mail spies.

When I was about twelve, I was on vacation with my family in Kansas when my sister and I went to send some postcards to friends back home. We were at the post office, putting our mail into the outgoing box, when my sister mentioned something about how I should never put anything personal on a postcard. I was confused - why not? She explained that everyone between me and the receiver would read what was on the postcard. So that meant whatever postal workers handled the card, in addition to whoever saw the card on both mine and my friend's end, would know whatever I said. I knew immediately that my sister was right, because I had already snuck and read her postcards. I was horrified at this terrible breach of privacy. Something should be done! I wasn't really interested in all those voyeuristic mail carriers, because I was only twelve years old. I was worried about parents and other authority figures.

I continue to be fascinated by this idea, but now I am entirely interested in the postal workers. Think of all the postcards that pass through their hands, all the peeks into the lives of strangers that they get. It makes me wish that I was a postal worker. Even if you mostly only read wish-you-were-heres and weather reports of vacation destinations, you still get a glimpse into someone else's life.

And you know what? It is true. The mail carriers are reading your postcards. Here, for a Ladybug Picnic exclusive, is an in-depth, hard-hitting interview with a postal worker who asked not to be identified.

Ladybug Picnic: So, do you read people's postcards?
Anonymous Postal Worker: Yes.

And there you have it, folks, a confession straight from one of the readers of your secrets, a spy who does not respect the privacy of those she serves and yet still continues to call herself a United Methodist.

I've been trying to spread the word about the sneaky mail carriers, because I feel strongly that they are a menace that many postcard enthusiasts do not take seriously. Concerned for one particular friend, I sent her the following text on a postcard:

Did you know that mail carriers read your postcards and now yours knows that YOU DON'T WASH YOUR HANDS AFTER EVERY VISIT TO THE BATHROOM?

Yes, perhaps it is a harsh method of notifying someone about the evils of nosy postal workers, but I feel that it really got the message across. Strange, she hasn't called to thank me.