On the final day of Talk of the Nation, staff and colleagues have been faced with the dilemma of how to say goodbye. When your words fail, a greeting card can supply the right sentiment. Former Hallmark greeting card writer David Dickerson gives advice on saying goodbye.
Looking ahead to our last day, many of our friends and colleagues have been faced with a dilemma. Well, how do you say goodbye? For many of us, finding the right words can be difficult. And when inspiration fails and panic sets in, well, we often turn to the long racks of greeting cards. So we've asked former Hallmark greeting card writer and creator of the YouTube series "Greeting Card Emergency" David Ellis Dickerson. He'll join us in a moment. But what's the best goodbye card you ever got? 800-989-8255. Email us: talk@npr.org. David Ellis Dickerson, with us here in Studio 42. Nice to have you back on the program.
DAVID ELLIS DICKERSON: It's a lovely to be back, Neal.
CONAN: And I have to say, broadly speaking, there seemed to be two categories. Hey, congratulations, you're moving on, or, oh, I'm so sorry.
DICKERSON: Right, right. There's the you got fired and, you know, we're not going to see you, or you're going back to school. You're following your dreams. Right. Yeah.
CONAN: Exactly. When you left Hallmark, did anybody sent you a card?
DICKERSON: People buy the cards a week in advance, it seems like. Everyone knows everything beforehand. I was also thinking – another event that happens a lot when people have to say goodbye are temporary gigs, like television or theater or putting together something like that, camp. And so it's an interesting challenge, because so often, the farewell cards you get are things like, it was great working with you. We'll see you again, you know, I'm looking forward to – but they all seemed to miss – what I love best about this new world is that there's no goodbyes, you know?
I'm on a road tour right now, a cross-country, and I'm staying with friends I've suddenly been able to stay in touch with, 10, 15, 20 years. There – in a way, every goodbye is temporary. And I was hoping to see more cards that would – that reflect that.
DICKERSON: I don't shop at card stores that much anymore…
DICKERSON: …because I'm in my own head.
DICKERSON: In fact, most greeting cards writers don't buy greeting cards. They write their own.
DICKERSON: Yeah. But, you know, I do know that most card stores go straight into the strike zone. You know, they want the most popular kind of card, and that's generally going to be business, you know, we're sorry to see you go.
CONAN: The nice thing – well, I'm going to say – you know, there is that category, people who are gone forever…
CONAN: …but they're not going to read anymore cards.
DICKERSON: Exactly, exactly. In a way, you can sort of miss on a card like that. You can say whatever you want, and it's not going to matter.
