The Postcard Project

I just ran across a bunch of vintage postcards that my brother "recycled" a few years ago.  It was for a project called "Wish you were here".  He picked 20 friends to grace with this fabulous correspondence art.  On each postcard, he wrote a little story about a particular trip or facet of a trip he'd taken.  It was wonderful to receive these missives out of the blue.  There's something magical now-a-days about a little card of paper traveling across a city, county, state, country, continent or ocean on it's own.  Swept toward its destination by unseen, unknown hands into those of a friend or loved one.  The ability to write a concise miniature journal entry is something I admire.

You can probably tell from this blog that I might be prone to write very long letters/emails (or not).  Well, I am.  I’ve been told so as well.  Running across the postcard project made me question why they tend to be so long.  I think they’re lengthy because to me it’s like spending time with the person that you’re writing.  As I write, I’m thinking of them and things they’ve said and done and my responses, reactions and so on.  It really is like a little visit with that friend or relative where nothing else interrupts or distracts.  Just a nice little visit when I haven’t seen someone in a while.  Think back to the post card and pioneer times before that.  People and loved ones separated not just by distance but time (no flying cross country in 5 hours back then).  You always see in the movies how the person “saves” the letter to read and it’s like a little visit because you know the writer spent time and thought on you and what they were describing to you.   With that I’ll bid adieu to this little tangent and say in honor of the postcard project…Wish you were here!