More Colleges, Since the Kids Are Coming Home From College For Thanksgiving

Emory University













Our friend, Josh, is a student at Emory University in Atlanta. It is supposed to be a beautiful campus and great school. I hope we see him, if not at Thanksgiving, then sometime over the Christmas holidays.


The University of Petroleum & Minerals at Dhahran













The University of Petroleum Minerals at Dhahran, Saudi Arabia became the King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals in 1986. This postcard was sent in 1980 from somebody I must have known in graduate school, as I was still a student there. Funny how I remember faces much better than names. The sender's name is vaguely familiar, but I can't put a face with it.

Thanksgiving Symbols

Not that these are the Native Americans one typically sees in Thanksgiving pictures or cards, but the Mystery Sender asks another provocative question: "Are we honoring the "First Americans" or making a spectacle them?" You be the judge.

Thanksgiving 1910

Talk about turkey-centric. Here's a few more Thanksgiving postcards, all embossed. I particularly like the one with all the flowers around the turkey filled oval. ->

Thanksgiving 1909

Thanksgiving postcards from 1909. 100 years ago, and many of the Thanksgiving traditions and images are still the same: the turkey (rarely do we see one feathered and still with its head on), the fall harvest bounty (pumpkins, squashes, grapes) and the cornucopia (seen on other postcards in this series).

Today you rarely see logs used as a type font (unless you're in a forested national park) and contemporary illustrations of kids don't resemble the one on the right. But, we'll probably have a cornucopia on our Thanksgiving table next Thursday, a (unfeathered and cooked) turkey will take center stage, and the table will be laden with fall harvest bounty.

If you are so inclined, it's not too late to send Thanksgiving postcards to your friends and family or download images from vintage Thanksgiving postcards to make place cards for your table.

Thanksgiving 1908

The beginning of a series of Thanksgiving postcards from 1908-1911, from my friend Debra's collection.

What looks like grey lines on the corn and the turkey, is actually glitter and both cards are embossed. It is hard to see that in a scan. I particularly like the feather on the right.

Today is Postcard Friendship Friday, so check out other postcards blogs if you get a chance.

The Big Five

The posting of random animal postcards continues.

The Big Five are the lion, the leopard, the rhino, the elephant and the cape buffalo, and it's a big deal to go to Africa and see them all in one trip. At least that's what people tell me, and it also says so on the back of the card. The term was coined by hunters, as these five are the most difficult animals to hunt on foot. And among the most dangerous.

The Big Five are not to be confused with the Big Four Central Pacific Railroad barons of California - Stanford, Huntington, Crocker and Hopkins - and the name of a restaurant honoring them on Nob Hill in San Francisco.

Miami Serpentarium

In a random continuation of an animal theme this week, today's card is about snakes and their venom. Pictured is Bill Haast, "Venom Poster Boy" of the Miami Serpentarium.

The Serpentarium, probably still in operation (although the website is "under construction") was once and may still be a major tourist attraction and working laboratory. Bill Haast extracted venom from snakes daily, always in view of visitors to the lab. He was bit hundreds of times, and believes there is medicinal use and life-extending properties in snake venom. At 95, he might have a point.

French Kittens in Lyon

Giant marauding kittens in Lyon?

Makes me wonder what others cities/sites are overrun with the local animals. There are many, many cats scurrying around the Parthenon in Athens, monkeys cavorting among select ruins in India, multiple llamas and alpacas wandering around Machu Picchu at least when I was there. I suppose we could include the pigeons in Trafalgar Square, although that might be stretching it a bit.

Can anybody else think of any animal overrun tourist sites or cities not mentioned above?

Bear Mountain State Park, New York

I love the image on this postcard, but it took me a bit to figure out that it was a horse from a carousel. It says "carousel" on the bottom of the card, but it is covered by some sort of smudge. Interesting tidbit about Bear Mountain State Park: the first section of the Appalachian Trial was created at Bear Mountain, opening on Oct. 7, 1923.

I hope they have bears on this carousel!

Zippy the Pinhead

Did you know Zippy was the first to use the phrase "Are we having fun yet?" I did not. I also did not know that there is a cartoon version of Wikipedia called Tooonopedia, self described as "a vast repository of toonological knowledge."

The City by the Bay, Post Loma Prieta Earthquake

This is a funny card, but the Loma Prieta Earthquake wasn't a funny event. Anybody living in San Francisco at the time can tell you exactly where they were, what they were doing, and what they did for the next 24 hours when the quake hit. Parts of the Bay Bridge fell down, a two level freeway collapsed on itself, and the Marina buckled and then went down in flames.

I was eight months pregnant, and on the 20+ something floor of a high rise (does the word "skyscraper" every get used any more?). I had driven across aforementioned Bay Bridge not an hour before.

The city by the bay may be subject to unanticipatable earthquakes, but I'm still happy to be going home today after ten days in Washington, DC.

The Pacific Coast Highway, Carmel to Hearst Castle Segment

If you've ever driven up or down the Pacific Coast Highway (known as PCH, especially from Newport Beach, south) from Carmel to Hearst Castle, you know how narrow and winding and cliff abutting this highway is. The experience and the view are worth every nerve wracking, brake foot tiring minute. Just avoid driving it, if at all possible, during the Winnebago season. January is pretty good because, not only is it not crowded, you can often see the spouts of migrating whales from the road.


What you might not think up about is, how in the heck did they build it? Here's picture of that construction, sent to me by my sister after she and her family and a student visitor from France had just completed this drive.

Check out Road Trip USA for a description of the entire length of Highway 1. I've driven every inch of this Highway, from Portland to San Diego, and into Mexico, with just a short stretch from Portland to Olympia remaining for me to experience.

P.S. Happy Postcard Friendship Friday

Antofagasta, Chile II

Two days in a row featuring postcards from Chile. One from my friend, Paula, on one of her many business trips to Latin America; one from me to my grandmother, 30+ years ago.

This card reminds me of so many things, particularly the few days we spent in Antofagasta. We had come off 48 hours on a train, crossing the border into Chile in the middle of the night and as we did, being called individually into a private room on the train where a Chilean carbineri checked our passports and asked us questions, in Spanish. A little bit intimidating, to say the least. Pinochet had not been in charge that long (Allende was overthrown in 1973 and this was 1978)and things were pretty strict in Chile then.

