A few years back, when my son was in college, he had to mail a letter. I don't remember the specific reason, but I do remember having a conversation with him in which he complained bitterly about the amount of work involved — finding a place where he could purchase a stamp, figuring out what kind of stamp he needed, actually writing the letter, locating an envelope, putting the letter into the envelope, having to physically leave his dormitory room to mail the envelope and so on. I grew exhausted just listening to him describe this series of arduous tasks, one coming right after another. I was glad, for my son's sake, that he never had to live in a world — as I once did — where the only way to change channels was to walk all the way to the TV set and manually turn a knob.
Unlike my son, I did not grow up with e-mail and texting, but I have come to agree with him: electronic communication is superior to the old-fashioned paper kind. I do almost all of my communicating by e-mail. I've been known to e-mail people who were literally standing next to me, which I know sounds crazy, because at that distance I could easily call them on my cellphone.
The full article is here (registration required). The Miami humorist is reviewing SEND: The Essential Guide to Email for Office and Home.
