‘Paris Is Fabulous!’ Or What Not to Write on a Postcard Home.

Travel Blog  •  Jim Benning  •  08.01.06 | 8:00 AM ET

Even in the age of e-mail, plenty of travelers send postcards home. But why do they inflict so many cliches and superlatives on people they care about? “We claim it’s simply to stay in touch, but brief introspection will lead us to the real motive—to demonstrate that our life is much better than our friends’ or family’s at this moment,” writes Patti Miller in the Sydney Morning Herald. “We have the opportunity, at least for a couple of weeks, to create an enviable life.” But if you are a traveler who wants to “earn the right to have your card posted on the fridge, writing-side up,” Miller has several good tips.

Among them: “Don’t use the words amazing, beautiful, magical, romantic, lovely, charming or fabulous—unless you have mastered the art of irony.”

And my favorite, which might otherwise be called the Paul Theroux School of Postcard Writing: “Try telling the truth. I am not suggesting anything as radical or tasteless as the whole truth (you don’t have to mention the rash, or even the bickering, for that matter) but a little acknowledgement of ordinary human irritation or distress is remarkably heart-warming.”

Miller’s example? In part: “Dear Charity, This morning Max and I bickered all the way to yet another medieval village and then had lukewarm coffee next to a 12th-century church indistinguishable from all the others we’ve seen (the finer points of French medieval ecclesiastical architecture having escaped us).”

Patti, you had me at “bickered.”

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2 Comments for ‘Paris Is Fabulous!’ Or What Not to Write on a Postcard Home.

ssssss 08.01.06 | 2:07 PM ET

But if you write something like the “Dear Charity, This morning Max and I bickered all the way to yet another medieval village…” Don’t you risk sounding like a bored spoiled brat?

Jim Benning 08.01.06 | 2:56 PM ET

If that’s all you write, then I think you make a good point.

All things in moderation, I say.

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