In Antofagasta we found a hotel-ish kind of place, near the ocean, consisting of old busses sunk in cement and painted grey, each transformed into two "rooms". We shopped a local market for food and discovered something we'd never seen, pepinos, which tasted kind of like a cross between a cucumber and a melon.

One night, we saw a sign for free food in a stadium in town hosted by the Chilean army. Given we were traveling on very little money, we decided to check it out. We arrived to find a large stadium, 75% filled with people, watching a show of military might. Explosions were going off, lights were flashing, tanks were wheeling around - it was quite a sight. At one point we realized that we were being glared at by people in the audience. It was very uncomfortable, so we left. I have no idea if they didn't like Americans and had identified us as such, or they didn't like outsiders and knew we didn't belong.

Santiago, Chile

During my travels in South America, we spent almost six weeks in Chile, arriving in Antofagasta by train from Bolivia and hitchhiking all the way through Santiago to Puerto Montt.

We stayed in Santiago a couple of days, attempting to visit the Moneda, the seat of the president of Chile and a few of his ministers. We pretended we didn't speak Spanish and played dumb, getting relatively far inside the building before somebody stopped us. We were particularly interested in the Moneda because we knew that Allende had been killed or committed suicide here on September 11, 1973. Before we arrived in Santiago, one of our rides came from two military officers one of whom gave me the pin off his uniform that said "September 11, 1973".

Mono Lake, California

It seems we used to drive past Mono Lake on the way to Mammoth Lakes, but I just don't remember the weird formations. Looks more like the moon, with water, to me.

Storm King Art Center

This postcard shows a Calder sculpture in a place called the Storm King Art Center in Mountainville, New York, just an hour north of New York City. What an incredible place! 500 acres of rolling hills and woodlands, "celebrating the relationship between sculpture and nature". My friend was there when the trees were red and yellow and orange. Must have been incredible.

More important is her message. Sounds like she'll finally be back to San Francisco (or at least back when I get to see her) for the first time in over 20 years. Hurray!

Dad's Organ

I confess to being a huge admirer of this kind of cheesy double entrendre humor. This one works particularly well, in its 50s setting. Don't know why, but it always really cracks me up.

Note: Apologies for no Saturday post. While I didn't have access to a computer, I did have a tour of the White House!

Bullocks, Pasadena

Bullocks, Pasadena. Scene of back to school shopping (there was a fashion show at lunch in the dining room), cotillion dresses and white gloves, and post-Christmas shopping. My cousin remembers that there was an ash tray ouside every elevator, and could there have been an elevator operator when we were very young? Don't know if that's a real memory or not. My grandmother got her knit suits here.

At one point, it was the anchor store on South Lake Street in Pasadena. It then went through a period of decline, being reborn ultimately as a Macys. Not even close to being the same.

Friday addendum

Another discovery in my meanderings through the world of postcards: there is a postcard collector who hosts "Postcard Friendship Friday". There's a place to post a link to your blog, as long as it has something related to postcards on it. The rules are 1) post your link, 2) visit as many of the other blogs as possible and leave a comment (it's always nice to have comments), and 3) post a link to the event.

Here it is: Postcard Friendship Friday

The Gates

A boatload of words, a shelf full of books, and miles of film have all been created, describing New York City far better than I ever could. It is one of my favorite spots on the planet and I have spent a lot of time there.

But in 2005, it had been four or five years since I had been, and when the publicity started around the Christos' temporary art installation, The Gates, in Central Park, I became obsessed with seeing it. I found a cheap fare, gathered up one son and one niece, and we flew off to NYC.

We landed late, in a huge snow storm, and jumped into what was probably the last car traveling from JFK into NYC. We were staying at The Plaza as it is right on Central Park and was about to close for major renovations. (It needed them badly.)

The next morning, we headed into the park. It was a beautiful day, and the fresh fallen show from the night before was stacked four inches high on each Gate. The entire effect was incredible.

The Gates was quite controversial – some loved it and its challenge to the concept of “what is art”?; others thought it defaced the park and was a big waste of many; more others were glad it brought incremental tourist dollars into the city, mine included. It was only up for about three weeks.

Christos and his wife have produced a number of environmental art installations. Two others I've seen, and only at a glance while driving by, were The Umbrellas 1991 in Southern California and The Running Fence 1972-1976 in Northern California.

Map of Istanbul, Turkey

Two of my peach picking partners are (or were) in Turkey for a while. Come to think of it, two others were in Paris. Hey. I want to pack my bags and use my passport.

I love this postcard of the map of Istanbul. I suppose if you've been there, the different neighborhoods hold different meanings - some are good for shopping, some are historic, some are the big touristy hotel areas, some are dark and mysterious and potentially dangerous for tourists. I haven't a clue about any of them.

Mostly it's the bosphorous I notice. Not exactly sure why, but I have always been fascinated by this narrow strip of blue. Perhaps it's because of the thin connection between Europe and Asia, the narrowness of the strait from the Black Sea to the Sea of Marmara and ultimately to the Aegean and Mediterranean Seas. Whichever. Bucket list alert!

Hermannsdenkmal, Germany

Hermannsdenkmal is one of Germany's major tourist attractions, standing almost 174 feet tall (about 17 stories). It was completeled in 1875.

The monument commemorates the victory of the German tribes over three Roman legions in 9 AD. It was a huge loss for the Romans, but did not deter their geographic expansion at the time. Check out this and this for information on the Roman empire. Interesting to revisit - one of those subjects I remember studying in high school history but haven't had reason to think about in a long while.

Mystery Sender Makes A Point

The mystery sender's postcards often make me laugh out loud.

At first I thought this was a postcard for the Blue Man Group, who I've not seen perform. Rather, it is an ad for a Colourings Make-up Studios in the Body Shop in four of their New York locations, offering a free professional makeover

S/he complains that on many advertising postcards, there is not enough room on the back to write a message. And to prove the point, sends the same card twice, #1 of 2, and #2 of 2. I've only posted the front once. Definitely true when the postcard is used for a specific promotional purpose; not necessarily true when they are picked up on a postcard rack, where the advertiser hopes the postcard might be used in a non-digital form of viral marketing.

Zipaquira, Colombia

Another postcard sent from my travels throughout Latin America in the late 1970s. This one comes from the Salt Cathedral, Catedral Del Sal, outside of Zipaquira, Colombia.

