Write as least one thoughtful letter

I love letters, so it's not a huge revelation that my new favorite site is Letters of Note - a blog that "attempts to gather and sort fascinating letters, postcards, telegrams, faxes, and memos. Scans/photos where possible." There have been some really great posts so far - several of them music related and well worth reading:

A letter written in 1957 by three teenage girls to President Eisenhower begging him not to give the King "a G.I. hair cut" while he's in the military, or else they "will just about die!"

A letter written in1976 by Frank Sinatra to a Chicago Daily News columnist who trashed him in print. It includes (among other gems) the line, "Quite frankly, I don't understand why people don't spit in your eye three or four times a day."

A letter from a 20-year-old David Bowie in response to his first ever American fan letter in 1967. It's weird to think of Bowie writing the words, "I hope one day to get to America. My manager tells me lots about it as he has been there many times with other acts he manages."

A faxed letter from Joe Stummer to a documentary film maker in '97 about his love for Bruce Springsteen. The opening line sums up his feelings best: "BRUCE IS GREAT... IF YOU DONT AGREE WITH THAT YOU'RE A PRETENTIOUS MARTIAN FROM VENUS."

An adorably earnest fan letter from Andy Kaufman to Elvis Presley written in 1969. In it he writes, "I have been an 'Elvis Presley fan' since my grandfather bought me a copy of Elvis' Golden Records when I was seven. (Since then I have acquired every word you ever recorded, except three.)"

A 1993 letter from Kurt Cobain to William Burroughs asking him to be in the video for "Heart Shaped Box." Cobain writes: "I realize that stories in the press regarding my drug use may make you think that this request comes from a desire to parallel our lives. Let me assure you that this is not the case. As a fan and student of your work, I would cherish the opportunity to work directly with you. To the extent that you may want to avoid any direct use of your image (thus avoiding the aforementioned link for the press to devour). I would be happy to have my director look into make-up techniques that could conceal your identity." Even so, Burroughs declined.

There are many others - some historical, some hilarious, but all worth preserving and reading. Kudos to blogger Shaun Usher for collecting and sharing these letters with us.