Journalist, Sandy Banks, writes of discovering a new range of greeting card—cards to send someone who has been arrested or incarcerated and cards to be used by those on the inside to thank people for their support.A couple of them read:
“SORRY TO HEAR ABOUT YOUR ARREST.”
“NOT YOU!”
The messages inside are blunt and to the point. The article goes on to tell how these cards were created. The idea came when a lawyer’s brother-in-law was imprisoned and the woman picked up her pen but didn’t know what to write.
The article tells how this new range is selling. Not very well it seems at the local card and gift shops. It is a big hurdle purchasing one of these arresting cards when the shop assistant may think your family is a bad lot. Perhaps they will sell better online.
This story illustrates the difficulty we all have in such circumstances, finding the words to say something that is true, real and devoid of sentimental piety.
To check out some of the range of cards and read the entire interesting article see:
Sandy Banks, ‘Cards for Inmates Say it all for you’, LA Times, 13 October 2007 [LA Times does require a free sign in for first time online readers]
Image: A card from the arresting range [click to magnify]