Which Reminds Me

Yes, I did notice that in Chapter 5 Mr. Jeronimo receives the calling card of his new neighbors across the street, which is brought to him by a servant. There he reads there the names of Rosita and Victor. Yes, how quaint to hear a mention of the ancient custom of calling cards of which we often see references in books and movies of ancient times. Nowadays the calling card has fallen out of use for private use, perhaps because of the invention of the telegraph and telephone and now email. I don't know whether some people in some rarefied strata of high society still do that, but we here in middle- to low-class America never were much convinced that we need calling cards. The only relic of that is the business card which is often supplied by employers, and lists your name, company and job position so that persons receiving it will understand with what authority you are calling upon us and have an idea of what you might be able to do for us. If you are self-employed you could have your own business cards printed at various places, if you want to do that, and give yourself any job title that you may think appropriate. However, I have not felt a need to do that as of yet given the cost of printing not seeming worth the effort of calling on you in such a formal way just to shoot the breeze. If you have something to say, there are telephones and emails for that purpose. Or if you come to the house, we might think that you belong to a cult and not want to let you inside, or else maybe you are one of those tree trimming and lawn service companies or real estate agents that are always dropping off their cards at the front door.