The Power of a Postcard
The postcard is that rushed postscript to a vacation. On the sullen plane home as you slump into your airplane seat and pull out the novel you are finishing–the last grain of the trip that you obstinately cling to– it drops innocently from the tattered pages. A bit of pina colada discolors the inked rectangle where the colorful foreign stamp should be singing its praises. Now, blank, that postcard–formerly supposed to be a message of thanks, a note of joy to friends and family–is a badge of dishonor. A memory never written and soon forgot. A lost chance to reconnect with friends that is so often overlooked within an always too short vacation.
BUT, when motivation, good-will, and time mix just right–when that rural mountain post-office just happens to be open as you walk by on your way back from a hike–that postcard can become a lifelink to everyone you care about. Sure, happenstance ensured its fate, but it was the thought and writing that represent the true meaning in that one paragraph accompaniment to the tacky, poor resolution photo.
A postcard is a physical personal connection in a world that now relies on digital impersonations thereof. It represents the ultimate embodiment of that periodic text message saying ‘hey, buddy, I’ve been thinking of you’. BUT, it represents that next step. It shows that not only have I been thinking about you, but I miss you so much I decided to take action. This insane grizzly adams in a faux bearskin coat photoshopped in front of this snow capped Balkan peak made me think of YOU. Then, I wrote this cheesy story to go with it, which I know only YOU would appreciate. To top that, I then spent 2 hours tracking down the postman in this mountain town and pantomimed my way through ‘airmail postcard stamp’ in a language that I can’t even say hello in. THAT is how much I missed you.
As we move further from home–from family, from what we know–and friends continue to spread across the globe, the world can feel too big at times. In a way, sending a postcard is almost like a reminder that no matter how far away we go, it is always possible to stay in touch–to bridge the continents; to bring home, friends, and family closer; to make the world a little bit smaller.
Sending postcards was also a way to stay in contact with our grandmothers. Growing old in an increasingly digital society must be an exponentially alienating experience. I often treated postcards to my grandma as an ongoing dialogue between us. Whenever I arrived somewhere, I would try to find a postcard to write to my grandma as soon as I could. I would do my best to describe the colorfulness of the place, but always focused on the people. She loved to hear about all of the places she would never see. BUT, I think most of all, she enjoyed listening to the innate kindness of strangers met on the road. And so, my postcards home became a way for me to connect with her, to show her the world, and to prove to her that, in the end, she was right; almost everyone will help you out when you really need it. Ultimately, this site is a dedication to her. I might not be able to send her postcards any longer, but I will continue to write postcards to grandma digitally to remind myself the real reasons why I travel.
We envision this site as a way to share our travel memories, to reach out to friends and family, and to remind ourselves that the world isn’t as big as it might seem at times. Sure, it is a bit cheesy, overreaching; symbology being taken a bit past cliche. BUT, this IS a travel site at its core–a pint of cliche is bound to be swigged here and there. So, explore with us, laugh at us, it is all the same really.