We took a bus here from Bogota, probably on a weekday, as it was virtually devoid of tourists. As the postcard says, the only people around were miners with headlamps on. It was dark and quiet, and quite eerie. Turns out the site we visited in the late 1970s was shut down in 1990 due to structural issues, and a new site built 200 feet below.

The message on the postcard reminds me that a few days later we took a bus to another town, this one about four hours outside Bogota, called Villa De Leyva. It is described in Lonely Planet as follows: "Declared a national monument in 1954, the town has been preserved in its entirety and virtually no modern architecture exists."

We arrived late in the afternoon, practically at dusk, and the main plaza was almost completely deserted. (If you click on the first Villa de Leyva link above, you'll see a picture of the main plaza - it looks deserted now!) We paid a young boy a couple of pesos to take us to a place to stay and he led us down a deserted side street. When we arrived, we were at first taken aback. All we saw was a wooden door - no marker, no sign, no indication that this was a place to stay. The pock marked and crumbling stucco walls had us thinking we may have made a horrible mistake. However, we knocked and were greeted by a friendly proprietor and entered a beautiful, although small courtyard. There were a couple of rooms, all furnished with old, heavy, but comfortable looking colonial furniture. It was good! The next morning we wandered around the town, and were easily the only tourists (and therefore the only Americans) there.

Funny, I hadn't thought of either of these places in a long time. Interesting to look them up and read about their significance as tourist destinations today. Hurray for saving postcards! Better than a diary any day.

Kerala, India

My knowledge of the different states in India is pitiful.

Here is a postcard from Kerala, which National Geographic Traveler describes as "one of the 'ten paradises of the world' and '50 places of a lifetime'." Cochin, or Kochi, is the city from which the sender embarked on a houseboat trip through the peaceful and spectacular waterways of the state. Who knew that Kerala grows a large percentage and 50 varieties of rice? Have you heard of the house boat rentals here? Check out the state flower, the Cassia. It's beautiful.

My friend Sudha and her husband took a mini-vacation here, while in India tending to her business. Sudha works with artisans and craftspeople, creating beautiful gifts, jewelry and accessories, and helping revive age old crafts that were near extinction. She was truly a pioneer in the area of social responsibility.

Happy Halloween, Part II

More Halloween postcards from 1909/1910. All of the above are from 1910, with the exception of the kids carrying the jack o' lantern, which is from 1909.

I notice three things; maybe you'll notice more.

1) The use of the apostrophe in Hallowe'en in two of the cards. Most people know Halloween is derived from All Hallow's Eve, thus the contraction. What I don't know (maybe somebody does?) is when the apostrophe got dropped from common usage.

2) The use of "Auld Lang Syne". The song wasn't common as a New Year's Eve song in the US until Guy Lombardo popularized it in 1929. It must mean something like "For old time's sake this Halloween".

3) The hint of risque. Both the pumpkin headed man chasing the woman and the witch swinging on the moon have a hint of risque about them, certainly for the times. My friend whose collection these are from tells me that many of the cards she has from this time feel a little frisky. In looking up "Postcards 1910" I discovered that Wikipedia has a category "postcards by year". I didn't discover any risque ones. (Might have to post a few cards from my collection, as their offering is thin.)

Jimmy's Kitchen Hong Kong

Jimmy's Kitchen & Landau's still exist in Hong Kong, but I have no recollection of ever being in either. At first I thought I had perhaps just picked the postcard up at an advertising rack somewhere. However, my note to myself tells me otherwise - one of the restaurants was in the same building as Saatchi & Saatchi Hong Kong, where I was meeting. A quick address check of all three would suggest that this is no longer the case.

I must have gone to Hong Kong on business five or six times, but the best was when I stayed over the weekend to be with my friends Paula and Menis who were living there at the time.

One night, while out to dinner in Wan Chai, we had a long discussion of what sounded like a mythical creature: Hong Kong Elvis. Sure enough, after we left the restaurants, we literally bumped right into him. Much hilarity ensued. Check out this video of him. I can't believe he's still wandering the streets!

Postal Crossings

In my immersion in the world of postcards, I stumbled upon a very interesting website: Postal Crossings. In their own words, “send a postcard and receive a postcard back from a random person somewhere in the world!”. For every postcard mailing I sign up to send, a "random person" is then assigned to send a postcard to me.

Notice the number that isn't a zip code next to the "USA" in the postcard above. Each mailing is assigned a number. It is written on all postcards sent, and when I receive a card (this is my first), I enter the card and number into Postal Crossing as "received". There are all sorts of cool metrics and maps, showing where I've sent/received postcards to/from, images of postcards that are flying around the globe, and the number of days it took any given postcard to arrive from one place to another.

The above card was sent to me from Anna in Taiwan of a painting by a Japanese artist, Chinatsu Ban. Underwear and elephants are prevalent in much of her work, and a New York Times review of her work states, "Much of today's art suffers from terminal cuteness, so it is not surprising that Chinatsu Ban, a talented newcomer from Japan, just barely escapes with her life."

Fun to learn about something I knew nothing of, and even better to have it occur in a random way.

Colleges & Universities

I was gone for six days, and during that time received five postcards from colleges and universities: University of Montana, University of North Carolina, Lehigh University, New York University and University of San Francisco.

Three of the five show the campus bell tower, a prominent fixture on many college campuses. In fact, there is a website showing many of the most prominent. Check it out here.

Colleges & Universities - Lehigh University

My friend Carla, with the qmuse blog, went to see her son's lacrosse game at Lehigh University. I relate to what she said - "oh, to go back to college". It would be nice to go back to college, but it would be even better to go back knowing what we know now, but somehow being age 18. That requires about 15 exclamation points. !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Colleges & Universities - New York University

If I were applying to college as a high school senior right now, NYU might be one of my choices. How incredibly exciting to live in New York City, in a college embedded in its streets. My friend, Griffin, moved from Carmel, California, a place of fog and beaches, surfers and artists, and small coastal community charm, to New York City, with its oft-described noise and energy and dirt and action. Wow.

Colleges & Universities - University of Montana

It's not just younger people who are going off to college: my friend, Claire, is applying to graduate school in social work (hospice care) at the University of Montana. In the meantime, she and Steve are enjoying attending the always sold out Grizzly football games, especially since I gave her the fox hat I bought in Russia.

Colleges & Universities - University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill

Our neighbor, Maria, transferred from SF State to University of North Carolina this Fall. What a brave and exciting move! She appears to be taking advantage of every moment and every aspect of UNC.

