I love getting a glimpse of what life was like years ago. I get chills touring historic homes, hearing stories of the families who once lived there, touching the items that they once owned and touched and loved. I feel a dull buzzing in my bones when I walk through antique stores filled to the gils with memories and prized posessions. Items I might use for quaint decor were actually necessities for my ancestors.
Today, I stopped by a favorite vintage decor store and stumbled upon a whole box of fabulous old postcards from the 1920s. Oh my – I got totally lost in the messages, from the fantastically formal sentiments on the front to the brief handwritten messages on the back. One is written to Mr. Frank Brath at Camp Bellsport, Wisconsin (they didn’t even need to write a zip code!).
Dear Friend Frank,
How are you? Everything’s fine and dandy here. Hope you are the very same. How do you like this kind of weather? More rain, more rest. Don’t you know? I am to busy to write a letter, will ring off for this time with Regards and Best Wishes.
Yours truly, Mayme
Oh, Mayme! I want to know more! Do you love Frank? What are you so busy doing that you can’t sit down and write a whole letter to him? What would you tell him? Maybe you don’t know. Maybe that’s why you only write about the weather, and not about your undying love for him.
See, this is where my head goes – spinning off into fantasy land, wishing for more details, imagining all the possible scenarios. If only I had a time machine and an address for Miss Mayme!
Beauty Tip: Ask an elderly relative a few questions about his or her past. Who did they correspond with? Did they ever get to travel? Who were their friends? What kept them going during hard days? Write it down or record it – you’ll treasure the trip back in time forever.
