world.

Then suddenly, out of the blue, a hand came out of a small white postal jeep tightly clenching something... something small, flat and almost recognizable. A hint of an era long-past; made of paper with a small sticker in the top right corner - a postage stamp.

It's funny how opening an unexpected Thank You note can warm the heart. To think that someone actually took the time to go to a store, pick out a card, find a pen, write a note of thanks on that card, placed it inside the envelope, looked up the address, wrote the address on the card, went to the Post Office, bought a stamp and mailed that card. The thought of someone going through all of that to simply say Thank You just simply sends the "awww" factor shooting straight up. There is still something about receiving a personal note in the mail that makes a person stop and think and feel appreciated.

Be a rebel. Send an old-fashioned Thank You note today. You'll be happy you did.