
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.
Craggy Gardens (South Carolina)
Mejdulene and Katie sent two postcards from their trip down south to the mountains; this is the second one. I’ve been to the Blue Ridge Parkway, but it’s been decades I think! My family used to vacation either in Tennessee or South Carolina or Florida, and we always traveled by car. So from Michigan, it was natural to pass through this beautiful side of the country. It merits a revisit, for sure, or a first visit for those of you who haven’t been there!
Mejdulene and Katie even got us a passport stamp from the office!
Black Mountain (North Carolina)
This postcard came last week from our bestfriends Mejdulene and Katie on their recent trip to North Carolina. I’ve only ever visited a handful of places, and never Black Mountain, but this looks terrific. Oh, why can’t I be independently wealthy and travel all the time with my friends to amazing places all over the country and world?!
Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!
Nérac (France)
Voici autre carte postale magnifique de mon ami Dominique. Comment cette ville se trouve au sud-ouest de la France, je ne l’ai jamais visité (sauf Blois au centre-ouest et Montpellier au sud, je n’ai visité que le Nord et Paris). Mais j’ai lu sur mon site préferé que cette ville a été l’inspiration principale pour le livre “Chocolat” par Joanne Harris, qui a inspiré soi-même un de mes films préferés.
Buena Vista (California)
I seldom post postcards that didn’t actually arrive in the mail (that’s so much of the fun for me), but this one is special for a few reasons. A) It’s a fantastic postcard overall and hyper local to where we used to live. B) It’s in celebration of Andy’s finishing his goal to run every street, alleyway, and cul de sac in San Francisco. And C) it was given to us by our good friends Kimee and Michael. I just love map cards, especially when they’re really local (and with a fun rotation of the cardinal direction, to boot!).
dolphins (Hawai’i)
Those of you who know me, know that I adore sea mammals, especially cetaceans. So it is with great delight that I received this postcard from our neighbors Robyn and Oliver, which they sent while vacationing and seeing family in Maui! I love this artwork, which was also done by an artist local to Maui.
the Mx People (Illinois)
My new penpal Kimberly sent me this truly charming postcard! I love it so much. I’ve been teaching my students for a while now about the “Mx.” social title which is intended for all human beings regardless of gender. The current binary system in English is overly complicated and exclusionary (“Mr.” vs. “Ms.” or if you’re very old-fashioned “Mrs” or “Miss”), so I have been supporting the movement away from silly gendered social titles and toward all-gender titles if we must have them at all. Sadly, I haven’t yet seen it used in the US yet but I hope it will be soon!
Virgin of the Magnificat - Angels (Netherlands)
Here’s a beautiful postcard featuring a detail view of the Angels from Sandro Botticelli’s Madonna of the Magnificat. I received this postcard from the Netherlands!
River Tyne (England)
This terrific postcard comes from someone whose last cruise was out of San Francisco (before the pandemic). He writes how memorable was the trip and of course the sea lions at Fisherman’s Wharf. In fact, he said that he recently pulled a random recipient who lives on the same street as I do in San Francisco! Small world!
LGBT film fest in St. Petersburg (Russia)
I don’t speak any Russian at all so I have to rely on the sender’s word that this is a poster for an LGBT film festival in Saint Petersburg. That much I can read, I think: “15 - 25 November (?) 2017 | Saint-Petersburg” and then at the bottom above the URL “LGBT-Film Festival”. I love receiving such great postcards through PostCrossing!
potted plant (Mexico)
Somehow this is the first postcard I’ve received from Mexico via PostCrossing! I’ve received others, but all from friends and family on their visits there. I find that really surprising given its proximity, its large population, and of course that I speak Spanish and even have distant family members from Guanajuato (the state where this postcard comes from).
le grand eléphant (France)
Je ne savais pas de cet eléphant à Nantes, qui s’est paru il y a une douzaine d’années! Évidemment, il s’est changé en forme plus éco/verte maintenant, mais il continue d’attirer des milliers de touristes partout le monde! Merci à Dominique, mon ami à lettres très prolifique, pour m’avoir envoyée cette carte postale si intéréssante!
We’re all human (Illinois)
This terrific postcard comes from my new penpal outside Chicago. I love that each of the letters features a different queer pride flag! Can you name all of them?
Chimney Rock (Georgia)
Chimney Rock isn’t in Georgia (it’s in Nebraska), but the postcard itself was mailed from Georgia and I’m very happy to receive it. The sender wrote some very beautiful things about themself and their family. I really love PostCrossing!
Mono Lake (California)
Our friends Greg and James are taking a road trip down US 395 and stopped off at Mono Lake to admire the tufa, seen here. Importantly, these geological formations provide a unique habitat for many different species, including osprey and eagle nests. I haven’t visited Mono Lake, but I hope to soon!
poésie montréalaise (Canada)
Voici une carte postale de mon amie à lettres Corinne, qui me dit que partout la Ville de Québec on trouve des affiches jaunes comme celle-ci dans les vitrines de boutiques et de restaurants. J’adore l’idée de la poésie publique. J’éssaie de la traduire en bas (mais je ne suis pas de tout un traducteur!):
remember the miracle of our dances
their deep breath
along our extended necks
in our open, naked mouths
a nectarine-colored sap
a coming ringing
the noise will be loud
Palm Springs is wild (California)
I love the colors and font of this postcard - it’s such a mood! It arrives from our friends Greg and James who spent the weekend in Palm Springs and took advantage of all it has to offer! It’s been on our list of places to visit for a while, but we haven’t made it happen yet. Maybe in 2022?
greetings from Chicago (Illinois)
This stunning drawing comes from a new penpal of mine who lives not too far from Chicago! She reached out to me on Postcrossing to invited me to exchange postcards and I’m very glad she did! Here’s to a beautiful new friendship!
Starferry Terminal (Singapore)
This postcard comes from a new penpal of mine in Singapore! I’m eager to continue exchanging postcards over the next months and year.
handmade leaves (California)
This terrific postcard arrived just this week from two new friends whom I had the pleasure of meeting over the weekend. They crafted this hand-made postcard to send as thanks and I’m really touched! I love the green and blue together, which fit perfectly with our rainy weather.
vintage Circus Circus (Oregon)
You already know how much I love a scallop-edge postcard, and this one is even more special because of its extremely vintage image of Circus Circus. I’ve been lucky to visit Las Vegas with some frequency, and the last time we stayed right next to Circus Circus. It’s definitely got that old-school vibe of Las Vegas, which is sadly being taken over by the somewhat character-less glass towers that permeate the area. I think I even remember hearing that Circus Circus was slated for demolition!
So this postcard is very meaningful to me, and it’s no surprise that it was sent by the incomparable Linda! Thank you, friend!