The exchange by e-mail is more intimate than conversation - you allow yourself to say things you otherwise wouldn't.
“I went to school at this log school house. A white woman was my teacher, I do not remember her name. My father had to pay her one dollar a month for me. Us kids that went to school did not have desks, we used slates and set on the hued down logs for seats.”
“I'm just trying to keep my mind and my body active. The tough part about it is that physically I'm sort of limited.”