Artifact.

I am intrigued by postmarks. I guess I don't look at every piece of mail and scrutinize the red stamp, but this one caught my eye. It's so perfect. How often do you see the mark directly on top of the stamp? And it's almost completely even, clear, and legible. Also, orientation is nearly aligned with the angles of the envelope. I find it remarkable.

Postmarks are so unique. Not just their placement or legibility, but what they say. They seem to embody split seconds. A time and a place. A certain documentation personalized for each correspondence. Much like snowflakes, no two are exactly alike. And I, being one more for the reading of letters and numbers rather than crystalline patterns, fancy these oft-overlooked markings. They're like little works of art, little texts that are (usually) easily discernible.

I must say, a digital time stamp on an email or on a blog entry has zero character and holds no fascination for me. And surely someday, tangible correspondence will no longer exist in the form of post. I'll miss seeing the haphazardly wrought stamp marks. Of course, they'll probably be kept as artifacts of olden days when such cumbersome tasks, such as handwriting, were performed.

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