Maryland_P_Sevenson said:
actually... this feels like a weird random thought but, how did people even end up meeting anyone that lived far enough away that physically mailing a letter was the most effective method of contact?

From a tropical island pov, it's either you have met them first in person before they went somewhere far away or you get introduced to them by a colleague. Mail penpals was a/the common way to keep in touch back then esp. before telephony (most esp. the overseas one) became common and dirt cheap in the tropics.

Folks send in the most heartfelt, kind, and endearing letters sometimes with photos, postcards, or even the fancy ones with music boxes included in it!

SpuriousZabaione said:
From a tropical island pov, it's either you have met them first in person before they went somewhere far away or you get introduced to them by a colleague. Mail penpals was a/the common way to keep in touch back then esp. before telephony (most esp. the overseas one) became common and dirt cheap in the tropics.

hmm... I guess that living in a really big city with, like, zero tourism has probably skewed how I've viewed stuff like this. probably not helped by my sort of putty-like social skills.