The Lost Art of Postcarding

I had this great idea. As I travelled the world this year I would set aside one day a month to handwrite and mail postcards to some of my friends and acquaintances back in the U.S. We spend so much time on our smartphones, tablets and laptops that I thought it would be a nice idea. A retro idea. Something cool and unique. Think about it. When’s the last time you received a postcard in the mail? Or a letter for that matter? Well today was the day. We’ve been in Rishikesh, India for a few weeks and decided to write and send some postcards. First order of business was to get some postcards. No problem right?

We asked around at the tourist area and had no luck. Go figure. We headed to the market area where they have everything. Well almost everything. We searched out bookstores, magazine shops and stationary stores. The first shopkeeper we asked just laughed at us. He did’t speak english but knew what we were after and thought we were wacko. The second shopkeeper said “No postcards. You just click your phone and send.” This was my point exactly. It’s really easy for me to click a photo, doctor it up with a built in filter, and post it on Facebook, Instagram, or wherever. But taking the time to sit down occasionally and write and mail a postcard seemed like a lost art to me. It was personal. Unplugging and taking the time write and mail it. It seemed like a novel thing to do.

The owner of that second shop ordered a younger boy to search in the back. In the meantime we looked over the many books he had for sale. After a few minutes the boy produced a couple dozen postcards. At first glance it was apparent these were the ones no-one wanted. They were crap. Leftover from 5 or 10 years ago. There was a pack of 10 stapled together. The staples were rusted. Laurie decided to purchase them all. 18 total. Orphaned postcards. Left over from a different era.

We’re back at our guest house, which incidentally is transforming itself into a hotel – more on that later, and I’m prying the rusty staples from that 10 pack of postcards. We’ll trim the with scissors (yes we brought some). We’re going to give it our best shot. Keep an eye on your mailbox. The one outside your home not the one in your phone. Maybe you’ll get a surprise someday. If you do get a postcard think about how it feels. And let me know.