Missing the Snail Mail?

Every time I heard the word “mail”, I only have two things in my mind, CLSU Post Office and Postal Stamps.

"Snail mail" is a term used to refer to mail that is sent in the traditional way — through the postal service. It is given this name because it can be very slow, as is a snail. Postal mail generally takes four to eight day (Philippine scenario) to go from origin to destination, if not many more, whereas email can be sent instantly.

With email, a message is sent directly from a user's mail program to another person's email address. Though many email messages simply contain words, they may also include photos or other digital files, such as songs, or links to websites. Since most people now use email on a regular basis, snail mail has gone out of fashion for simple letters, though it is still necessary for sending packages or legal documents that require signatures.

Though the postal service seems to have gone out of style for many uses today, it has a long history all over the world. The first postal systems in the world originated in Persia and China, and date back to possibly as early as 1700 BC. These early mail systems relied on messengers who rode horses from town to town, and most mail was delivered to government officials or royals.

Snail mail or not, one must acknowledge that regular postal services offer a number of valuable services not likely to be available soon on the World Wide Web.Many things can be replaced with today's technology, but there are things technology can't duplicate, like licking of stamps and pastes it on an envelop before dropping our letters.

I grew up at CLSU, I still remember those times when my mom would ask me to drop letters at the CLSU Post Office. Those were the times when students, teachers and laborers would crowd the Post Office entrance on a daily basis. Though the system of snail mail is fading fast, the memories of it would be in my heart forever.