When you care enough to send the very best, send a card, not an e-mailI gotta hand it to Hallmark: In an age of on-line, dancing birthday cards, e-mail and text messaging, it appears their hard copy personal greeting cards are selling better than ever.While shopping at Grapevines in Luverne this week, I was amused by all the new titles of card categories to shop in.For example, cards for pets are big sellers, according to Grapevines manager Kim Von Tersch. "I chuckled when I saw them, but we sell out of them all the time," she told me.One can announce a new cat or dog in the family, expressing sympathy for "Loss of Companions" and send a thank-you specifically to the "Dog Sitter."We all know pets can’t read, but many of the cards are directed personally to the pets themselves. In the "Get Well" section, I found one that said, "Get Well Wishes for a Sweet Cat."Outside of pets, there are countless specific occasions we can send cards for. Among my favorites are "Going Back to School," "Congratulations on Your Driver’s License," "New Apartment," "Potty Trained Kids" and "Braces for Kids."Finally, Hallmark didn’t miss a chance to capitalize on the growing number of blended families. For example, a birthday card can be sent to someone who’s "like a son to me."Along those lines, there’s a whole line of cards under "Divorce." There’s "Congratulations on Your Divorce," or "Thinking of You as You Go Through Divorce," depending on your perspective.On one hand, the new greeting card ideas are pure marketing genious on Hallmark’s part. On the other hand, I love the idea of snail mail thriving in an era of "read and delete" in e-mail inboxes.Rock County Hall of Famer Quentin Aanenson lamented this trend during a recent visit to the Star Herald office.We were talking about the advantages of online communication as far as staying in touch with military personnel overseas.Aanenson, as many will remember, was a World War II fighter pilot who produced the world class documentary film, "A Fighter Pilot’s Story."He told me that he and his wife, Jackie, exchanged hundreds of letters during his stint in the war, and they still have those letters in their possession."There’s something more lasting about a hand-written letter on paper," he remarked."We can pick up those pages and read them and feel the emotions of what we were feeling at the time … it just comes right out of the paper."We talked about how it’s really not possible to preserve that flavor in an e-mail message, even if it is printed and saved.So carry on, Hallmark. May your sales ever flourish and may you never run out of new ideas for reasons to send cards.By the way, Kim tells me Hallmark is revamping all its niche card headers, so shop now under the current categories and be sure to stop at Grapevines in September when the new line is released.I can’t wait to see the new subtitles. Maybe we’ll see more specific titles in the Get Well section, like "Thinking of You During PMS Week," or "Sorry to Hear about Your Minor Infraction with the Law."I wonder if Hallmark could design a card for "Thinking of My Favorite Editor During This Difficult Political Season."