Here are the postcards!
I’ve been collecting postcards since 2008. Since then, I’ve sent and received over 1800 postcards from all over the US and dozens of countries. I respond to every postcard I receive, so I’m always open for private swaps.
My origin story: Back when I was a young boy, I got the idea to write a letter to several world leaders, but I only ever ended up writing the US president and the Queen of England. I was so tickled to receive responses from President Bush and then Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II! Well, they weren’t directly from the world leaders, but rather from their staff members. President Bush sent me an autographed photograph (which I lost later in a show-and-tell accident).
One of the Queen’s ladies-in-waiting sent me a very detailed letter, typed on Buckingham Palace stationery, answering all of my questions about the Queen’s horses and her corgis and her favorite foods. I marveled at the strangely-sized paper, the texture of the embossed coat of arms centered at the top of the page, and the stamps on the envelope. A real person had spent time reading my letter, responding to it, folding it and placing it in an envelope, and then more real human beings had taken the time and effort to transport it from London to some mail distribution center, to an airport in England, to an airport in the US, and back through the various USPS chains until it arrived in a plastic mailbox at the foot of my driveway in southeast Michigan.
I’m still fascinated by this process today, and all for less than the price of some chocolate! So I maintain correspondence with about a dozen penpals across the world, and send and receive postcards. At last count, I have a little under 2,000 postcards that I’ve received. Keep scrolling to see the most recent postcards that have arrived in my mailbox.
Indian Symbols? (Ontario)
While I do not for a moment believe in the accuracy of this postcard, I do love the historicity of it! It captures perfectly a certain time of orientalism and romanticism toward indigenous populations. If this is a Canadian postcard (and not an import from the US), it means we North Americans have shared some similar scripts about indigenous populations!
orange butterfly (Oregon)
Or is it a moth? Nonetheless, it’s beautiful and it comes from my friend Linda whose recovery is progressing, slowly and frustratingly, but steadily! I can’t wait to see her in July.
Charlotte (North Carolina)
One of my students this quarter traveled to Charlotte, NC for a conference. While they were there, they managed to find the time to pick up a postcard, write it, and send it! The USPS is a beautiful system but I don’t think it’s very transparent to people who didn’t grow up here. I’m very grateful for my student’s dedication!
Králova Lhota (Czechia)
My new penpal Milan sends this postcard from his hometown. This is the 14th century church of St. Sigismund! The back of the postcard reads “Králova Lhota, Královéhradecký Kraj;
Kostel sv. Zikmunda (kulturní památka) postaven v roce 1344 v gotickém slohu.“ Google Translate helps me out with the following: Králova Lhota, Hradec Králové Region;
Church of St. Sigismund (cultural monument) built in 1344 in the Gothic style.
‘Iolani Palace (Hawai’i)
Nozomi was in Hawai’i celebrating her honeymoon at long last (CoVID, etc.). She sent me this beautiful, haunting postcard from the gorgeous ‘Iolani Palace. She recommends getting a docent-led tour, which we neglected to do when we visited right before CoVID in 2020! The audio tour was fascinating and heart-rending, but I’ll certainly do the docent-led tour next time!
white poodle (Massachusetts)
This sender picked a gorgeous white poodle to send me and also included some great facts about their hometown of Worcester: the original smiley face is from there, the first commercial Valentines, and candlepin bowling!
Other Half IPA (Washington DC)
Margie writes that this postcard was made from the label of a bottle of beer! The label says Other Half IPA. I’m not a huge fan of IPAs but this postcard is so skillfully created! Amazing!
2024 Solar Eclipse (Ohio)
Carol writes here about her language studies back in school: French first, then Spanish, then French again in college and finally German. Unfortunately, now she remembers little of it, which I think is an all too common experience!
Killarney Park (Ontario)
Our friends went on vacation last month to Killarney Park, just across the way from my home state of Michigan! I have yet to explore that part of Ontario, but this postcard is giving me strong desire to do so!
Château Chalon (France)
Dominique m’écrit du vin jaune de cette région: Jura. Il me décrit comment il est fait: “un vin sec, de longue garde, issu du cépage savagnin et embouteillé dans une bouteille à forme unique appelée clavelin.” En fait, Andy et moi nous venons de découvrir le vin Jura depuis un an, au peu près. Nous l’adorons!
Māori man wielding a Mere (New Zealand)
This postcard comes courtesy of Matty, who visited Auckland and Wellington for the first time in quite some time. He says it hasn’t changed much, which is good to hear. Andy and I were really charmed by Wellington when we were there back in 2008 for IGALA 5.
unusual libraries (California)
This postcard comes from Ojai, just outside Santa Barbara. I haven’t visited there, but my friend’s mom lives there and speaks very highly of it!
Sid Gold’s Request Room (Michigan)
Emily and Carter sent this postcard from Detroit; it’s their favorite bar for a variety of reasons, among them: it’s open late, there’s karaoke, and they get the industry discount! I want to know how much it is and whether they ask for proof.
This postcard is even better because it features not one, but two poodles! Terrific!
Moosewood (New York)
Mejdulene sent this during her last few days in New York, writing that the Moosewood became super popular way back when I was still a vegetarian! I knew it was northern Great Lakes, but I had the wrong side in mind, thinking it was in Minnesota! I see now that the restaurant is in Ithaca. I’m definitely familiar with their cookbooks, which are delicious for vegetarians and non-vegetarians alike!
Marseille (France)
Dominique m’envoie cette carte pour me réconforter après le décés soudain de mon frère. Je n’y suis jamais allé, mais j’en y ai beaucoup lu! Son amitié m’a beaucoup rendu de confort pendant ces derniers années d’échange postaire.
Houstie hummingbirds (British Columbia)
This beautiful work comes from our friend Kaylé who was running a race in Vancouver earlier this month. The work is called Bella Bella by Ben Houstie (2004). The artist writes: This piece was inspired by the humming bird dance performed by my people to bring peace."
Powell’s City of Books (Oregon)
One of the most famous landmarks in Portland is Powell’s Books. I love to visit every time we’re in the PDX area. As you can see here, so does my brother-in-law Tristan! While in town, he also ate at the new 鼎泰豐 restaurant!
Chef’s Special Cocktail Bar (Michigan)
Another great postcard from our niece Emily and her boyfriend Carter. They were staging in Chicago and visited several great restaurants. Among the restaurants they visited is this one. After the move to Chicago for work, I’m sure they’ll have many more opportunities to explore terrific establishments!
Zeta Ophiuchi (Pennsylvania)
Lauren writes that after her father’s death, she found solace in old episodes of Cosmos with Carl Sagan, which they used to watch together. She very sweetly writes that the universe celebrates my late brother’s life through me. “We are made of star stuff,” indeed! Thank you, Lauren.
The postcard legend says: “The giant star Zeta Ophiuchi is 370 light-years from Earth. It is twenty times more massive than the Sun and eighty thousand times brighter.”