To many people holidays are not voyages of discovery, but a ritual of reassurance.

- Philip Andrew Adams

I've been accepting your summer vacation postcards for most of two decades.

I've been sharing your visits, recounting your travels and trying to read some of our region's most indecipherable handwriting.

It's all been fun.

But now, fellow travelers, we face a crisis - a situation that could thwart our annual summer mission of collecting a vacation postcard from every state.

I speak, of course, of expensive gasoline.

Will such a cost keep regional ramblers closer to home?

Check back with me in September. As in years past, here is your mission: See a state, send a card. We'll try to get all 50 before closing out our contest on Labor Day.

Now let me repeat the first rule of postcard messages: Write carefully. Printing is usually easier to read. And if you include a return address, I'll try to send you a post card when I go on vacation.

Did I mention prizes? We will add everything up after Labor Day and see who sent the funniest, biggest, farthest and most creative cards.

Just be sure to send them along to me at: 725 Broad St., Augusta, GA 30901. I'll be sitting here wondering how long it will take to get a postcard from Nebraska, an annual challenge.

Wait a minute, today's mail just came in ...

Former North Augusta resident John Sorrells sends a postcard from Arizona. He writes: "Thought I'd play the postcard game and jump start you on the 'A' states, Bell sends her best."

From Vermont, the Lambs (Anthony and Susan) send word that they are "vacationing in New England. It is early springtime here and everything is beautiful!"

(OK, two down, 48 to go.)

l

I MEANT TO SEND YOU ONE: Many people say they intend to send a postcard, but often forget. It reminds me of something I think I heard from Bill Wood, of Hephzibah.

Once upon a time, there were four people; Their names were Everybody, Somebody, Nobody and Anybody.

Whenever there was an important job to be done, Everybody was sure that Somebody would do it.

Anybody could have done it, but Nobody did it.

When Nobody did it, Everybody got angry because it was Somebody's job.

So consequently Everybody blamed Somebody when Nobody did what Anybody could have done in the first place.

l

TODAY'S JOKE: Shared by Billy Cooper in North Augusta.

The preacher got sick, and one of his deacons came to visit and said, "Well, preacher, we hope you're OK. In fact, we had a board meeting last night and voted 5-4 to send you a get-well card."