Colleges & Universities - University of San Francisco

My niece is a freshman at USF - University of San Francisco. I'm pretty sure she likes it a lot so far. How could somebody from LA not love living in San Francisco for the first time?

So Many Postcards, So Little Time

I've got a bunch of postcards to post that arrived during my trip to LA. In the meantime, I'm posting this silly card. There's something about the whole thing - the copy, the picture, the pose of the guy with the vacuum cleaner - that cracks me up. Enjoy!

Happy Halloween, Part I

It's amazing how many closet postcard collectors there are out there.

These postcards, from 1910 (left) and 1909 (right) are from my friend Deborah's collection. Her collection seems to be a real precursor of Hallmark cards, as many of them are holiday specific.

It's astounding to see that the Halloween symbols of 100 years ago, are pretty much the same as the symbols of today.

Colorful Parrots

While we were six not four this weekend, we were a bunch of colorful parrots, chattering away, each with a colorful and vibrant past and present. Six women, all from the same graduate school, gathering together for a weekend of laughing, drinking margaritas, catching up, walking, gossiping, reminiscing.

Two came from the east coast, one an expert in speech recognition software, one a top ranked triathlete in her age group in New York City. One came from New Mexico, where she lives with the two children she adopted when she was working in Moscow. Another came from the SF Bay Area, where she is a top corporate lawyer. One lives in the LA area, on hiatus from the last company she started and sold.

We'll do it again in two years, next time on the east coast.

Eurostar Train Station

There's nothing quite like a train station. The expanse, the high ceilings, the cavernous sound, the birds flying around, the people bustling through, the realization that multiple huge locomotives fit inside....

This is the recently renovated St. Pancras Station, now the station for the Eurostar arrival in London. This is the inside, but check out a picture of the outside. As the postcard says, it looks like the train station where Harry Potter boarded the Hogwart's Express. It may well have been the location used in the movie.

The Eurostar used to arrive in London at Waterloo station. One of the cutest pictures of my kids is the two of them, ages six and eight, disembarking from the Eurostar in Waterloo station, having just arrived from Brussels, pulling their little wheely suitcases behind them. International globe trotters at an early age!

My Cousin, the Artist

I am so proud of my cousin, Shelby. Her art was selected for the promotional postcard for an art festival featuring multiple artists. But she didn't send me this postcard, her sister-in-law did.

My cousin lived with us for a while when she was a teenager. She played the guitar, ironed her hair, and got in trouble for having a big teenage party at my parent's house when my parents were out of town. I had always wanted an older sister, and she was that for me then.

She took me to my first concert when I was probably 12 years old - The Midnighters, The Turtles, and the headliners, Herman's Hermits. The concert was held in the Rose Bowl and while the place wasn't full by any means at all, I will never ever forget how it felt to be in the crazy energy of a crowd for the first time - confused, excited, energized - WOW. My cousin rushed the stage, and claimed to have touched Peter Noonan's foot. She was never going to wash her hand again.

She works in a variety of media, but says that water color is her favorite. She started selling work in a very small way on ebay, but seems to be graduating to larger venues. You can find more of her work here:

http://www.artwanted.com/artist.cfm?ArtID=14593&SGID=0&Display=Med&Page=1#

and here: http://onedaycloserto.blogspot.com/

Colorado Aspens

It's fall! Except that it is expected to be 90 degrees in Pasadena today, which doesn't really feel like fall. So, in honor of fall somewhere, here's a postcard of golden aspens in Colorado, sent by my brother and sister-in-law from Pagosa Springs.

Card Received on Tuesday - Church in Arkansas

Just one postcard yesterday, from the Mystery Sender, of a random church in Rogers, Arkansas. The Mystery Sender seems partial to postcards from Arkansas.

Announcement: I have to put my "whatever postcards I received yesterday" selection method on hiatus, because I forgot I was going to LA, and won't be home to see what postcards come in. I'm in LA now, and need to remember to send myself a postcard from here, or at least post one if I can find a scanner. There isn't one at my mom's house. I will continue my post a day, just not of postcards I received yesterday.

Random fact: got my first speeding ticket ever today during drive down from SF, in at least 100 if not 150 drives to/from SF/LA in the last 30 years. Not that I haven't been issued a speeding ticket before. Just never on this drive. Bummer.

Postcards Received on Monday

This is one of the most beautiful postcards I (now) have in my collection. I can see why the Mystery Sender almost didn't want to give it up. I thought I'd been to these sand dunes, but I confused them with the ones in Southern Colorado. These are near Alomagordo, New Mexico and are called "White Sands National Monument". In fact, if I think about it, I've visited at least three major dunes sites: Oregon Dunes, some big unnamed dunes near Indian Wells in Palm Springs (pretty trashed now but they used to be spectacular), and the Great Sand Dunes in Southern Colorado. The visitors in the picture look like they might be wearing Girl Scout uniforms from their time (1937). In any case, imagine how out in the middle of nowhere it was then.













In earlier postings, we had cards that were dye cut in the shape of their states (Idaho, Montana); here we've got our first postcard dye cut in the shape of a city! It's amazing how the Sears Tower dominates the skyline so much the perspective is skewed and the outlines of the other buildings are what make them even noticeable. I also particularly like my friend Rachel's comments both the random ones on each of the fingers and her directional "We live 20 minutes to the left". I think she might have forgotten that I did visit once, long ago.


















We used to have two cats, but one died at Christmas. Midnight (guess what color she was?) was a good cat and we miss her. However, I have to say that the one remaining cat might be a littler happier as the queen bee, not having to share her food.

This postcard is also sent by the Mystery Sender, who claims to be a dog person rather than a cat fancier. I am partial to both.

Rick Geary

Here's a cartoonist who also has a series of postcards, Rick Geary.

I didn't know he existed until my friend, Steve, collected these at Comic-con this year and sent them, along with a bunch more postcards, to me.

My favorite is the "Vote Darwin". How can you not love the "Oh Evolve" comment from the chimpanzee?







Rick must be from Carrizozo, a town situated south of Albuquerque, kind of between Albuquerque and Roswell. Try saying that name - it has a wonderful feel as it rolls through your mouth.








And in honor of last week's 20th anniversary of the Loma Prieta earthquake in 1989, a postcard celebrating the earthquake of 1906.















