Ants decided to set up a colony in our family’s mailbox last summer.
Their choice was mystifying. The arch-shaped postal receptacle contained no food. Maybe they saw it as a shelter or some sort of entomological nightclub. Their invasion was disturbing, yet fun in an unusual way. The ants made opening the mailbox door an adventure again. We’d spray bug killer, and they’d disappear for a while. A few days later, we’d pull the door and find the ants were back, swarming the envelopes inside like a scene from “The Mummy.”
These days, trips to the mailbox lack the sense of anticipation baby boomer kids felt while awaiting the delivery of teeth-blackening chewing gum, ordered from the back pages of a comic book. Instead, the daily assortment of mail typically consists of bills, credit-card solicitations and ad fliers. Handwritten letters and postcards are being replaced by Facebook and Twitter updates, e-cards, text messages and Skype chats.
Thus, nobody runs to the mailbox anymore, unless they get some strange thrill from being identified as “current resident.”
But all of that changes during the holidays. The ants disappear in the cold, and — more importantly — Christmas cards brighten up the mail.
Some contain a short greeting, handwritten or professionally printed, or merely a signature below a Hallmark poem. Others include a personal letter, recapping the sender’s past year. A few are “corporate cards,” like those sent by company underlings in the name of Clark Griswold’s cranky boss in “Christmas Vacation.” The most entertaining Christmas cards, though, feature a family photo.
Those pictures — and all of the drama required to arrange them — often earn a spot in the American household museum, the refrigerator door. E-cards can’t match that.
“It’s a fleeting moment when it’s electronic, and it’s a keepsake when it’s a hard-copy,” said Mic Orman, who’s processed and snapped photos for 32 years in Terre Haute.
The value of such a real, ink-and-paper, original Christmas card seems to be re-emerging in 2011 after a decline last year. Orman said customers at his photo shop, Mic’s Pics on Wabash Avenue, are bringing in more photos to adorn holiday greeting cards this season than in 2010, at least at this point. That trend follows a national survey, too.
Sixty-three percent of people surveyed by online marketing firms Zoomerang and Vistaprint said they intend to mail hard-copy Christmas and holiday cards. Of those folks, 66 percent plan to send more physical cards than they did last year, according to the poll. Seventy-four percent figure they won’t use e-cards this time. Likewise, the U.S. Postal Service estimates it will deliver 16.5 billion cards, letters and packages during the Thanksgiving-to-New-Year’s-Day period, an increase from 15.8 billion last year.
That return to tradition may be more sentimental than financial.
“I’m not sure that the economy’s any better,” Orman said, “but so many people missed [sending out cards] last year, they’re going back to it this year.”
Yes, Virginia, there is a recession. And, yes, old-school cards, photo processing and stamps cost more than an email or a Facebook posting. But tangible items, especially in this here-today-gone-tomorrow culture, are worth a couple extra bucks. (It’s not a fortune. Half of the people surveyed by Zoomerang estimated they’d spend $25 or less on their Christmas greetings.)
The extra time involved pays off, too. Including a photo with a Christmas card takes time. And patience. Kids may not all want to smile at the same time. The family may not be in the mood for Sunday-best clothes and trying to get the family dog to pose. A little advice from Orman: Don’t be so formal. Try something usual. Let kids react naturally. “Be creative,” Orman said of choosing the right atmosphere. “Go to your favorite family spot. It’s all about the expressions.”
Your favorite vacation picture from last summer might work, especially in the dead of winter when sunshine and heat seem like Aesop’s fables. “It’s a great way to say, ‘This is us on the beach in July — merry Christmas,’” Orman said.
A cool, reversed twist on the “Christmas in July” concept. The card’s recipients might be envious. Then again, an ocean-side Christmas card from a cousin or a friend sure beats a mailbox full of utility bills or ants.
Mark Bennett can be reached at (812) 231-4377 or mark.bennett@tribstar.com
Mark Bennett B-Sides
Related Photos
-
Tribune-Star columnist Mark Bennett
Discussion
MARK BENNETT: Holiday season makes going to the mailbox fun again
- Mark Bennett B-Sides
-
-
MARK BENNETT: 500 history runs in her veins, but she’ll pass on the buttermilk
Katy Balch appreciates tradition. The 20-year-old from Terre Haute understands how neatly her role as one of 33 Indianapolis 500 princesses fits her family.
-
B-SIDES: Bloomington brain exhibit gives us something to think about
Most of us never think about our brain.
-
MARK BENNETT: Read me to sleep, mom
She read. They listened, staring at the pages.
-
MARK BENNETT: A lesson to be learned from Lugar’s loss
It can happen to one of the nation’s most revered, principled, effective, hard-working U.S. senators.
And, if it hasn’t already, it can happen to you. -
MARK BENNETT: Despite challenges, 2012 grads have youth, tenacity on their side
Let the doomsday crowd line up like a scene from “Animal House.”
-
MARK BENNETT: Political life imitates art
A movie plot typically touches the extremes of life.
-
MARK BENNETT: When it came to artwork, ‘Salty’ always kept it real
The depth of my visual art expertise mirrors that of Neil Young.
-
MARK BENNETT: Ongoing challenge: To keep Mother Nature from getting trashed
Soggy, mud-caked jeans and a formerly white T-shirt were my youngest son’s summertime uniform, as a kid.
-
Playing a legend: Broadway actor practiced hundreds of shots, visited Terre Haute to play Sycamore legend in 'Magic/Bird'
Until now, the words “Larry Bird” and “Broadway production” simply would not appear in the same sentence.
-
MARK BENNETT: How much of your spring break will be spent in the digital world?
It seems harsh to give folks a math assignment on the brink of spring break, but wisdom should never take a holiday, so here goes.
