Volumes of Good Wishes

Oh, these are the coolest things ever! Postcards in English and sent to and from somewhere in the US. They were both mailed in 1909, one in July and one in November. And they appear to be identical, but if you look at the back of them, they aren't exact.

First, the July card. "In town this forenoon, think I saw your brother, down St. What did you think of the festival sbt? eve. I enjoyed myself very much, was with such a lively crowd." Have you ever seen the word forenoon before? It  means the morning. I mean that makes sense, it's before noon, but why not say in the morning? Have we replaced that word with mid-morning? I wish there were more details about whatever festival he/she is referencing. Whom ever they were, they were in a hurry to get this thing off. No capitalization at the beginning, and those abbreviations. They even put the stamp on upside down.

The postcard mailed in November starts out "Dear Friend, why don't you send me a card. I sent you one a long time ago. I thought maybe you had changed your address and didn't get it." That's it. A scrawled name towards the top, Hannah, perhaps? If you look at the addresses to which these were mailed, wow, how did anyone find these people? Ida and Loyd, of course we know where they live, everyone knows Ida and Loyd.  I bet people at the post office could go back and explain these seemingly absent addresses.

The times have changed, very much in fact. But we are ultimately the same. Hey, I saw your brother. I enjoyed myself at the festival. Where are you and why haven't you written back? Although now, we would see you having a great time at the festival via Facebook or Instagram. And we can track old friends down far easier than ever before. Or start stalking them, haha.

 Every once in a while I find something that takes my breath away. These go into that category. Love, love, love them.