1972, January 16: Postcard from Jed to G&H
In the margin of this postcard, Marcy wrote: “Jed went with Laurel.” I think this is the last time that the mysterious Laurel is mentioned; after this, they disappeared from our family’s epistolary narrative as mysteriously as they arrived. But it looks like, as with the previous card “from” me, Laurel wrote this one.
Unlike the earlier card, this one appears to be signed by me, in wavery large capitals with a lot of extra lines that I’m guessing indicate I was having trouble controlling the pen.
One more mysterious thing about this card: There’s an official-looking ink-stamped statement across the postage stamp, in all-caps, that appears to say “ALIENS MUST POP THEIR ADDRESS”. Or maybe “ALIENS MUST REPORT THEIR ADDRESSES”? Either way, I’m not sure why USPS was using a difficult-to-read stamp-canceling system to get a message to aliens. (I assume this obnoxious message was intended for humans who weren’t US citizens, but I figure it might have applied to extraterrestrials as well.)
Printed text of the card: “Mother Goose, Children’s Fairyland • Oakland • Calif”. And: “Children’s Fairyland, a feature of the Oakland Park Department, is the dream of every child come true. Located among beautiful oaks in a lovely glade at Lakeside Park in the center of the city, it is a fantasy of design, color, animation and music to delight the child and adult alike.”
Also: “Mirro-Krome ® card by H.S. Crocker Co., Inc., San Francisco 1, Calif.”
Jan 16
Dear Grandma & Grandpa,
We went to Fairyland today and a trainride. I had a fun time. I missed you.
I have a new christmas Present. It’s crayons, & some Quisener rods.
I have puzzels
Love,
JED
(Quisener rods are, of course, Cuisenaire Rods.)