I just received a postcard. So, of course, I want to node about it.
Postcards are one of the more fascinating things to me. I often sit back and reminisce on "postcards" stored in my mind, moments in time that I remember completely and fondly. These postcards will only ever belong to me, unfortunately, since as of yet no way has been devised to ESP or communicate with a person brain-to-brain. I, for one, will be the first to sign up for that, if and when it comes. Real postcards have the advantage of 'sharablity', and this is indeed their sole purpose in life (hmm… must be nice). They are purchased cheaply, mailed cheaply, but the impact they always have on me is somewhat disturbing.
First, the buzz of actually getting mail kicks in and I'm elevated somewhere slightly above the cold concrete floor.
Then, I make the difficult decision of sides: Front or back first?
The front has the picture
The back is the person's thoughts (not necessarily based on the picture)
I usually choose the back first. I like to hear the person's words when I flip the card over and stare fascinated into this world of another individual. To them, it's every day and ordinary. To me, however, it is a brief moment of connection with that person. My jaw always drops a little, and my eyelids stop blinking, the walls start spinning, and my world is transported to inside the camera, where I can see all that it can see… but only what it can see… and I love it all.
Sometimes I wonder how something so inexpensive can be so meaningful to me. Then I realize that some of the cheapest stuff, a hug, a napkin with a hastily scribbled message on it, a unique trinket, can have more value than anything, ever. (MasterCard has picked up on this quite well.) Whenever I am given an example of this wonderful principle, like the postcard now propped up against my monitor, I am glad the giver took the time to spend so little on me.
It means so much.