This week we have considered the postcards which were published so that you could nag your friends to write to you as well as those cards which were printed to apologize for not having written. Because sending postcards came as naturally to those generations as texting and tweeting does to us, there was a multitude of sentiments which could be expressed, including those which apologized for sending a postcard so late, or sending one with such a short message, or even sending a postcard at all.
A postcard was considered a token of regard and a realization that one is late with a letter, but one had to admit that a postcard was NOT as good as a nice, long letter.
Unless you had perfectly precise 3-point penmanship, there wasn’t room for a whole lot of news
Although it WAS something
You could excuse yourself for interrupting the recipient’s life with such a short message by saying there isn’t much news
But that you thought a message might be welcome
The postcard was often written quickly, often in pencil (much quicker in the days before ballpoint), and even THAT could be apologized for
And while in a self-deprecating mode, apologizing for being so late in writing, you could make amends by squeezing in another butt joke.
The postcard was meant to patch up any break in communications, to reassure the recipient that you did care even if you were sometimes slow to write, AND, sometimes blatantly, that they could stop NAGGING you about it now.
Blogsy Babbles 