Once upon a time, there existed a series of plain oblong volumes called “Boring Postcards”, in which the editors reprinted what they considered some of the blandest, least interesting postcards ever produced. They eventually begged for mercy and terminated the series, as the more postcards they showed off, the more people sent to them, and they were having trouble staying awake. I will not assume their mantel, but I thought we could look at a few contenders from my inventory.
Boring is, of course, in the eyes of the beholder. The advertising postcard at the top of this column might not interest SOME people, but as one who was once involved in the used book trade, I gazed on it with awe when first I saw it, exclaiming, “So THAT’S why we get so many copies of those two books!” The next postcard may seem perfectly reasonable to some folks, but I had a friend who would have passed it by with a yawn. Mountains, lakes, landscape…what did THEY ever do that was interesting? (AND, it must be admitted, as mountains go, Rib Mountain here is not so breathtaking.)
My friend’s attitude may explain some of the beautiful scenery shown by our ancestors, who were careful to make sure we could see the road going through it. After all, the hills and valleys had been there for years, but it took Modern Man to build a road.
In fact, not only does the road take up larger and larger portions of the picture, but we are also always given a good view of the posts alongside. “See our beautiful, safe road?” the cards say. “Use that and you can take your own pictures of those old green mountains.”
“In fact, LOTS of you can do it at the same time and (see our guard rails?) be perfectly secure on the highway!”
This card, you’ll note, claims to be a view of Shreveport. I’m glad they mentioned it.
After the money and manhours that went into building the highway, the viaduct, the bridge, the tunnel, you can’t blame people for being proud of it. They want to SHOW it to you. This does not mean that all that many of us will be thrilled to look at it.
The saga of forcing a way through the wilderness is an exciting one in its own right (and, after all, on occasion the wilderness won). Yet we are ungrateful. No matter what the story was, that stretch of pavement does not appeal to our pitiful imaginations. Yes, I know: if I were lost in the wilderness myself, a road would be the most beautiful thing ever, as that would lead me to the nearest Starbuck’s. And yet….
And, um, it must be admitted that there are parts of the country where the most boring of pavements is no more boring than the surrounding countryside. Maybe it’s a problem with my own mind. Maybe I am so twenty-first century that I need something to happen every few seconds to keep me entertained.
So for those like me, here’s this postcard view of one of the world’s great outdoor staircases. Ignore my yawns: I’m just impossible to please.
(Next week: Boring Buildings.)
Blogsy Babbles 