The Miles Between Them
Among the papers my mother saved is a small cloth pouch that, at first glance, might be easy to overlook. Printed across it are the words “U.S. Mail from Seattle, Wash.” A leather strip closes the bottom, and still attached to it is the original mailing tag.
The tag is addressed to Miss Mary Hannigan, my mother.
That name immediately helps place this small piece of family history. My parents married in May 1944, so my father sent this to her before their marriage, while he was in the service and they were separated by thousands of miles.
Printed on the tag is a wonderfully appropriate message:
“May this Little Bag with a View or Two, Lessen the Miles between Me and You.”
Inside were several tiny souvenir photographs of Seattle and the Pacific Northwest. My father was seeing a part of the country far removed from my mother’s life in New Hampshire, and this little bag gave him a way to share some of it with her.
It was a souvenir, but it was also something much more personal.
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