Writing and Sending Postcards. A Lost Art?

I received something really special in the mail yesterday. A postcard from Metsovo, Greece. Fellow travelers Paula and Keith, who I met in 2004 during a travel writing workshop in Key West, are in Europe for another summer and they generously offered to send postcards to friends.

What I love about this card is that Paula thoughtfully shared some of their culinary adventures while in Metsovo. Reading it was like sitting down with her and listening as she recounted one of her many travel tales.

I love browsing through old postcards at flea markets and thrift shops. Reading them provides an almost voyeuristic look into an unknown person’s life. Back in the good old days, people seemed to take the time and share what they were experiencing on vacations or express how much they missed the card recipient.

In the 21st century, it seems as though the art of writing a thoughtful message and mailing a postcard during a journey is a lost art.  Facebook, text messaging, emails and other digital media channels keep us easily connected when we’re on the road and perhaps we don’t feel the need to send postcards. Not sure about you but opening my mailbox and finding a postcard with a pretty image from a far off place sent by someone who cares about me is a pretty groovy thing. It definitely beats those credit card offers.

Note: My parents are great about sending postcards from their trips.