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.
the Great Wall of China (Oregon)
Linda hits it out of the park again with this postcard from—as it’s written on the back of the postcard—”Seven Wonders Of the World - Great Wall Of China” from her “places I’ve never been” series. Ha ha. I love it so much!
Hamilton, Ontario (Canada)
Our friend Kimee traveled to Ontario for a 30k race and managed to find, write, stamp, and send this delightful multi-view card! She writes that the race finished in the First Ontario Centre, pictured in the middle of the bottom row. I don’t think I’ve ever been to Hamilton, despite its proximity to where I grew up. 30 kilometers is probably too much for me, but Andy could certainly manage it, so maybe we will make our way over there some time to participate (oh! it looks like there’s a 5K option, too!).
sights of Minnesota
This postcard arrives from a truly fascinating person in Minnesota, one of my favorite states. Of course, it’s culturally and geographically similar to Michigan in important ways (Great Lakes for the win!), but it’s distinct in its own important ways. Most importantly, it’s home to two of my dear friends, who live in the Twin Cities region.
Bamberg (Germany)
Undoubtedly my most prolific penpal, Dominique has sent this great postcard from a recent trip to Germany. I’m envious of the all the opportunities to travel to historic places with different culinary, linguistic, and cultural traditions!
San Francisco Bay District and Adjacent Territory
Earlier this month, Andy took an impromptu hike along the ridge down in the Peninsula and sent me this secret postcard! It’s been ages since we’ve been apart long enough for him to find a postcard, write on it, and take it to the post office (I know he did that because it’s got a postcard stamp on it instead of a regular 1st-class stamp - which means he had to wait in line to get it!). <3 <3 <3
Festheart (Estonia)
Frankly, I’m surprised at how many LGBTQ-themed postcards I’ve been getting via PostCrossing. I put in my profile that people can send such postcards and they’ve really been come through! This one is from a relative of the sender who has been co-organizing the festheart lgbt+ film festival, the first and only such festival in Estonia. What a great postcard to receive!
children’s artwork (Michigan)
These two postcards arrived from my mother, who is the family member who sends the most postcards I think. These are artwork by Lucy (age 10) and Norah (age 7) who are “part of the Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan family.” Certainly, the artwork is precious, as my mother writes. Thanks, Mom!
eight-armed hug (California)
Continuing with my theme of sending myself postcards (or, again, in this case, sending them to Andy), here’s an image of an octopus from the American artist Tim Hawkinson. I bought it at the Getty Center when we were visiting Los Angeles and sent it to Andy because octopodes are among his favorite animals.
Houston PostCrossing Meetup (Texas)
Among the most coveted of postcards are Meetup postcards, which are postcards designed and printed specifically for PostCrossers in a particular area to meet together and sign them. This one comes from a very recent meetup in Houston! In fact, the SF Bay Area will be hosting our Meetup in two weeks!
modern times (Germany)
This great postcard comes from a PostCrosser who also included a great, pride/love stamp from Germany. I’m so grateful to the people who spend time finding the perfect postcard (and stamps!) when they send me a postcard.
useful exercise (Pennsylvania)
Tim picked up this postcard in New Orleans last year and mailed it recently from Pennsylvania. It’s like a bonus trip for the postcard! Instead of going direct from LA to CA, it made a detour in PA!
The caption of this postcard says “This useful exercise for the housewife can be performed while making the bed, 1935,” which Tim helpfully clarifies: “ …when one makes a single bed together.” Coupled with the great sticker from my favorite movie of the past 10 years “Portrait of a Lady on Fire,” this postcard is a great gift!
stamps (Oregon)
Ever the dependable, Linda has sent a terrific meta-postcard! She writes about her first overnight visitor from California since before the pre-pandemic. This necessitated a deep clean of the house, especially the guest room. I think we can all identify with the need to get the house ready for visitors again as we begin to exit the core of the pandemic!
broad-billed hummingbird (California)
Some people ask me how to start a postcard collection. They may not know anyone who wants to send postcards. My first piece of advice would be to join PostCrossing, as it will jump-start your collection rather quickly. The second piece of advice is to start sending postcards; as they arrive, people will send them back (PS - If you send me a postcard, I will always respond with one in return!)! My third piece of advice is to send yourself a postcard from your next foray out of town! That’s what this postcard is — well, technically, I sent it to Andy.
the Oasis of Mara (California)
We just took a terrific spring break trip with our dearest friends Mejdulene and Katie to the Joshua Tree area. I’m so glad that Mejdulene had the idea to visit and invited us along because we had such a great trip hiking and eating and laughing and spending time together. They write that “this trip has been an ‘oasis’ in a hard few years,” which it certainly has. In my opinion, with friends and family, almost anything is endurable. Mejdulene and Katie have been a constant source of joy and support these few years.
Arthur R. Metz Bicentennial Grand Carillon (Indiana)
This beautiful sight comes from Nozomi, who writes that this tower was just built for the bicentennial celebration (2020) which meant that the grand plans were of course canceled due to CoVID. I hope they’re able to have the celebration after all!
fantastic collections (Canada)
While I was out of town, these two postcards came from my penpal Ray in British Columbia. He writes that he’s sure I could make all of these desserts, but I am quite skeptical as I’ve done almost no work at all with gelatin, a main component in many of these dishes. Looking at the dishes here, I could make the Victoria sandwiches, the meringues, stewed pears, crystalized fruits, and the iced oranges (I think!). On the other hand, no pun intended, I have studied a little American Sign Language! I will admit to being in part inspired by the beautiful and fascinating Nyle Dimarco. I took a class at the Community College of San Francisco a few years back with my friends M and P; we had a great time learning the language. I was surprised and very tickled to learn that ASL is handed - so left-handed signers produce signs differently from right-handed signers. Fantastic!
Hangzhou (China)
What a beautiful reminder of my last international trip when I visited Shanghai and Hangzhou - the origin of this postcard - back in December 2019 and January 2020. I hope to return to international travel soon, including Mainland China!
Savannah Lakes Village (South Carolina)
The sender of this postcard used to live in Michigan for a long time but has recently moved to South Carolina. They wrote about the AIDS Quilt, which started in San Francisco. It’s a moving tribute to those who we’ve lost to AIDS.
San Francisco spirits (Indiana)
These two postcards come from my new penpal, KAK, who lives in Indiana. She always decorates her postcards so thoroughly and thoughtfully - it makes me feel like a real slob when I send out my own postcards! Her handwriting is also a dream.
Partie an der Diemel (Germany)
I’m just now realizing that this photo was taken by the sender of the postcard, I’m pretty sure! He writes that it’s near Warburg, Germany - and it in fact, it reminds me a bit of Tahquamenon Falls in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.