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.

Kristopher Geda Kristopher Geda

postal flag (Oregon)

What a great postcard Linda sent! It’s of course the US flag but made out of domestic and foreign stamps, all cancelled!

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twins! (Oregon)

I can’t decide why the dalmatian looks so miserable! Maybe it’s because someone wore the same “outfit” as he did?! I wonder how Linda interprets it?

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animated Russia

I love this illustration style of maps with important people, foods, places, and phenomena superimposed on top! This postcard is a supreme example of the genre!

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Golden Gate Bridge at sunset (Michigan)

I so love it when a postcard starts in one place, goes to another, and ends up back where it started. In this case, that happened with a postcard for San Francisco printed in SF, which was found in a Michigan store, and then sent back! I can’t find a date for the original printing, but it looks old. Thanks to our niece Emily and her boyfriend Carter for finding this beautiful print!

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domestic bliss (Russia)

This drawing really captures domestic, weekend bliss to me. A clean kitchen, but lived in (the wash cloth hanging on the wall), good music playing (her head tilted with a soft smile), and a hot cup of coffee while in comfortable pajamas. Who wouldn’t love that!?

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swimming (British Columbia)

Ray, in Victoria, sends this portend of the summer to come! May we enjoy our spring and the warmer months to follow!

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Vienna (Austria)

The sender of this postcard is in fact German, although they were vacationing in Austria. They share a love for Alpine wines, especially Riesling!

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Malaysian cartoon

This postcard comes from Malaysia with news of very hot weather in recent days and hopes for cooler days with the oncoming rain.

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la vache qui rit (France)

Dominique écrit que tous les français connaissent cette marque de fromage: la vache qui rit. Moi aussi je la connais, mais d’où? Peut-être mon année en france il y a plus de 20 ans maintenant. J’imagine que je le trouvais pendant le déjeuner à la cantine dans le lycée où je travaillais.

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hand drawn palm tree (Hawai’i)

Tracy drew us this palm tree from her vacation with Cynthia to Hawai’i. We received some photos from the place she was staying and it was replete with palms! Hawai’i is truly a paradise.

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vintage poodle (Michigan)

Our niece and her boyfriend know us so well! They found this vintage poodle and of course they sent it our way!

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pride San Diego (California)

I took a weekend away last month to San Diego with my friend Stephanie, and Andy stayed home with Pinot. Of course I had to send him a “Hello” from my mini-vacation!

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Thredbo (Australia)

This postcard comes from Matty from his recent getaway to Jindabyne and Thredbo. I have to admit that so many of Australia’s place names seem so bizarre to me! A strange mix of indigenous words and European names.

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the language of the heart (Indiana)

This is another of the terrific postcards that Nozomi has collected for me. It’s beautiful! I’m not sure how useful these can be or how to use them perhaps as a semaphore? It’s beautiful nonetheless!

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More to come from the past…