Woman shocked by image on postcard she finally received 17 years after her late friend mailed it

In the age of Instagram DM's and Whatsapp chats, postcards are a long-lost art of communication. People love sharing their vacation pictures with family and friends through postcards that are usually sent with a short message. Postal services all over the world have had instances where such postcards or letters were "lost in the mail" and may or may not have reached the recipient even after years. NBC Dallas-Fort Worth reported a rare occasion where it took 17 years for a postcard to be delivered to a Texas woman and she was happy to see that it was from her longtime neighbor and friend, who recently passed away.

Barbara Blevins and her neighbor Jean Perry became close friends during the late 70s in Arlington, Texas. Speaking to the media outlet about how their friendship bloomed, Blevins said, "You know how families connect through kids. That's how we connected, and we just became friends." Their friendship grew stronger over the years as their kids were growing up too. The two ladies had quite contrasting personalities. Blevins shares, "She was flamboyant and not like me at all. We were opposites and funny. She had a good sense of humor." Despite this, they connected very well with each other and shared a good bond till Perry breathed her last two years ago. "I drive by there and I go, 'I don't believe you're gone.' It's hard to believe it," says Blevins who sees her friend's house daily as she lived in the same town. Even after two years, she still misses her friend dearly. 

So, when she recently received a postcard from Jean Perry she was over the moon. The postcard was from 2006 when Perry went to visit her family in Florida and due to a weird chance of events it was delivered 17 years later but to the wrong home. On seeing such an old postcard addressed to a different person, the man who received it reached out on Facebook and found that it was meant for Blevins who lived just down the street. "How cool is that? I'm going '2006? 17 years!' It was a shock," exclaimed Blevins. On the postcard was a naked woman lying on her belly and had the words, "Soakin' up the sun. Florida," printed on it. Blevins jolted seeing the image when the man handed her this postcard but he reassured, "Don't worry about it. She had a sense of humor, didn't she?" and Blevins replied, "Yes. She did."

Blevins feels that this postcard found her at the right time and says, "I kind of feel that way. Like a 'Hang in there' type of message. 'Everything is going to be a good' type of message because that's what she (Jean) would say." She wants people out there who have lost their dear ones to be hopeful and just cherish the memories they had with them. "Blessings will come your way. I feel like I got one, you know. Even though when I look at it I go, 'Oh Jean'," she laughingly says. Even after several months of Perry's departure from this world, her sense of humor still lives and brings joy when remembered by her friends and family.