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

California pop culture

While walking around Carmel-by-the-Sea with my best friends, I stumbled upon this postcard in an otherwise very staid shop. I couldn’t resist, buying half a dozen. I sent one other Andy who probably had a deep memory of this event.

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Adam likes lumberjacks (Australia)

This artist is truly the gift that keeps giving, and I’m lucky to receive them from Matty in Australia. This postcard is marked “1/4” so I think I must have received them out of order!

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Lisboa (Portugal)

Lino is visiting Lisbon for the first time - actually, Portugal for the first time too! After Lisbon, they plan to go north and discover some new places.

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Ocean Beach watercolor (California)

Michael and Kimee sent this stunning watercolor after running into each other coincidentally as they were just finishing their anniversary celebration! It’s moments like this that makes SF so magical.

Original artwork by Steph Chen.

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San Francisco Union Square (California)

I love the colors of this postcard, which arrived from Pacific Grove where Cynthia and Tracy are on vacation, enjoying the cool sea breezes while others are sweating in our typical October second-summer.

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Booksmith 50 again (California)

Visiting this bookstore, it’s easy to see why it features to large in Kimee and Michael’s lives - not to mention all the other people as well! Michael writes that while canvassing in the Castro, he popped into our favorite wine shop hoping to catch us, but having just missed us found another great connection with one of the regulars there! More city kismet.

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Kulturpark Glashütte Buhlbach (Germany)

Pendant un séjour en Allemagne dans le Forêt Noir, Dominique s’est allé randonner dans la région. Il s’est tombé sur un fabricateur des bouteilles de champagne!

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Let’s Toast (California)

The sender of this postcard had plans to visit wine country near Santa Clarita as opposed to more well-known wine country visits in Southern California. I hope they had a good time!

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cowboys just taste better (Australia)

One wonders what the comparison is to, and how to scientifically test this claim for one’s self? Matty writes that my postcards came in a weird order (5, 3, 1, 6, 4, 2). Now I see that this one is 4/4, so I’ll have to go back and see if I can find 1, 2, and 3!

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Mendenhall Glacier (Alaska)

Jason and Mary took a cruise to Alaska from Washington and sent this missive from their visit to the glacier. The write that it was “even better than I expected and even though it was raining.” Excellent!

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Ansel Adams at work (California)

This postcard comes from a recent trip that Rob took with his brother to Yosemite. This photo is Ansel Adams taking a photo in Yosemite Valley. Rob insides me to take “a picture of this postcard if [I am] so inclined.” Does a scan count?

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Museum in Golden Gate Park (California)

Kimee writes that this museum no longer exists, but that her runs take her around the old site frequently. I wonder what was in it? Has it been replaced by the De Young now?

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Seattle's Pike Place Market (Washington)

Jason and Mary stopped in Seattle on their way to a cruise up the Pacific Coast; they were really impressed with the market, which was bigger than expected!

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Coesfeld (Germany)

My penpal Jörg took a trip to Germany to visit some family and pick up some memories that had been stored in his family home for more than 76 years! That’s very impressive.

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meet Kyle (Australia)

Matty writes about Kyle, yes, of course. But he also writes about his upcoming trip to several less-visited Pacific Islands. I’m looking forward to any postcards he’s able to send from there!

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Greetings from Dunedin (Florida)

My mom and dad spent two weeks in Dunedin, Florida on an autumn vacation. The temperatures were quite warm, but that suits my mom just fine who loves to spend time in the pool and warm ocean!

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More to come from the past…