Ben by Daniel Shelton for September 16, 2023

You didn’t die, you just got a free day. No junk mail, no scam messages, no even more scam looking legitimate. Relax and enjoy it!

Liv’s going to need context.

Dying doesn’t stop all those things.

Aged out of the marketing demographic.

You don’t have to. You just have to make everyone think you did.

If I don’t get mail, I wonder what happened.

To me, that kind of day is Heaven on earth. Freedom.

I live that kind of day, EVERYDAY.

“Oh, even after Ben has moved on, I still feel like I hear his voice in the air sometimes.” – Liv

Did you send e-mail? Leave a voice message? Comitt to a pen pal? – No? Then count your blessings.

I recall a quiet afternoon at work, some years ago, when I was at my desk for two or three hours, and no one came into my office, no one walked past my door, my phone didn’t ring, and I didn’t get any emails or other communications. I distinctly remember wondering if the world had ended and someone had forgotten to tell me.

I still feel the excitement of getting mail as I did as a child – even though almost all are bills. I love opening the envelope and removing the paper – then I sit and match the slips to the bills (I am an accountant and have been one since I was child and kept “the books” for my allowance – every penny spent accounted for). And bank statements – the fun of sitting and reconciling them! No letters, cards extremely rare – but I love the mail. (In addition to our mail and for my accounting practice, I also get mail for 2 clubs of which I am treasurer.)

After my mom died and I picked up all my stuff from the family house I was sorting through the correspondence I had kept from when I was young. I found out that one of my cousins who was not my favorite cousin as a child is actually the person I have been corresponding with for the longest time as we now correspond by email.

(As to keeping bills – amazing what old bills can tell us about our life at different points. I only keep them for 10 years, and when I go through the oldest year to get rid of those bills and add in the newest past year – it is a real trip down memory lane.)