Postcards and Bagels

 

Postcards. When you go on vacation, do you send them? Do you enjoy receiving them? Has their meaning changed over the years? Now that anyone can go online and enjoy vistas from far away places, does the shiny image of the Statue of Liberty or the Eiffel towel have the same impact?

I’m inclined to believe that the relationship you have with the person who sent you the card has become far more important.

Last week this postcard image popped up on BlueSky. I did not know there were Columbia postcards.

Image from BlueSky account postcardbot, this card sent by Ann from Southern, Maryland, U.S.A. on December 20, 1994.

Text on the reverse: 

Columbia, Maryland

Completed in 1967, Columbia was one of the the first of the modern planned cities. Designed by the Rouse Co., the city was termed a "garden for the growing of people." In the foreground is Lake Kittamaqundi; the background, office buildings and Columbia Mall.

Does any word there leap out at you? Read the blurb again.

“Completed.”

I’m not sure what word would have been exactly right, but “completed” is not it. I think of 1967 as much more of a birth year than a completion. We could safely say that Columbia was “something-something” in 1967 and people have pretty much been arguing about it every since.

No, that’s not right either. I’ve only been here since 1999 and I can’t possibly speak accurately about life here before that. Research, yes. Learn, yes. Speak authoritatively - - no.

I think we can safely say that 1) the New American City drew unto itself people with plenty of opinions and 2) it was not completed in 1967. This may be a question for the Columbia Maryland Archives.

What do you think? 

*****

People are buzzing online about the new bagel place on Broken Land. Have you heard? It’s called 

Über Bagels and it looks to me as though they originated in Ocean City. On Friday my husband drove me to a doctor’s appointment in Glen Burnie and I asked him if we could get some breakfast on the way home. 

“How about a bagel?” he asked me. He grabbed his phone and started looking for something.

And that’s how I ended up at Uber Bagels on their opening day, no less. I was worried that it might be too crowded. My husband talked me into it with these words:

“You might get a blog post out of it…”

It was not too crowded. The bagel was tasty. We will be back. 

Have a great Monday.

Village Green/Town² Comments