Note: Since the mail isn't delivered on Sundays, I can't post any postcards received that day. Until tomorrow.....

Postcard Received on Saturday

Only one postcard received yesterday, from my friend Susan. It must have been purchased at the Linley House in Kensington, which is open to the public as a period museum. The postcard is an illustration by Edward Linley Sambourne, who lived in the house and who was chief cartoonist for Punch from 1901 until his death in 1910.

It's interesting to note that this illustration is from 1908; the suffrage movement began in the United Kingdom in 1865. By the early 1900s, the movement felt it needed to take more extreme action. I believe that is what "agitation" on each ski is referring to. Remember the mother in "Mary Poppins"? I love the chorus in the song she leads, "Sister Suffragette".

Cast off the shackles of yesterday!
Shoulder to shoulder into the fray!
Our daughters' daughters will adore us
And they'll sign in grateful chorus
"Well done, Sister Suffragette!"

Voting rights for women in the UK weren't completely established until 1928.

P.S. Women were granted the right to vote in the US in 1920.

Postcard Received on Friday

Day Two of posting whatever postcard(s) I received in the mail the previous day.

Friday (yesterday) I received one postcard, from Machu Picchu in Peru. It's a second posting of Machu Picchu, the earlier post being one sent to my parents from here in 1978.

It is an incredible place, although it is one of the places in the world that is being loved to death - too many people trampling over the location, all attempting to be respectful but their sheer numbers are doing damage. Per the card, it sounds like they may be shutting part of it down for a while, to give it a chance to rest. Not a bad idea.

Another Way to Select A Postcard/Mystery Sender, Grand Tetons, Cusco

Well, I've run out of Caribbean Island postcards. So how to choose, how to choose?

I've decided that the next 10 days or so, I will post whatever postcards I received the day before, whether I receive one or six. Here's your chance! If you've wanted a postcard to be posted, send me one soon.

Yesterday, I received these postcards.

1. While I haven't mentioned the Mystery Sender since his/her homage(I, II, III, IV & V) a few weeks back, I am still receiving Mystery Sender postcards on an almost daily basis. This one, from the Greenbrier Military School, arrived yesterday. One of the fun things about the Mystery Sender's cards is they are always researched. In this case, we learn what was once the Greenbrier Military School (a spooky looking place from my perspective) is currently the West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine. Hey, it's also my first post card from West Virginia! That means there are now only seven states from which I've never received or collected a postcard. See this post for the complete list, in case anybody feels like filling in my collection.














2. My goddaughter, Jenna, is traveling around the US, taking a break from college. I remember camping once in the Grand Tetons in September. It was really really cold!




















3. My friend, Ellen, is traveling in Peru and Ecuador. This postcard arrived from Cusco, yesterday as well.

Bermuda

You don't hear much about Bermuda on the West Coast anymore. It reached its peak as a tourist destination in the 60s and 70s, and is now more of an international business center. I was surprised to read that in 2005 it had the world's highest GDP per capita. It might just be too expensive. And, it's an Atlantic, not a Caribbean, island.

The other thing you don't hear much about anymore is the Bermuda Triangle. Read about it here, as well. And finally, is the descriptor "Bermuda shorts" still in use?

The two postcards above were sent in the 80s. The message on the first, showing the traffic cop, is very funny, but it took me a minute to get it. It's a typical example of my friend Duke's sense of humor, describing the levitation capabilities of the locals. Read it!

The second was sent by my sister from her honeymoon. It reminded me of her wedding, 20 something years ago, which lasted a week and was tons and tons of fun. A very popular song at the time was the GoGos "We Got the Beat". As I recall, we played it incessantly and danced like crazy every time we did. How can that be so long ago?

Bonaire

Bonaire is the "B" in the ABC islands, and a part of Netherland Antilles like Curacao. Now, if someone would just send me a postcard of Aruba, I'd be able to feature them all. The ABC's that is.














This postcard is unusual in that I received the same card, twice, from different people. Once, from my husband when he was there diving. Then, a second time from the people with whom he had been diving originally, on a subsequent dive trip.

St. Maarten

Okay. Another island. But I posted too late to meet the 12 PM deadline for October 13. Damn. Whatever. I am not letting myself stress out. The mystery sender gave me permission to be relaxed about this, thank goodness. Thank you, mystery sender.

Blah blah blah. Here's a postcard that should have been posted with an October 13 date.

Columbus Day

Historians cannot agree on where Columbus first touched land in "The New World". Most think it was on one of the Bahamanian Islands. Columbus himself named the island "San Salvador"; however, the debate is about which island is the genuine, original San Salvador. The islands most often considered are Watlings Island (called San Salvador today), Cat Island, and Grand Turk (once also part of the Bahamas).

It is agreed that wherever he first set foot, he didn't stay there very long. In fact, this is part of what drives the debate - there is no archaeological evidence of his first foot fall. Historians do know that he established his first "colony" on Hispaniola, the island comprised of both the Dominican Republic and Haiti.

Turns out, his arrival is celebrated in a variety of ways throughout the Americas. In the US, it is known as Columbus Day; in Costa Rica, Dia de las Culturas; in the Bahamas, Discovery Day; in Uruguay, Dia de las Americas; in Venezuela, Dia de la Resistencia Indigenas; and in many other countries in the Americas, Día de la Raza (Day of the (Hispanic) Race). Additionally, many in the US prefer to call it Indigenous People's Day.

So today, in honor of Columbus Day, I offer a postcard of the Dominican Republic. Whatever you call today, even if only Monday, enjoy it!

Curacao,

Curacao is a part of the Netherland Antilles. Turns out there are six islands comprising the grouping, three in the southern Caribbean, near Venezuela, and three in the northern, near Puerto Rico. It appears to be a relatively arid island, with great diving and Dutch heritage (and therefore cultural underpinnings). It's the "C" in the ABC islands.

St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands

I have a hankering for turquoise waters, white sands, palm trees, and dive tanks. It's been a while. So, for the next few days I'm posting postcards of Caribbean Islands.

The only Caribbean Island I've visited is Puerto Rico, and I was on a business trip, so it didn't really count as an island vacation. And, I've been in the Yucatan a lot, which is the Mexican Caribbean. But somehow it's not the same.

Bucket list! Add a couple of Caribbean, South Seas, and Indian Ocean islands.

