Fan Mail

I just wrote a response to one of the half dozen fan letters I get each year. Hey, it's a chore to keep up with that level of fan mail, but I feel a responsibility.

By the way, though I used to keep all my fan mail--a little self-esteem enhancer--I have destroyed it all and discard all fan letters after I've written a response. Does this make me a hard, nasty person? On the contrary. We keep no records on the people who contact me by e-mail, especially through my website. There's some kind of law about not maintaining that kind of information. (Of course, I can't remember what the law is.) So it seemed to me that I shouldn't be holding onto letters with names and return addresses. Especially since they are almost always from kids. And I'm an adult.

It just seems wrong.