Postcards

I went to the post office this afternoon. I don't get mail that often aside from bills and junk mail disguised as "community announcements" showcasing events I can't attend, so when I saw a small stack of post cards sitting in the box I was kind of excited. They were from a friend of mine living in North Dakota, the cards being from a brewery that apparently has awesome food and beer. She doodled animals and other silly things on the cards, and I couldn't help but laugh at the surprise the mail gave me. The thought was really nice, and I was happy to finally solve the mystery of why she wanted my post office box number, so I put them on display on the fridge.

Postcards are interesting. There isn't enough space on them to convey a very long message, nor are can the messages on them be private since they're just on the backside of the card. Generally the front is a picture of a place or event or whatever-- sort of like a snapshot the sender took except taken by someone else at some point beforehand at a very flattering angle. They serve their purpose well as a "Wish You Were Here!" gesture, or at least a "Check Out The Cool Shit I'm Doing!" one. If nothing else, it shows that someone is thinking enough about me to spend a couple minutes on a short message and thirty-four cents on postage on me. It's the pre-internet era of a "Hey you!" Facebook wall post, and I think that's swell.

I think people should send post cards more often. It's not to say social media messages are a bad thing or that the occasional surprise text isn't worthwhile, but there's something about jotting down a little message on the back of a photo card and sending it through the mail that feels more personal. I received three in a row with pictures of a bar in front and drawings of a capybara, a moose, and a hippo on the back (respectively), and they made my day. The post office shouldn't have to be just the bill pick-up station. Have some fun with postage every now and again.

Snail mail something nice to someone sometime.