No postcards for you! 

Before email and text messages, some of the most treasured connections came in the form of a simple piece of mail. For me, that meant letters and postcards from my grandparents as they traveled the country. From the road, my grandmother would write to us on the paper placemats you used to find in roadside diners. They were often printed with the restaurant name, the city, maybe a few fun facts about the area, or a puzzle to solve. She’d write her letter on the back, and drop them in the mail, sometimes tucking in a postcard from wherever they’d stopped.

Those letters and postcards from the road remain cherished reminders of their constant presence even when we lived in different states.

This picture is one of those reminders. It had to have been 1977, and my mom, my brother and I were living in Oklahoma, just outside of Tulsa. We’d had maybe a day or two’s notice that our grandparents would be stopping for a visit while on the road in their camper. Our neighbor and school friend Mike wandered over, and we lined up for a picture. It must have been a Sunday. We were dressed for church.

I cherished those letters and cards, and still have some of them. I can only imagine how much more these mementos are for people in prison, cut off from the world and hungry for any glimpse of life beyond those walls.

But in federal custody, and an increasing number of state institutions, people aren’t allowed to receive postcards. Some state facilities go the other way and allow only postcards. No letters on paper (or diner menus) at all. Only what can be crammed onto one side of a 4″ x 6″ card.

With stamps now 78¢, we save a little by using 61¢ postcards for short messages like adoption notices, congratulations, or quick answers. When they’re refused, it’s more than wasted postage. It’s extra labor to resend, delays in delivering news, and one less thread of connection.

Policies that prohibit postcards and other personal touches strip away the most human and tangible reminders that someone, somewhere, thought of you and took the time to send a piece of their life. For people inside, these simplest keepsakes that mean the world, may never make it into their hands. And that’s a loss worth talking about.