“How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.”
Elizabeth Barrett Browning wrote that enduring line of poetry in sonnet number 43 (of 44), in her series Sonnets from the Portuguese.
If Elizabeth were alive today she would be able to count hundreds of ways to express her love. Imagine the feverish pace at which she could have pounded out sonnets, love letters and passionate declarations while in the blush of romance with Robert Browning. She could have emailed, IM’d and blogged to her lonely little heart’s content. How easy it would have been to send every little breathless, longing and loving thought to him if only she had a cell phone?
The handwritten letter is not an art that will likely ever be replaced. In fact, you’ll probably get the fish-eye if you try and give your betrothed an e-card instead of the paper sort for Valentine’s Day, but the paper kind can be supplemented with digital declarations of affections much of the time. Cell phones and instant messaging programs make it easy to send some Xs and Os in the middle of the day. It only takes a moment to express a fleeting affectionate thought by reaching out digitally to touch somebody’s heart.
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These days you will rarely see teenagers passing around elaborately folded little notes; instead you can find them hunched over, expertly thumbing tiny keyboards, texting a type of slang shorthand. They also love sending a plethora of pictures to their sweethearts of themselves, puckering or smiling with the inventible emoticons and don’t forget the <3.
Many people know the advantages of digital media and satellites available today that help keep loved-ones in touch. This has a unique impact on military men and women sent to far flung locations away from their spouses, lovers and families. They can talk face to face hundreds, even thousands of miles apart easier and more affordably than they ever could before. In the past such a thing was mere science fiction and only a photograph could trek its way across the ocean at an achingly slow pace. Now cell phones make it easy for a Navy recruit to call his sweetheart in his hometown or for a new Marine to call her fiancé to celebrate once she’s made it through basic training, exchanging sentiments of congratulation and affection.
There is also the thrill of sending a slightly naughty cell phone photo to seduce a tryst with your spouse to spice up an otherwise ordinary afternoon. Be careful though, you wouldn’t want it getting into the wrong hands!
Of course, for those who just want to leave the sentiments up to the experts you can send out an e-card, which is especially helpful for people who are less poetic and maybe forgot to drop one in the mail in time!
For some positively devilish and adult-oriented sentiments, www.someecards.com has been creating quite a buzz