Keep On Truckin'

Which came first, R Crumb's "Keep on Truckin'" illustration or The Grateful Dead song? I don't really know but the Internet does: answer. I do remember buying R. Crumb comic books and seeing his illustrations used for a variety of purposes on dorm room, coffee house (they used to be called that), and record store walls.

My friend, Rick, who sent this card, is a talented comic illustrator, and every year sends out an annual calendar using his illustrations to chronicle the highlights of his family's year. Kinda like a Christmas letter, only better.

A Road Trip Through Oregon and Northern California

Here's something about postcards. You can take a week long road trip, not take a single picture, and still capture every place you've been and stayed.

It was time to take Clinton to University of Oregon to begin his freshman year. And, since I was driving to Eugene, Oregon anyways, I decided to make a road trip out of it. Here is how it went:

Clinton and I started off from San Francisco, Toyota van filled with clothes, lacrosse gear, bedding, towels, desk supplies, computer, etc. While we weren't stuffed to the gills, we were very full. As Clinton and I always do, we listened to music on his Ipod, while he quizzed me constantly about who the singer/band was, being very critical if I couldn't remember or didn't know.







On the way up, we stopped in Weed at the base of Mount Shasta to visit our friend, Rob. He has a native plants nursery, Menzies Natives, and served as officiant for our wedding. As Clinton said, Rob is the most interesting person he's ever met. Rob graciously offered his home as a stopping point for Clinton if he ever needed it during a drive to/from Eugene/San Francisco.

(Postcard is of Mt. Shasta)





Clinton's dorm is directly across the street from Hayward Field, the track stadium at University of Oregon. We were among the first into the dorm, unpacked and organized by 12 PM. After one more visit to Bed, Bath & Beyond, where there was an amazing amount of U of O/Ducks gear, I tearfully but bravely left Clinton on his own and headed toward Bend.

(Postcard is of Hayward Field)














An incredible drive over the McKenzie Pass, on a scenic highway that is closed to traffic in the winter. It was a bit too early for fall colors, but it was clear that within a couple of weeks, it would be spectacular. Actually, it was a beautiful drive even without the fall colors.

I was headed to see some friends from high school, who married early and have lived in Bend for 30 years in a house they built on the Deschutes River. It was my friend's birthday and her daughter had invited three of us to come to Bend to surprise her. While I wasn't a surprise, having planned to stop there after dropping Clinton off anyways, I was a good red herring and when the other friends showed up, one from NYC and another from San Francisco, our friend was flabbergasted. We had an incredible time, talking and laughing, hiking and laughing, eating and laughing. Nothing, nothing, nothing beats a couple of days with old friends.

(Postcard is of Bend)

On Saturday, we drove to Hood River, to the house of my friend's daughter, for a birthday barbecue.

I had talked my mom into flying to Portland, and visiting with a friend of hers in The Dalles, 20 minutes from Hood River, with the idea that we would then drive down the Oregon and California Coast together.

After a nice bbq in Hood River, and an evening in a motel in Hood River where the owner had been murdered the week before (a little bit unsettling, to say the least), I picked up my mom and we headed south.

(Postcard is of Vista House, overlooking the Columbia River Gorge where Hood River and The Dalles are situated)


First stop, University of Oregon, so my mom could see the campus where Clinton will spend the next four years. He was excited and tired (perhaps a bit hungover?) from the previous day's football game (U of O beat Cal terribly, I'm sorry to say), and we had a very short tour of the campus, took him to lunch, and were on our way.

(Postcard is of some buildings on U of O campus)




We had a reservation at the "Old Town Inn", and while "Inn" is a bit of an overstatement, it is a well run place. Florence is a port town (the Willamette River dumps into the ocean here) and a gateway to the Oregon Dunes State Parks. After a walk in the wind on the river jetty, we had a fantastic dinner at a local place, Side Street Bistro, and a great night's sleep.

(Postcard is of hotel - Freebie!)







We got up early, so we could spend some time investigating the dunes before breakfast. If you like sand at all, you will love the dunes. They are nothing short of spectacular. In some parts, they are sand and sand and sand; in others, you can see where the pines and the sand do daily battle for dominance. Parts are off limits to motorized vehicles; other areas are replete with dune buggies and the tracks of three- and four-wheel ATVs. After a morning spent climbing up the sides of the dunes, you definitely feel it in your calves.

(Postcard is of Oregon Dunes, and in the shape of the state of Oregon. See other postcards in state shapes here and here.)

It's a bit unsettling at first, driving the Oregon and Northern California coast. As you come into towns, especially those on the mouths of rivers, you see a sign: "Entering Tsunami Danger Zone". Perhaps these signs have always been there, but after the tsunami in Asia a couple of years ago, they are a lot more noticeable. In any case, it's somehow comforting when at last you enter the Redwood Forests, after much driving on the coast.














We drove the van through the Drive Through Redwood, with less than inches to spare on either side. For as majestic as the redwoods are, there's a fair amount of kitschy road side attractions: the drive through tree, the houses made of a single tree, and more. We had hoped to reach Mendocino that night, but we had had too much fun indulging our every whim, checking out random places that appealed to us, pulling off into scenic vistas, and climbing sand dunes.

Around 6 PM, we drove into Garberville. Definitely a Humboldt County town, with more hippies with back packs than I've seen in a while. As we drove around, trying to figure out where we might stay, the name "Benbow Inn" came up. My mom kept saying, "that sounds familiar". We checked, they had a room, so we headed that direction. As we pulled up, my mom realized she had stayed there as a little girl, probably at the age of eight or nine, during the 1930s, 70 years before.

The Benbow Inn is on the Eel River, which twists and turns its way through Humboldt County. The only time I'd been on the Eel River before was when we went to the Reggae on the River Festival, 15 or so years ago - a lot different than a stay at the Benbow Inn. This is a hotel to go back to, a destination for a road trip, a place to spend a lazy afternoon on the deck or a luxurious evening in the dining room and lobby.















(Postcards are of Benbow Inn)




The next day, we decided to have breakfast in Mendocino, about two hours from Benbow. And while this wasn't exactly the direct route home, there was a stretch of Highway 1 I'd never driven, from Legget to Fort Bragg, so we did. It was a beautiful, clear, still, sunny, early fall day on the coast. We had our breakfast in Mendocino, wandered around a bit and then headed to the Oakland Airport via the Anderson Valley for my mom's 5 PM plane.

