Postcards connect people. And this show is, once again, about another connection. I connected with Orla Hegarty over the past couple of years because of this show and because of postcards. Orla is a dedicated postcard creator and writer, a mathematician, a traveler, and a postmaster for Canada Post in her town of St. Vincent’s, Newfoundland.
In this episode, Orla and I talk about postcards. And mushrooms (the edible kind, silly); Burning Man (where I suppose there are other kinds of mushrooms, too); The Salt Path; Punxsutawney Phil and Wiarton Willie; Newfoundland boil ups; Newfie tacos (I really gotta have one now that Orla told me about them); Feminism; stamps; Postcrossing, and the special cancellation Orla does from her post office.
Thats’s the thing about postcard connections. It’s a lot more than a piece of paper with a nice design and a note on the back. What I like about the connections is that I am on a journey of continuous learning — about people and cultures and faraway places. That’s what this episode delivers — it’s another opportunity to learn about the world from someone who communicates with great storytelling. Plus, name me another show where you can learn about Newfie tacos and Burning Man postcards in the same show. This might be the only one.
As with most conversations, there is just a jumping off point. Let’s start this episode of The Postcardist Podcast chatting about…
Determining if mushrooms are edible
Punxsutawney Phil and Wiarton Willie
Covid…can we produce a show now where we don’t talk about covid?
Feminism stamps
Invisible Women by Carolina Criado Perez
Special cancellation for St. Vincent’s, Newfoundland
Marcophily (collection of cancellation stamps)
And that, my friends, is another episode of the show. Thanks so much to Orla Hegarty for the stories and for all the ideas we were able to cover…just because postcards connect people, and we end up finding out we have lots to share and lots to learn from each other.
If you haven’t sent away for a special cancellation from St. Vincent’s, Newfoundland, I would do that. Here’s an example:
And as you’ve heard me say, if you want to be on the show — or know someone you think I should talk to — please send me a note at postcardist@gmail.com or direct message me on Instagram.
Coming up soon, I’ll be chatting with Mary Martin about her new book, A Guide Book of Collectible Postcards, that just published yesterday. And I have Sylvanus Paul of LetterDoggy coming up…you won’t wanna miss that show; you’ll hear something I’m gonna guess you’ve never heard before. And I have several more shows in development.
Speaking of development, you heard this episode number…89…which means I’m 11 shows away from the magic number of 100. I’m putting together a retrospective for that episode…but I’d love to hear from you about what you’d like to hear. And I’m wondering if you’d be willing to do a little snippet of a recording for me. I’d love to create an audio collage that answers this question: How have postcards created connections for you? If you’re interested in recording a one-minute snippet for me, you can call this number and leave me a voicemail…it’s +1 (215) 501-7826.
Okay…thanks for taking time out of your day to listen to the show. I know you’ll keep writing postcards….and I’ll look forwarding to seeing you back here new week with a new episode of The Postcardist Podcast.
Great show and wide ranging. Sending my postcard in an envelope to get that special cancellation. My room-mate in University (Lethbridge AB) was from the OTHER CAPITAL of Newfoundland and Labrador – Fort McMurray, Alberta. She educated me about so many things from the Newfoundland culture. She had a big roll of Maple Leaf bologna in the fridge at all times. After university she moved back to St John’s NL, which was a great reason for a road trip. We loved camping there so much we had to go back a few years later to see Gros Morne National Park.
Maple Leaf bologna. That whole discussion about that topic still has me fascinated.
The local Pepsi history is also fascinating: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfoundland-labrador/browning-harvey-75-years-nl-1.5192576