Every time I am tempted to write the ex (I deleted his phone number, but still remember his email address), I remind myself of the following: a) I've cleaned up enough of our messes, and it's his turn to extend the olive branch b) There's a good chance he doesn't want to fix things for a variety of reasons, many of which have nothing to do with me, and c) I will only look needy and dependent and neither of those things is attractive.
I am a big believer that if an ex wants to re-establish the relationship, then they will. And if for whatever reason they want to but won't or can't, then they are not good boyfriend/girlfriend material. I would personally rather be left with some questions than have any more pain heaped upon me by hearing things I don't want to hear. And anyway - what's with assuming that our exes' opinion trumps everyone else's?