Recently, communication is at our fingertips. Respond to a message, send an email, and post your thoughts online. Then you play the waiting game—waiting for a response or for the likes to accrue. But what about the analogue world. Are good ol' fashioned handwritten posts and letters a thing of the past?

Letter to a vending machine staffer

Ironically, by looking online, you’ll find that the answer is “no,” or at least “not yet.”

Instagrammer m.obonai recently shared a story about her son on the SNS platform. m.obonai's son, who loves hot chocolote, noticed the drink was sold out in the vending machine near their house. Clearly disappointed, he wondered how to remedy the situation. Eventually, he decided to write a letter to the vending machine staff member. m.obonai snapped a picture and posted the result online:

“I want you to add hot chocolate please.”

You might expect that to be the end, but you'd be surprised. A few days later, there was a written response from a staff member posted on the machine. It read: “I did it. Please enjoy.”

Readers responded to the Instagram upload:

  • "There are many kinds of drinks, and the staff answered your son's request... I don't know whether I can do the same thing as the staff or not. I was moved."
  • “This story warms my heart.”
  • “What a nice back-and-forth. It soothes my soul.”
  • “There is a lot of bad news in the world. But reading about such a kind person is truly a relief.”
  • “I think the vending machine staff was also happy to receive such a cute letter.”
  • “I have a similar job to this staff person. We always add drinks based on their popularity. But I realized it would be great if there were a board for listing drinks that customers want from the vending machine.”

Too much Twitter

There is another letter written by a young person trending on Twitter. Twitter user Gudechichi (@gude_chichi) posted a picture of a letter that his daughter wrote to her grandmother. He prefaced it by saying: “My seven-year-old daughter wrote a letter to my mother for the children’s 7-5-3 festival. You won’t believe it."

The letter read:

“What were you doing today? I’m writing a letter while eating snacks. My younger sister is also eating snacks. My father is looking at Twitter. My mother is doing housework. Thank you for raising and taking care of my father everyday. Please take care during COVID-19. Be safe."

As you can see, Gudechichi’s daughter explains in no uncertain terms exactly how her family is passing the time during the pandemic. The father was embarrassed to learn that his daughter ratted him out for his Twitter addiction.

His followers reacted:

  • “I laughed at ‘Thank you for taking care of my father everyday.’ She’s such a good daughter.”
  • “I could understand what your family is like. Lol.”
  • “She doesn’t write ‘My father is using his smartphone.’ She explains that ‘My father is looking at Twitter.’ She knows exactly what you are doing.”
  • “I can’t believe that your daughter is only seven years old.”
  • “I guess it’s not only me who grows impatient when 'My father is looking at Twitter.' ”

Just like a Norman Rockwell painting, I can imagine their family now. Well, at least they can spend some 'quality time' together during the pandemic.


By - Luke Mahoney.