Another followup to our conversation about items left in library books and forgotten: a former reference librarian in Denton, Texas, shares photographs of a most unusual business card hidden away in a book and found by a colleague. The front side is printed with “The Ex-Mrs. Bradford” and the back reads, in elegant handwriting, “Meet me at the Paramount Theatre — Sunday afternoon.” If that doesn’t get your imagination going, we don’t know what will! If you’re so inclined, write a very short story inspired by that card and email it to us. We may share some in a future episode! This is part of a complete episode.
Transcript of “The Ex-Mrs. Bradford”
You’re listening to A Way with Words, the show about language and how we use it. I’m Grant Barrett.
And I’m Martha Barnette. Pam Spooner of Denton, Texas, used to work as a university reference librarian, and she sent us photos of something really amazing that a colleague once found in a book. It looks like a plain white professionally printed business card or a calling card, and on one side, in all capital letters, it reads, the ex-Mrs. Bradford.
That’s all it says, the ex-Mrs. Bradford.
And at the bottom, written in ink, is the word over in parentheses.
So you turn it over, and on the other side of the ex-Mrs. Bradford’s card, somebody wrote by hand in this beautiful old-fashioned script, meet me at the Paramount Theater Sunday afternoon.
Oh, wow.
There’s a story there.
Wow, what happened?
Did they meet?
Well, that’s what Pam wanted to know.
Did they go in or did they walk on and have a liaison somewhere?
Right.
I mean, who would have a calling card like this printed in the first place?
Right.
This is a woman with some panache.
Right.
This is a woman who flies airplanes.
This is somebody who lives her own life to the fullest.
She tried marriage.
It didn’t work.
And now she’s doing her own thing.
And who was the recipient?
-huh.
Yeah.
Was it a man?
Was it a woman?
Good question.
Could have been anybody.
Or maybe it was just an agent.
Maybe it was just a business card.
Maybe it was just somebody who, maybe she’s in the film.
And she wanted somebody to see her latest picture.
Ooh.
Ooh.
I’m just thinking that maybe some of you want to fill in the blanks here for us.
Write a story about it.
So to recap, on the front it says the ex-Mrs. Bradford.
On the bottom it says in a handwritten ink over.
And on the back it says meet me at the Paramount Theater.
Sunday afternoon.
Sunday afternoon.
What’s the rest of the story?
You tell us.
Write us a couple sentences.
Send them to words@waywordradio.org.
And we’ll pick a few and share them on the air in a future episode.
Email words@waywordradio.org or tell us on Twitter @wayword.
