Greeting cards

A coworker and I today were talking about American greeting cards, and although I have certainly noticed the dearth of Icelandic language greeting cards, I did not quite appreciate how disconcerting that must be, for a nation that so prides itself on its verbal acuity, to see an area where the U.S. excels. Yes, pithy sayings that fit within a few lines, or more poetic expressions that sometimes go over two or three card pages, this is a verbal form Americans have really worked hard to perfect over the last 50 years. It of course has a commercial aspect to it, aptly called "the greeting card industry", but despite that, Hallmark and American Greetings really do employ a wonderful number of full time writers, with graduate school degrees and everything. 

And yet with all that know how, sometimes a greeting card can still miss the mark. I have spent so many hours going up and down the aisles in the greeting card section of a store, it is almost scary to think about, because the funny card might have this or that thing about it you like, whereas the sentimental flowery card has some other aspects you like, and it can be really hard to make a choice. I always hope though that the recipient will know that it is in the act of sending that intimacy is expressed, as much as anything.