The Postcard Series, Part 3 - The mystery card

Delving through the postcard collection curated by my Aunt Ina, I came across a mystery card -- from Ina to Ina, in a round-about way.

The message is: "Dear Ditto, we saw this yesterday morning. It just goes straight down. We took a picture of it looking down. Hope it's good. Saw sun rise on top Pike's Peak yesterday. Wish you were with me. Ina"

A card from Ina to Ina? It appears this card was initially intended for someone else, but instead was mailed home. Not carried, as a number of the cards in the collection were, but mailed.  It is someone else that Ina wishes "were here with me." And who is Ditto?

And why address the card to Williams Court if she knew the post office - or some family member - was going to forward it in care of my parents in Fort Stockton, Texas? I'm pretty sure that Ina knew where she lived at the time.

But that partial address in Tyler got me to thinking. A math professor is bound to know her own house number, right. It's a number, right, and my aunt was crazy good with numbers. This card was addressed, and therefore most assuredly written by someone other than my aunt, whose name is also, perhaps, Ina.

The "Ditto" salutation is another clue. Ina and her major professor collaborated on a math work book published by the Ditto Corporation in 1934 - some 4 years prior to the postmark on this card. And finally, I have a number of examples of my aunt's handwriting, and a comparison removes all doubt. Another Ina, or perhaps an Ima, wrote and mailed this card.

Now the only question is, why was the card forwarded to her in care of my parents, who were living in Fort Stockton at the time? To my knowledge, Ina never lived with them. Perhaps it was expected that she would pass through there from some journey and pick up her mail, or perhaps she was there on an extended visit - she was a school teacher, with summers off, and the card is dated August.

I love a good mystery.