I was having a Dr. Doolittle moment when I looked at this set of incoming postcards. They all feature animals — and some very good stories. Plus, now I’m singing along to a song from long ago. Isn’t it amazing we can recall lyrics we haven’t heard in years?
Look at the va-va-voom on this Fabulous Queen of the Land and Sea. This Little Mermaid has a Biggie attitude. Betsy called her Hariel; a combination of Hairy Sasquatch and Ariel. This one who’s working to strike the pose can exist as a siren who lures sailors to their watery graves, and reign as the world hide-and-seek champion.
I’d like my spirit animal to be a tiger, even If it’s more likely my spirit animal is a sloth. These incoming cards make me wanna be a tiger even more.
Hey, if I quote William Blake’s The Tyger will I earn more tiger energy? Funny side note: I once spent an entire day at Tiger Balm Gardens in Singapore.
Today is Mardi Gras. Or Carnival. Ever been to one of those celebrations? Did you get beads? Eat a King Cake? Wear a carnival mask in Venice?
I got postcards. Let the good times roll.
And if you’d a movie to watch on this day, how about Dennis Quaid as Remy McSwain and Ellen Barkin as Anne Osborne in The Big Easy. It includes one of the hottest two lines ever said on screen after an awkward encounter with a lot of bashfulness.
Anne: That’s okay. I never did have much luck with sex anyway.
Remy: Your luck’s about to change, cher.
This is quite a Sasquatch Sunday. I’ve added several items to The World’s Largest Bigfoot Postcard Collection™ this week, including Pie Grande, the first postcard I have of Bigfoot named in Spanish. (Muchas gracias a Daniel por esta postal de Pie Grande desde Cancun, México.)
It’s funny, collecting Bigfoot cards started out as a lark. It was one of those things where I noticed I had a burgeoning selection of cards with that theme. Then that theme built and built and built. And now I have albums upon albums of Bigfoot postcards and ephemera. I’ve even made podcasts about Biggie, like this one with Jamo, and this one where I talk about my pocket-sized grandfather.
I’d say if you want to create a collection — or a theme of anything on postcards — start with a single card. And declare it so. Start looking. Noticing. Commenting on cards with your theme. And then one day you wake up and find yourself with what could be a world-class collection of postcards. As the saying goes: The best time to plant a tree is 20 years ago. The second-best time to plant a tree is today.
Have a Biggie day.
It’s always interesting to look at incoming postcards in the collective. To examine them from different levels of observation. (Reminds me a a bit like the Charles and Ray Eames film Powers of Ten.) When you stand back and look a while, and have the breathing space to do it without IG tugging at your shirtsleeve, patterns emerge.
Today’s pattern is Strong Women.
I recently wrote a piece called In Space, No One Can Hear You Scream. I featured a postcard of a Storm Trooper in a dirndl that was sent to me by JoAnn. Which led to JoAnn sharing the story with the designer — and to her sending me a gift of five terrific postcards from Allen’s Halsey’s Strong Women Series. You can find Allen on IG with the very clever handle Probably Not Emma Watson. And you can find his other work at InPrint. (I wasn’t able to find a direct link to his postcards, but I’ll keep looking and update this story when I find something. I will say the cards are printed very nicely — velvet touch matte coatings on the front give a really nice hand feel.)
In addition to the Strong Women Series, I also noted I have a few other terrifically strong women on postcards to add to this piece. The Mae Jemison card sent by Betsy is from a box set from Timbuktu Labs called Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls: 50 Postcards of Women Creators, Leaders, Pioneers, Champions, and Warriors. Plus, I added the Fannie Lou Hamer card from Lisa.
And Marilyn. Well, Marilyn. She needs only one name. And that quote I appended to the card with her on it. So was so good.
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No need to hurry. No need to sparkle.
Virginia Woolf
No need to be anyone but yourself.
I saw that statement by Virginia Woolf this morning on Inspiring Quotes. Seeing it prompted me to walk away from war coverage TV for a few minutes and look at a set of recently arrived postcards. That act alone gave me a moment to pause. Breathe. A moment of zen. There’s no one unifying theme here except that the cards slowed me down.
There is something particular about postcards (and letters) from others. It’s a message that we’re all in this together. Take a little stroll with me and enjoy some pretty postcards for a few minutes. No hurry. No need to sparkle. Just be yourself. Unless you can be a unicorn; then be a unicorn.
I was 10 years old when 400,000 people went to Max Yasgur’s farm and hung out for three days of Peace, Love, and Music. But I listened to many of the songs over and over again when my friend Paulie’s older brother bought the Woodstock album in 1971 and blasted it on his porch. My dad hated it. I loved it. Check out this three-day set list to see what a wow the music was. Also, if you love music and that Summer of Love, I’d highly recommend the Woodstock documentary that was released in 2019.
What got me thinking about Woodstock? This postcard and pin published by Bethel Woods Center and sent to me from that historic site. Here’s a direct link to the 35 postcards they sell.
Did you see the Academy Award-winning documentary My Octopus Teacher ? It’s like a real-life Charlotte’s Web. But instead of a clever spider, there’s a clever octopus that provides lessons that are unexpected. And true. On the surface, the movie is about a man who found joy and purpose through immersion in nature and a remarkable bond with an octopus. And it’s really remarkable. But it’s deeper than the story of just a diver and an octopus. It’s also about how that man created a connection with his son while he built this deep admiration for an octopus. And that octopus taught him so much.
Postcards, in a way, are my octopus. I’ve been thinking about that a lot. You’ve heard me talk about how postcards connect people. Mainly, I mean that in the sense of one person getting to know one other person. That part holds. But there’s more. It’s deeper than that.
Postcards connect people…as in we’re people of the world. They connect us to something larger.
What made me start thinking about all this? Colors. And a postcard. This podcast is about a group of 10 recent incoming postcards and what I learned from them.
Note: If you would like to read a complete transcript, including substantial research links, please click here.
Do me a favor, please. Leave me a comment about what you’ve learned recently from a postcard. Also, what do you think about a little postcard club to discuss a couple cards you like?
I realized very early the power of food to evoke memory, to bring people together, to transport you to other places, and I wanted to be a part of that.
Chef José Andrés
Chef Andrés is a personal hero. His World Central Kitchen has fed thousands upon thousands where disasters strike. He uses his amazing skills and global influence for good. And he makes good food. I was reading a biography of him today and then when I took a break to sort through some postcards, I noticed a bunch of recent incoming cards with a food theme.
Food can transport you to other places. And I wanted to be a part of that. Come along with me.
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