Author: Simon

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Writing Postcards

I write about two hundred postcards a month many of them to people I have never met. The question is why do I bother? The following is a cosmic big picture reason. But the main reason is that I enjoy it. It gives me pleasure to try and condense a moment into a 3″ by 4″ space. I know that some of the cards give the recipients pleasure but the reason I write them is entirely selfish. I laugh at my own jokes.

Postcard 8

Some cards are of beautiful scenes

Life lessons to be learned from sending postcards:
1. The 80/20 law. 80% of the value of the card comes from sending it. The message, the picture and where it is from are incidental to the value. In the words of Woody Allen “Eighty percent of success is just showing up.”
2. Just because you will get very little feedback you shouldn’t stop. Postcards don’t have return addresses and an acknowledgement should not be expected. The benefit should be from the sending. However the people who receive cards from you will be a network of good friends far into the future.

Postcard 6
Some of them are not beautiful.

3. Everybody loves personal attention. Hand addressed mail is getting as rare as customer service in retail stores and doctors who make house calls. Sending postcards give the recipient a unique experience which they will appreciate.

Postcard 7
Multi-picture cards are a popular
choice for people who can’t decide.
4. Accept the constraints of the situation. The space for the message is very restricted. Make your messages shorter. Think of it as “American Haiku.”
Postcard 5
Exotic places are always popular.

5. Fun is an acceptable goal in its own right. Don’t be too serious or preachy. Be quirky, current, clever or informational.
6. Change is…. In the next two generations mail will stop being delivered to homes every day. The cards that are sent today will be the collectables of the future.

Postcard 9

Sadly this one is already a collectable.

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Maryhill’s Stonehenge

“The Western Hemisphere’s reproduction of Stonehenge,” built by Samuel Hill in Washington State overlooking the Columbia River.

Stonehenge2

Click here for the official information about this ambitious, but poorly executed, project. Click here for a nice series of photos of the project.  We toured the Columbia River Gorge a few years ago and I insisted that we visit this Henge. It was disapointing in that it was dimensionally correct but failed entirely to capture the essence of Stonehenge. If you ever have issues getting a contractor to execute an idea that is in your head, you are not alone, remember Sam Hill and his “replica” of Stonehenge.

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Zulu Burrow

Many thanks to Rachel Blacher for supplying this picture and mystery.

Zulu Burrow

Is this the lost tribe of Burrow. The photo was taken in Lusaka, Zambia in May 2006.

Rachel’s very interesting blog of her adventures in Africa can be seen by clicking here.

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AT&T Park in San Francisco

On Friday the 12th of May we went to AT&T Park in San Francisco.

AT&T Park

We had great seats thanks to Brock and Cathy. The Dodgers beat the Giants, Barry Bonds did not hit his 514 HR to tie Babe Ruth and we had birthday cake to celebrate Willy Mays 75th birthday. Life is good.

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Four down and twenty six to go.

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Postcards From Anywhere

Card 3

Here is an idea: Postcards From Anywhere (PFA). For $5.00 PFA will send a postcard from anywhere in the world to anyone in the world. The transaction is done on line at the PFA website which shows the countries and postcard selection in each one. The sender fills in the order blank including the message and charges his or her credit card. The order is transmitted to the youth group at the appropriate site. The message is hand written on the card selected, stamped and sent. An appropriate time later the local group is credited with about half of the money and the rest pays to support the web site, promotion, and overhead. The basic requirement is for a reliable group of people who have organizations in lots of countries and people who would be interested in small transactions. The ones that come to mind are Boy Scouts, Catholics, Mormons and 7-11 stores.

Card 1

I’m not sure if the idea would work but it could give a lot of young people a sense of community and purpose. The business would be pretty much self-financing after a relatively small initial investment.

Card 4

Why would anyone use the service?
Maybe to impress someone with where they’ve been.
Maybe to send an unusual birthday or holiday greeting.
Maybe to give a unique gift to a young stamp collector.
Maybe someone is writing a school report on Paraguay.
Maybe, like the gnome in the movie Emile, to entertain.
Maybe to talk your friend into going to India. A card might make the place seem less forbidding.
Maybe to win an argument.
Maybe to create a mystery.
Maybe just because you can send a card from Tibet that says; “Wish you were here.”

Card 2

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New Stones and a New Truck

stone 2

These are stones four and five after they were cut.

stone truck

The Howard with his new pickup and our rented rock hauling trailer. “Men of Stone” upgrade their technology.

Stone 2 & 3

These are stones two and three before they are taken up to be cut and drilled.

Progress is being made.

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Baseball Stadiums

Nurit and I have have been visiting some baseball stadiums when we travel. These are some pictures from some of our visits;

Phillies

We watched the Dodgers play the Phillies with Rebecca at “Citizen Bank Park.” The Phillies won.

Petco

We went to Petco Park in San Diego with Lillian and Heidi. The Dodgers were ahead by 5 runs in the seventh so we left to take the dog for a walk. The Padres came back and won 6 to 5. Nice new stadium.

Dodgers

Here we are at Dodger Stadium our home park and as yet not named. The Dodgers beat the Brewers 10 to 2. Good seats and a nice Sunday afternoon outing with John and Gloria Austin.

We may try to see a game at every major league stadium over the next few years. Three down and 27 to go.