You no doubt have seen the same thing. People over 35 generally have lovely handwriting. The 25-to-35 age group has decent handwriting. And the under-25 crowd is a legibility laughingstock. It's all because of computers. And it's kind of a shame.

I had lost sight of just how much of a shame it really is until just these past six weeks since my son has been at the Naval Academy. He hasn't had access to a computer all this time, so the only way to correspond with him has been by post. I clearly could have written the letters on my computer and printed them out, but I didn't. I suppose the reason is that I can remember as a kid getting letters from my mom and dad and noticing their different styles of handwriting and appreciating that unique personal expression.

I wanted my son to see that same expressiveness and individuality and personality in my correspondence with him, so I've been writing my letters to him longhand. Six weeks ago, I probably would have said I don't have time to write letters longhand. Turns out I do.

My son will be getting his computer in a couple of weeks, and our correspondence will no doubt -- the convenience and timeliness are just too compelling. And I probably won't get around to writing letters longhand anymore. It would be silly, I suppose, because the letters would be so dated. Too bad.

Don't get me wrong. I'm grateful that we have e-mail and IM, I really am. And it's a terrific thing that the kids in Eek have access to the Internet. But I have a feeling that, given the chance, those kids would enjoy learning about what Layton called "those little white cards in that mysterious chest in the library" as much as I loved writing those letters.