Tony 210

 Happy 210th birthday to Anthony Trollope!  It was on this day in 1815 that one of the best known Victorian novelists was born.  That year also saw the Battle of Waterloo, and the end of the Napoleonic Wars.  It also was the year of the Corn Laws; protectionist tariffs are nothing new, you see.  Trollope's life saw a lot of social change and turmoil.  And before his death in 1882 he wrote 47 novels, along with short stories and travelogues.  All while holding a day job with the Royal Mail.  A remarkably prolific author.  His books are both entertaining and thought-provoking, as they satirize many social and political aspects of life in his day.  As I continue to read his works as park of the Trollope Society Big Read, I will remember this day as one that marks the beginning of an astonishing life.

Rare card alert

 Another rare card arrived today, with perhaps the lowest ID number I have ever seen.  This card is only the 85th Postcrossing card ever sent from American Samoa, a US Territory in the South Pacific.  Like Puerto Rico, the US Virgin Islands, or Guam, this distant island enjoys (for now, until Trump inevitably fucks it up) the full services of the USPS.  In other words, the card was conveyed 6,418 miles in 10 days for the bargain postcard stamp price of 56 cents.  The card's sender, Tricia, has sent only 9 Postcrossing cards in total, yet is the #1 Postcrosser in American Samoa (indeed, she appears to be the only Postcrossing member in American Samoa).  Such is the low pace of cards coming from that exotic destination.  And so this wonderful card is today's Rare Card Alert.

Not dead yet

 Only hours after it began, April Letter Writing Month had to be put on pause.  You see, on the morning of April 1, I was unexpectedly hospitalized for a bit more than two days (no foolin'!)  Yes, only months away from beginning my sixth decade of life, I was admitted to a hospital overnight stay for the first time ever.  Got to take my first ever ambulance ride, too!  I'm home now, feeling very much better, and eager to jump into daily correspondence with family and friends at last.  I also have a lot of postcard writing to catch up on. But to all my correspondents, fear not.  I am back at my desk, pen in hand (or typewriter, as the case may be), and daily letters will resume immediately.  Write on!

Letter Writing Month

 As I did last year, I will once again be participating in National Letter Writing Month.  Each day in April, I intend to write a letter to family and friends, and send it to them through the good 'ol US Postal Service.  It might be a letter composed on a vintage typewriter from my collection, or it may be handwritten.  Either way, it's my favorite time of year when I renew contacts and check in with those who I don't otherwise frequently communicate with.  Surprising as it may be, I still know people who are not active on social media and so I don't have much current news about their lives.  Through daily letters (and hopefully replies of any sort- postal, electronic, or otherwise) I hope to get back in touch with lost friends and family.  So here it goes.  Want to join in?  Feel free to contact me, and I'll be sure to reply.  Write on!