A Postcard for Katie

Miss Katie W. got engaged!

Her suitor, Chandler, friended me on Facebook a while back. "I want to be your friend. And I have a favor to ask."

I don't know Chandler very well, as his and Katie's courtship has unfolded since I moved away from the Ozarks. But well I remember the time Chan brought German chocolate to me when he came to talk to the Dean. I was doing a work study, and I saw lots of students in and out of the Dean's office that summer. What a nice boy to bribe the admin assistant with chocolate, I thought. Very nice. I've had a soft spot in my heart for him ever since.

My curiosity piqued, I messaged Chandler back: "Anything you desire, up to half my kingdom." Turns out, Chandler wanted me to write something about his and Katie's relationship, photograph the result, and email it to him for a surprise he was planning for Katie. He asked lots of their friends to contribute to the project.

What ever was he planning? A proposal? I didn't dare ask. Pertinent to me: what was I going to write?

A postcard would be perfect. I like a postcard as a literary genre. There's only so much room to say what you mean, even when it's super-sized. For this "post-card," I cut down from a poster that hung on my dorm room wall. My window to England.

Cottages of Dorset

I love the two figures in the fore-ground, surveying the scene. It could be Katie and Chandler, who knows?

Hello Katie

Every day in England, Katie and I came in from the cold and put the kettle on for tea. At school, we drank tea and ate chocolates when we should have been studying. These two commodities were essential to the economy of our friendship. Chandler is a smart man.

Chandler & Katie: Commemorative Stamp

For the postcard's crowning touch, I converted Chandler's profile picture into a commemorative "stamp," celebrating the couple's sweet love.

If any gentlemen are reading this blog and need ideas for surprising their sweethearts, Chandler H. would be pleased to consult, I'm sure. This project involving the larger circle of friends was just one of many he organized in the wooing of Miss Katie W. Math major or no, the man knows how to win a woman's heart. My thoughts? Chocolate is a good place to start. ;-)

Photo credits: "Kate and Chan," by Emma M.