Post Card Project

    Salt Lake City, Utah.
    Honolulu, Hawaii.
    Nashville, Tennessee.
    Dubuque, Iowa.
    Ansbach, Germany.
    Oxnard, California.

    The other day I was sifting through a box of mementos and uncovered a stack of postcards that I had received from friends over the years. The locales listed above are just a few of the places my friends have gone to or lived in. I enjoyed re-reading some of their comments:

     " The flowers and shrubs are just gorgeous. You would just love it."

     " It's supposed to be 80 degrees and sunny here. That just means when I am big and fat this summer, I'll be miserably hot!"

    " I thought this picture would make you feel better--men are weird here too."

    " I went on my first Volksmarch--a 10k walk in the woods. Very popular over here."

    " Remember, some things cannot be taught, but must be remembered from a time long ago."

    " We went inside the two buildings in the front of the picture."

    My heart was touched that friends blessed me with little insights into their lives, whether they told me where they had visited, described what it felt like to be pregnant in the summer in the south, or imparted a tidbit of wisdom.

    The majority of the postcards were sent over ten years ago. It's a rare event to go to my mailbox these days and find a postcard waiting for me. They've been replaced by email, blogs, and Facebook. Why send someone a postcard when you can upload a picture or a video to Facebook, and your friends can see you in real time?

    I appreciate these technological advances. Computer Geek's kids are in Dublin right now, and I spent part of tonight going through photos of lush Irish greenery. I can chat with my sister, even though she is in a remote African village, trying to find homes for children with AIDS.

    Yet, there is something irreplaceable about the simplicity and beauty of a postcard. If you feel that way too, leave a comment under this post. The first ten people who leave a comment, will receive a postcard from me. I don't care if you live across the street from me or if you live in England, you will get a postcard. I'll even write on it. All you have to do is promise to send a postcard to someone else this summer. (Don't worry, I have no way of checking whether you actually send one or not---Computer Geek's skillz aren't that good. Yet.)

(If you are one of the first ten to comment, please send an email with your name and snail mail address to foreignquang [at] gmail [dot] com.  For obvious reasons, please don't leave your address in the comment box.)