-
MARK BENNETT: Litter trashes scenery on first day of spring
A mop is an ironic piece of litter.
Someone once used it to keep floors spotless. When its utility ended, this cleaning device became trash on the edge of a road. -
MARK BENNETT: Food for thought
The finest hours in grocery shopping arrive after 10 p.m.
-
Need a tourney tip? Try the team that puts people to work
People filling out NCAA brackets and the Republican presidential candidates share the same problem.
-
MARK BENNETT: Manning leaves great memories for Colts fans
The emotion behind the words was obvious.
-
MARK BENNETT: Terre Haute native saw tornado bearing down on his school
Disaster drills often leave participants grumbling or wisecracking. Until, heaven forbid, they see what Tom Cullen saw Friday afternoon.
-
MARK BENNETT: Year of the River a common interest for diverse entities
Water can compel people to get better acquainted.
-
MARK BENNETT: Our greatest president had some help from an obscure relative
On this Presidents Day week, historians weigh the impact of Washington, Jefferson and the Roosevelts on Americans’ lives.
-
MARK BENNETT: Proposed trail would give river development momentum, reacquaint community with Wabash
Terre Haute and the Wabash River were like strangers living next door to each other.
-
MARK BENNETT: Super Bowl luck? His is mostly bad
I’ve learned to take a Seinfeld approach to Super Bowls.
In a flash of clairvoyance, Jerry excitedly reminded buddy George Costanza that “if every instinct you have is wrong, then the opposite would have to be right.” -
MARK BENNETT: Not-so-casual observers
In the minds of many adults, the most upstanding generation of young people was, ironically, their own.
-
MARK BENNETT: On the banks of the Wabash, a sculpture
Paul Dresser remembered his hometown at its best. Terre Haute should remember him the same way.
-
MARK BENNETT: A reminder for electorate: You get what you vote for
In the rear-view mirror of our lives, some days loom larger than we expected.
For many Hoosiers, the date Nov. 2, 2010, probably fits that category. -
MARK BENNETT: Keys to the future
Steve Witt fielded a jarring phone call in October 2007.
-
MARK BENNETT: Hall-of-Famer Larkin delivered more than clutch hits
A logjam of kids swelled behind the first-base dugout in Riverfront Stadium.
-
MARK BENNETT: Polian, Colts and Terre Haute were good for one another
Sentimentality seems alien in a discussion of Bill Polian.
That emotion rarely influenced his decisions in 14 seasons as the day-to-day boss of the Indianapolis Colts. He surely felt it, but seldom submitted to it. The NFL is a business, after all, with winning as its bottom line. Polian knew how to make that happen, and did. Anyone or anything threatening to divert the Colts from title contention could not linger. When it came to that mission, Polian functioned with all of the sentimentality of Joe Friday. -
MARK BENNETT: In this day and age, pure quiet is hard to find
It’s hard to emulate JFK — this JFK, at least.
-
MARK BENNETT: Rose professor’s bit part in classic holiday movie leaves a major memory
Most of us see a bit of ourselves in “A Christmas Story.” Mike Kukral does so, literally. The 1983 movie grew into a holiday classic because so many of its poignant, awkward and hilarious moments seem to have been pulled straight from our childhood memories.
-
MARK BENNETT: Ferrell’s love of Old Milwaukee shines light on Old Terre Haute
Will Ferrell didn’t walk through traffic at Seventh and Wabash for nothing.
Well, actually it might have been for nothing. Apparently, the comedian just likes Old Milwaukee so much that he came to Terre Haute, unannounced, one morning last September to film wacky commercials for the beer. -
MARK BENNETT: Holiday season makes going to the mailbox fun again
Ants decided to set up a colony in our family’s mailbox last summer.
-
MARK BENNETT: First impressions: City benefits from hearing visitors’ views of community
The town should blush.
- More Mark Bennett B-Sides Headlines
-
MARK BENNETT: 500 history runs in her veins, but she’ll pass on the buttermilk
Obama Honors Fallen Troops at Arlington Cemetery
Raw Video: Cop Shoots Man Eating Another's Face
Raw Video: Deadly Explosion at Minn. Paper Mill
Man in Crane at Texas College Says He's Armed
Raw Video: 19 Dead in Qatar Shopping Mall Fire
Romney Promises World's Strongest Military
Beryl Knocks Out Power in Florida
Beryl Makes Landfall on Florida Coast
Obama Pays Tribute to Vietnam Veterans
Raw Video: Memorial Day Aboard Intrepid
Service Dogs Help Wash. Soldiers Battling PTSD
Japan Farmers Plant, Seek Radiation-free Rice
Raw Video: Heckler Bursts in on Blair Testimony
UN Blames Syrian Forces for Shelling Houla
Raw Video: Gay Protest Blocked in Moscow
Air Canada Plane Makes Emergency Landing
Raw Video: Obama Lays Wreath on Memorial Day
Vatican in Chaos After Butler Arrested for Leaks
Raw Video: National Mall Concert Shut Down
Biden Addresses West Point Graduating Class
J.Lo and Marc's Friendly Reunion
Justin Bieber Accused of Assaulting Photographer - Glen Walker reports
Cynthia Nixon Ties the Knot
Woman, 80, Falls Out of Skydive Harness Mid-Jump
Keira Reveals Engagement Ring
Dog runs alonside cyclists for 1,100 miles
Lady Gaga Cancels Indonesian Show After Threats
Long Story Short: Beyonce back on stage
Raw Video: Man Rescued From River in China
Celtics crush Sixers in Game 7
Alleged Lego Thief Faces Felony Charges
Has Snooki Named Her Baby?
Heat Wave Warms Holiday Weekend
Beyonce Entertains the First Family
Inspiration for the class of 2012
