This may only interest writers and other word- mad wretches..
But I recently unearthed a 1940 postcard of the Tokyo Olympiad (?) written on but never sent by Virginia Huntington, Betsy’s mother and the bishop’s wife.We NEVER made any sense of it- creative interpretations encouraged. (She was also a rather awful, but published, poet, if that helps).
It says, vertically like this, only:
Inoculate
Embarrass
Harass
Supersede
Innuendo
Purify
Vilify
Plaguing
Dessicate
Picnicking
The last is emphasized because it is just a bit out of place…?
First time I met her she held my face close to her thick glasses and asked “How many brothers and sisters do you have?” When I replied “eight, all younger”, she grinned wickedly and said, “Ahhh– Roman Catholic I see…’
I have many more tales. I should add that while she was a “bells and smells” Anglican in the end, she was born a Mennonite, joined the Church of England, became a nun, went to China, and married her bishop…