I was back in my own bed that night.

And Now For Something Completely Different

A wooden postcard!

It appears to have been made of birch wood (at least that's what the back says) and doesn't seem to have cost any more than a regular letter, postage wise. Over the years, I've seen coconuts mailed from Hawaii, sand from beaches all over the world taped to the back of a postcard, and a lock of some rock star's hair encased in plastic on a postcard.

Kinda cool, actually.

Hotel Relais Christine - The Best Hotel in Paris

Unlike the "Worst Hotel I Ever Stayed In", the entryway to the Hotel Relais Christine belies what waits beyond.

As you walk through the low-ceilinged, slightly damp, cobblestoned archway pictured above into the hotel courtyard, the sound of a wheeled suitcase is loud, self-conscious, and distracting. And after a three hour Eurostar ride from London, and a cab; or a five hour flight from Athens, and a cab; or a seven hour flight from New York, and a cab; or an eleven hour flight from San Francisco, and a cab, all you want is your room and a shower.

But the pathway is a tunnel of transformation, and as you enter the courtyard, the jet lag, the white noise, the "Lost in Translation" spaciness begins to melt away. You feel, at last, that this is the Paris of dreams: a small hotel, a solicitous concierge, a communal space that is more living room than lobby with a fireplace and an honor bar, long narrow corridors leading to a small but beautifully Parisian room, a bathroom that is about bathing, and a separate room for the toilet. Ahhhh.

I found this hotel by accident, recommended by a colleague in London and was lucky enough to stay here five or six times.

Once with my mom, who flew from Los Angeles to meet me here at the start of ten days in Europe together. She arrived before I did, and was laughing so hard when she opened the door to our room for me, I wondered if this was how jet lag affected her. But no. She had only just found the toilet, after an evening spent wondering how a bidet worked as a, ahem, receptacle for #2.

Another time, I desperately needed a haircut. The hotel sent me around the corner, and there the hairdresser, who spoke no English and I, who speaks only a little French, concocted one of the best haircuts I've ever had.

The last time I stayed there was in the early Fall with my husband. He arrived from Brussels, I from Athens. This perfect weekend included a trip to Versailles and an incredible dinner at a place around the corner from the hotel. Roger Le Grenouille (Roger the Frog) specializes in, surprise surprise, frog legs. There were only five or six tables of us and we were the only Americans there. At some point, the proprietor decided he had enough guests for the evening, closed and locked the doors, and proceeded to hand out hats all around. The food was good (frog legs taste like chicken) and the French-only music got louder and louder. There was a French family celebrating a birthday and the owner led us all in singing and dancing after dinner was done, and not just to wish the celebrant "happy birthday". We ended the night sitting in a booth in the back with the owner and the chef, snifter of cognac in hand. It was probably the most fun I've ever had in a restaurant.

The hotel seems to be a little fancier (there didn't used to be a spa) and a lot more expensive (although it was never cheap). No matter. Someday, I'll go back.

Hanoi, Vietnam

[Oops. Thought I had posted this yesterday, but I hadn't. In any case.....]

It's been over 30 years, but I still can't hear the words "Hanoi" without it bringing up a whole host of memories and feelings around the Vietnam War, and the images and the news and the songs and the discussions of that time.

It's supposed to be fantastic, and I'd like to go there someday. My friend, Sudha, who sent the postcard writes, "It reminds me of Calcutta 40 years ago." She was on her way back to San Francisco from India.

A note on Sudha. She is a world renowned designer who, through her work with local artisans and craftsmen, has helped revive age old crafts that were near extinction. She was engaged in fair trade practices before they were even called that.

If you live in the Bay Area, she will be hosting her 7th annual "Sudha Sale" the first two weekends in November in the Corte Madera Shopping Center, benefitting Bread & Roses and The Redwoods in Marin County. I've sent many friends to this sale in the past who have always been thrilled with the merchandise, the prices, and the fact that all proceeds go to two worthy organizations.

Wellington, New Zealand

Went to Wellington on a business trip.

Arrived about 8 AM, and went straight to the Saatchi offices to begin working on a new business pitch. This is not easy after a 20 hour flight which also crosses the international date line. I do remember stopping in Aukland before flying to Wellington, and there being a shower in the business class lounge that was more like a bathroom in somebody's home than a public shower. There was a bar of soap, a couple of towels hanging on racks that, to be honest, looked like they might already have been used. I was so tired and so grungy from flying so long, I didn't care. I just used what was there.

Saatchi Wellington was (is?) a great office, with smart and creative people, an interesting art collection, and a committed team. We worked like dogs for two days, gave a killer pitch and ended up winning the business. When finished, they held a little reception for me. The head of the office said I was the first person who had ever showed up from "headquarters" saying "I'm here to help" and actually did. I think it was the most appreciated I ever felt in business.

Unc

An interesting phenomenon has emerged since I started posting postcards: people are not only sending me more postcards, but they are also giving me postcards they've saved, for whatever reasons. This one is my favorite so far.

Unc. Uncle Ed. My mother's brother. The definition of cool uncle. He lived in a variety of incredible places: the Hollywood hills in the 60s; Corona Del Mar, El Morro (best body surfing spot on the So Cal coast, according to many) and Laguna Beach in the 60s/70s; Palm Springs until his death early in the 21st century. Our family stayed more than once in all of them, and he always made us feel welcome. He looked like Elvis Presley in his youth, only handsomer. He was a safe harbor for me in my teens, and when I got married, ferried all my bridesmaids around in a Winnebago, decked out with huge paper flowers from a Mexican wedding store. When he walked into a room, all the bridesmaids would chant, "Unc. Unc. Unc." I'm pretty sure he loved it.

He sent this card to his parents when he was away at camp, probably at the age of 8 or 9. My cousin sent it to me. It evoked all sorts of wonderful memories and melancholy feelings, which is why it is one of my favorites to date.

Another Defunct San Francisco Institution

Anybody remember Hamburger Mary's at 12th & Folsom?

The very first week I moved to San Francisco circa 1982, a group of us from the ad agency went here for lunch one day. It was my initial immersion in classic pre-AIDs San Francisco - a place filled with the entire gamut of the then (and I suppose now, to a certain extent, but not so dot com) SOMA scene - leather boys, pierced and tattooed women and men, hippie-types, business people, tourists, gays and straights, all elbow to elbow in a place jammed with a cacophony of random paraphernalia. From the people watching to the paraphernalia, it was never ever a boring place. Even the creamers on the tables were baby bottles rather than metal pitchers.

