Hallmark is closing its Topeka plant, a decision that puts a Kansas face on the fact that greeting card companies right along with the U.S. post office are facing fallout from the electronic revolution.
More and more of us are communicating through email, Facebook, Twitter and other social media. Why pay $2.50 for a card and 47 cents for a stamp when you have already committed to an Internet contract?
It’s likely to get worse, though a quaint alternative exists.
It is really less expensive to write a note and send it by snailmail. More appreciated, too.
Sending a Twitter saying “Sorry mom died” really lacks class.
Ditto for posting a love letter on Facebook for the whole world to read. Just whose fancy are you trying to capture?
OK, written expressions of sympathy, love, appreciation or delight are old-fashioned. But they are also uniquely personal and, excuse the word, appropriate.
Make an impression. Say it in writing. A plain panel card from the five and dime and a ballpoint pen will do fine.
— Emerson Lynn, jr.
