ok, so i want it noted on my permanent record that many of the numerous emails sent to a certain student staying in belgium were forwarded news articles of interest rather than actual word-for-word written notes sent electronically........well, yea, i did write a lot of notes, because it is so easy to dash off a few lines to a loved one and press 'send'........these days writing an actual note and affixing a stamp seems to require an entire time slot in my day (this does not even include the time it takes to select the perfect note card........), whereas sending an email seems to take only a few minutes. of course, the lack of permanence is a shortfall.........i hold dear a letter that my grandmother crown sent to me while i was in college.......it wasn't very long, but she took the time to write it and send it, and now i have a record of her handwriting, her word choices, and the bits of news she chose to share with me in 1975......emails come and go, with little reason to use valuable storage space in their keeping.......unlike blogs, by the way, which can be archived and downloaded......if one could find the time.........when this student goes to college, i must make an effort to write actual notes on occassion, just in case he is feeling sentimental and wants to keep a little written record of my voluminous (sp) correspondence........