Do you mourn the loss of the letter as a form of communication?

I love letters. I love epistolary novels (84 Charing Cross Road, anyone?). I treasure letters from my grandmother and from my father, both gone now more than 30 years.

I still remember the 20— and 30-page letters that I exchanged with close women friends for years. We covered every conceivable subject.

Somehow emails, lacking salutations and sign-offs often, are not the same. After all, you can’t wander away from your computer and come back a couple of days later to finish after you’ve thought about things a bit more (OK, I know, drafts, but who uses those?)

I can’t believe that letters went away in my adult lifetime. How sad. How have letters been important to you and do you miss them?