Dear John

[antryg]

The love letter thread got me thinking about "Dear John" letters. I'd like to hear from others that have experienced this grand tradition. Is it solely an American institution? Women, feel free to share your own "Dear Joan" letters or the warm fuzzy feeling you got when sending a Dear John.

My dorm while attending Texas A&M had a great tradition. It was called silver crapper. Whenever someone received a Dear John letter everybody would gather at "John's" room. He was then escorted to the bathroom where the letter was read out loud. Appropriate comments were added by the crowd. After the letter was read it was torn into small pieces and flushed while taps was played. A moment of silence was observed and then a 21 flush salute was given. The participants then silently returned to their room. (Where they grabbed their wallets so everyone could go out for a beer. >D )

[wellard]

That silver crapper ceromony was funny! What a way to get over it and move on [img]graemlins/heee.gif[/img] Male bonding at it's best

[Attalus]

LOL, no "Dear Bill" letters, I was usually blown off over the telephone.

[Lord of Alcohol]

Originally posted by Attalus: LOL, no "Dear Bill" letters, I was usually blown off over the telephone.

a different Dear Bill letter, buy me drinky, I luv you long time [img]tongue.gif[/img]

[DameonRules]

Being overseas there have been plenty of dear john letters that have been recieved by the marines here. alot of the guys here expect it but hope they don't get them. being in kuwait for over 7 month some people expect to be cheated on.

[ 07-24-2003, 01:25 PM: Message edited by: DameonRules ]

[Cloudbringer]

DameonRules, that's really sad! But I wonder how solid a relationship is if you EXPECT to be cheated on over 7 mos of enfoced seperation!

Antryg, I never sent any 'Dear John' letters, myself, so I can't add much in that way. Your story was pretty funny, though!

[Timber Loftis]

Um... Every letter I get is a "Dear Jon" letter. [img]graemlins/heee.gif[/img]

I got dumped by a girlfriend in Germany -- but IIRC even she used the telephone to do it. I'm sure I've gotten these letters, but none memorable enough to recall right now. I did get a "Dear Jon We Gotta Take a Break and Think" letter from a serious gf, but we worked things out -- that time.

[Mojo]

I've never received a "Dear John" but only because I've been written to about 2 times in my life, and both were very much not of that persuasion...

Although I was once dumped over the phone. After a few weeks of being stood up every Saturday, I'd gone in to meet her again, but I was a little late, so I phoned her. A few phone calls later and some aggro, and her friend comes onto the phone and tells me. I wasn't impressed byt the cowardness shown there, especially since I found out later that she'd been seeing my best friend as well...

Still, on the bright side, I've never had a letter [img]smile.gif[/img]

[DameonRules]

Originally posted by Cloudbringer: DameonRules, that's really sad! But I wonder how solid a relationship is if you EXPECT to be cheated on over 7 mos of enfoced seperation!

Never said i expect them but some people here do. i guess that way if they expect the letter it doesn't hurt as much when they get it. never having recieved on or expected to i don't konw just guessing.

[antryg]

One thing I forgot to mention is that the cold water pressure went waaay down when you flushed the john. So much so that before you flushed you were expected to yell "flush" if anyone was taking a shower, otherwise you learned how lobster is cooked up close and personal. Obviously a 21 flush salute could make your shower pretty interesting. [img]graemlins/laugh2.gif[/img]

DameonRules does bring up a good point. Romances when you are 18-21 often don't stand up to the stress of extended separation.(Tis isn't to infer DR's age. Many of our troops do fall in this category.) This type of "celebration" really helps. It helps bond people together and lessens the pain as others sympathize as well as relate their own pain. Doing it in a humerous way really helped in a time of stress.