The Thank You Note

I would like to title this entry... "The Thank You Note: a lesson in acting right"

I received a gift on Sunday, I won't tell you what it was but sufficed to say it was quite lovely and I am very pleased to have it in my possession. Naturally, my first instinct when I got home was to write a sincere note of thanks to the gift giver. Why? Because I was brought up right. Sadly, though, I have found too many folks today wouldn't know a thank you note from a credit card bill, and I find this highly disturbing.

I mean, somebody's gonna give you a present out of the kindness of their heart (or familial obligation) and you can't even take 5 minutes to write them a little note? I realize the use of an actual pen and paper in this age of keyboards is mind-boggling, but surely you can scratch out a few hieroglyphics in the name of courtesy. Email thank you notes do not really count, though I do accept them from my brother because well, getting him to convey complete sentences is so rare that I'll take them any way I can get them.

Thank you notes are a fundamental part of acting right, and I am appalled by the number of folks who are so totally clueless. I am still waiting on one from a bride and groom from 3 months ago. And I know there's some One Year Rule for newlyweds, but I happen to know these folks have a lot of free time. If I don't get a thank you for a gift, well you can just forget about getting anything else from me. I am not being unreasonable, this is just proper etiquette.

I teach all my little princesses the value of writing thank you notes. You see, the key to my successful reign has been to ensure that the folks around me know how much I appreciate them. This is how you create loyal subjects, and loyal subjects are the backbone of any great monarchy.

Try to be descriptive and sincere, and avoid "Thank you for the book. It is really neat" if at all possible. Now if you don't know what to say about the patchwork sweater Crazy Aunt Suzy sent you, always defalt to the word "precious," it has so very many meanings. "Precious" is especially good with the Yankees, cause they have no idea that it really means "the ugliest thing I ever saw."

I'm just trying to spread a little goodwill here and besides, not sending a note endicates a lack of home training, and I know you don't wanna disgrace your momma like that.