Bloody Mary was across the street from The Stud, which, apart from the roving underground clubs, was a dancing haunt for me, pre-kids. I ate hamburgers here late at night, after dancing. I had a Bloody Mary here one afternoon when I was trying to get up the nerve to go into a leather store with two lesbian friends for a discrete purchase. (One had a crush on me and wanted me to try stuff on.) A really fun place, a San Francisco institution at the time, and one I hadn't thought of for a while.

Amazingly, there are reviews on Yelp for this place, even though it has been closed for years.

Elephants in Zimbabwe

One thing I've noticed about most postcards from Africa: they name a country, but the pictures are most often of animals. Not that I wouldn't want to see elephants, lions, rhinos, hippopotami, zebras, giraffes, etc. in the wild. But all these animal photos give the impression that Africa is one big savannah, with lots of animals all over the place. What about the people? The cities? The terrain? Mount Kilimanjaro? I know postcards exist with non-animal images, but most of the ones I've received seem to feature animals.

Kortrijk, Belgium

For a long time, my husband worked for a Belgian company, based in Kortrijk, Belgium. He would travel there, a couple of times a year.

Once, we took the kids on a combo business trip/family vacation, starting in Paris. It was very exciting to be in Paris then, as it was the beginning of the 98 World Cup, and there were fans in large groups, thronging the cities and the trains. We saw more fans, in random train stations, when we then traveled to Kortrijk. The Brazilians, with their instruments and noise, and the Dutch, dressed all in orange, were particularly exciting to run across.

Kortrijk is not an interesting town, but we were glad to meet some of my husband's colleagues and see where he spent a lot of time. From there, we took a day trip to Brugge, a beautiful, historic Belgian town not far from Kortrujk.

Postcard Advertising - Mr. Jenkins

Found. Mr. Jenkins postcards, from a famous Tanqueray Gin ad campaign in the 90s. A month ago, I mentioned Mr. Jenkins when I featured Mel, Mr. Jenkins' female and vodka counterpart in a previous posting on postcard advertising.

This eccentric, celebrity-like, but not celebrity, endorser is very much the precursor of "The Most Interesting Man in the World” campaign, currently running for Dos Equis Beer. Both appeal to a potentially aspirational male self-perception: Mr. Jenkins as bon vivant, sipping on gin martinis in a variety of manly or semi-manly situations; TMIMITW, as suave machismo. Both do an incredible job using subtle exaggeration which activates the smallest seeds of desire and admiration we often aren't even aware exist. The big difference is the "Mr. Jenkins" campaign only used billboards and postcards, while "TMIMITW" campaign started as radio (by far the best ads) and expanded to national television. Big difference in $$$$$.

A note on postcard advertising: I was convinced that postcard advertising had all but disappeared. But, this weekend I was in Hood River, Oregon. There, in the local coffee place, was a rack with postcards advertising a variety of local businesses. The medium lives!

Prague, Close Up and A Bit Further Back

Winemakers in Bourgogne

I'm lucky to have a lot of wine experts in my life. My friend, Carol, is in charge of wine imports for a wine broker. My friend, Michael, has his own vineyard/winery, Michaud Vineyards. Our neighbor and friend, Tim, is a Master Sommelier, in charge of teaching and testing new sommeliers (not an easy test to pass, at all). My friend, Debra, sells wine. None of this makes me an expert, but it has made me lucky enough to taste a lot of great wine.

This postcard is from one of Carol's trips to Europe. Someday, I hope to accompany her on one of them.

Trevi Fountain, Rome

I've been to Rome once, when I was on my way to visit my friend Annie, who lives in Florence.

The hotel in which I was to stay had sent a car to the airport to pick me up, and on the way to the hotel, the cab driver drove to the Trevi Fountain. He parked the cab, and we got out and walked over to the fountain. It was a hot August night, probably 10 PM, and the steps around the fountain were packed with people.

It was a magical introduction to Rome - a friendly driver who obviously loved his city, a legendary fountain, and mobs of tourists and locals, young and old, happily eating ice cream on a summer eve.

Cape Town, South Africa

Cape Town, South Africa. I've never been here, let alone anywhere on the continent of Africa. Some day I'll get there, if nothing else to visit Evelyn in Morocco.

This postcard is from my old boss, Ron. He took many exotic vacations before he died and was a trooper about sending postcards to my kids. Just coming across this postcard and seeing his handwriting, and getting a little reminder of him and his personality is a treat.

Business Trip to Borneo

The most exotic business trip I ever took was to a meeting for the Saatchi & Saatchi Asia/Pacific general managers in Kota Kinabalu on the island of Borneo. Turns out Borneo, the largest island in Asia, is also the most centrally located and very reasonable from an economic standpoint place to gather people from all over Asia, from India to South Korea and Japan.

So there we were. We had an afternoon off and you could take a small boat from the resort in which we were staying to the island featured in this postcard.

The island was incredible. You could walk around it in 30 minutes. At one point, on one of the beaches, a clam shell the size of a cooler, was washed up on shore. It was surreal. "Is this Disneyland?" I thought. Is there a man behind a curtain saying, "Cue the clam shell"? That's how incredible this place was. The coral formations in 15 feet of water seen snorkeling were as spectacular as anything I've ever seen underwater, even when scuba diving at much greater depths.

Anybody else ever have a business trip to a more exotic location?

Sending the Youngest Son Off to College

Big day today. Leaving soon to drive my youngest son, Clinton, to the University of Oregon in Eugene, Oregon to begin his freshman year at college.

The postcard on the left shows the Lillis Business Complex. If I remember correctly, it is a completely green building. On the right is Hayward Field, one of, if the not the best, track stadiums in the country. Clinton's dorm is right across the street from this stadium (the one you can see from the overhead shot of the stadium).

Poignant, sad, exciting, proud, scared - all these emotions and more are ones I'm feeling. I imagine his feelings are similar, at least the excitement part. U of O is on the quarter system and begins so much later than almost all other colleges and universities - it's made for what's felt like a very l-o-n-g September, particularly for him. He can't wait to get there, and start his new life!

My friend, Carla, wrote about the experience of dropping her son off to college, and articulated the whole process much better than I could. Read "It Feels Like Fall Today -- It's Time".