Handwritten POTUS Reply

[Belsnickel]

So, I just had to share this because I find this neat. I have no doubt that every POTUS does something similar. I know the vast majority of letters never see the desk of a POTUS, if they do, the reply is a typed letter with an auto-pen. But likely every POTUS has those few that they care enough about to actually handle on their own. So I just found this to be neat: http://www.breezejmu.org/life/jmu-professor-receives-handwritten-letter-from-president-obama/article_dc4d7cf2-e0d0-11e5-a35d-afb933ea62ae.html

Quote:Two days after Alison Parker passed away after being a victim of a shooting during a live television interview, one professor sat down and wrote a letter to state representatives as well as President Barack Obama on the issue of gun violence in the U.S.

“I felt totally helpless and thought about what I could do as one person over the issue,” Jay Varner, an English and writing, rhetoric and technical communication professor, said. “And the only thing I know how to do efficiently is how to write and communicate.”

In his letter, Varner expresses his sadness about Parker’s death and the disappointment he feels that nothing has been done to eliminate the amount of shootings in this country.

“I had met her earlier this spring,” Varner wrote about Parker in his letter. “It was brief (and now, it seems much too brief) but she made the best of impressions.”

Varner said it was surreal to find out Parker was affected by gun violence, and he used his writing skills to communicate how he felt.

“What are you going to do about this?” Varner asks in his letter. “I hope this means it’s time to fight for sensible, reasonable gun control. I hope this means that you will do all that you can to ensure nothing like this happens again.”

After sending the letter, Varner wasn’t sure about the type of responses he was going to get and from whom.

“I didn’t know what would happen, I guess it was sort of a moment of waiting to see what happened,” Varner said. “And not only what their responses would be, but hopefully what their actions would be.”

On Feb. 3 he received a voicemail from a Washington, D.C., area code phone number.

“Your letter,” said the recording, “was one of the 10 that the president reads each night,” the woman on the other line said. “He read it last fall and has saved it since then.”

It was a message from the White House, calling to confirm Varner’s home address because the president was sending him a reply.

When Varner got the handwritten letter from President Obama in the mail, he reflected on it with mixed feelings.

There is more there, plus an image of the letter (and a little further down, a typed version in case you can't read his handwriting).

[Vas Deferens]

Need to make a point to reflect on that message as well sometimes. In many facets of life I guess.

Quote:“That message of keeping hope and not being cynical, which is so easy to do, that’s something valuable to hear,” Varner said. “Change is slow, things like this take time and commitment.”