World Postcard Day

 Today is World Postcard Day, in which we celebrate the first use of the humble communication device, a simple small piece of paper.  Postcard history tells us that the postcard was first used on this day in 1869 in Austria, and soon grew to a popular and ubiquitous item in the pre-digital world.  Short messages and usually colorful photos could be quickly sent via postal mail, and were most commonly used by tourists to keep in touch with family and friends back home.  Such missives from travelers were eagerly anticipated and often collected as souvenirs of travel to exotic locations.  In today's digital age, postal mail and especially postcards have become an anachronistic curiosity.  But in 2005, the Postcrossing project was begun, and today members send nearly half a million cards per month, exchanging them with randomly assigned strangers all around the world.  Postcrossers who send a card on this day receive a special badge of participation on their personal profile page.  This year will be the seventh consecutive year in which I have participated, and I will be sending copies of the official World Postcard Day design.  Each card, as it is received, will play a tiny part in the legacy that began in Austria 157 years ago on this day.  Write on. 

Coast Guard Day

 On this day in 1790, Treasury Secretary Alexander Hamilton convinced congress to fund the construction of ten small sailing vessels, revenue cutters, to enforce tax and customs fees in the newly created USA.  This was the beginning of a maritime law enforcement service that would directly evolve into today's Coast Guard.  Since then, the duties of the Coast Guard have changed and grown, and today it is also responsible for fisheries management, aids to navigation, lifesaving and rescue, and in wartime, various combat roles.  After the American Revolution, the US Navy was disbanded only to be re-created in 1798, so the Coast Guard is America's oldest continual maritime service.

Also on this day, some 175 years later, I was created.  So it is a coincidence that I myself had a short-lived and not entirely successful service in the Coast Guard.  For me, last year was a landmark birthday, but this year, as with most of them, I indulge in a bit of retrospection.  My life can no longer be called a short one, though I hope it lasts for a while yet.  I was born in the midst of the early space race- in the middle of the Gemini program, when the USA finally surpassed the USSR in manned spaceflight achievements.  And four-year-old me was around to sleep through man's first steps on the moon.  (My talent for sleeping through major world events as they happened is considerable, with Princess Diana's death and OJ Simpson's slow speed car chase just to name a few.)  My life has encompassed the space race, the Cold War, the Chernobyl accident, the digital revolution and birth of the internet, a major worldwide pandemic, and the utterly disastrous Trump presidency.  So it's never been dull.  And for more than the past 12 years (longer than Samuel Pepys), I've kept a daily personal journal to record and comment on world events, both large and small.  I wonder if it will interest some historian in, say, a hundred years.

Anyway, Happy 236th birthday, US Coast Guard!

Name calling

 On a web page posted by the Social Security Administration, it is possible to see data on the popularity of baby names throughout history.  So naturally I had to look into the numbers on my own name.  It turns out that when I was born in 1965, the name "Peter" for new babies was near its peak of popularity and was the 39th most popular name given to newborns.  This is only slightly less than its absolute peak ten years earlier in 1955, when it was the 35th most popular name.  In that year 11,003 new babies were named Peter, which was 0.526% of all newborn boys for the year.  Since then, however, the popularity of the named has waned, and in 2020 it reached its lowest point, when Peter was the 215th most popular name.  In the last two years for which data is available, the name has grown very slightly, and in 2025 it was ranked 187.  So perhaps the name of the apostle that was the favorite of Jesus, the rock upon which he built his church, will make a comeback.

The name Peter is at least more popular than one deeply unpopular name for newborns: "Donald". In 2025, the name Donald was the 690th most popular baby name, less popular than names like "Mohammad,” “Kash,” “Brandon,” “Maximus,”  and “Keanu”.

Blog to blog, redux

 Last December, I wrote about a blog that displays postal covers from around the world.  The blog's author, Daniel Mathieu, solicits postal covers from like-minded people: those with beautiful stamps and interesting postmarks receive extra thanks.  So back in December, I sent an envelope with the newly issued USPS Revolutionary War stamps.  Then a couple weeks ago during National Letter Writing Month, I sent another cover with brand new stamps depicting famous individuals of the Revolutionary War.  President George Washington was an obvious choice to use, in combination with the Marquis de Lafayette, a nod towards the important contributions of France in obtaining American freedom.  This time, in addition to a letter using my best Duolingo French, I included some photo postcards of my hometown, Birmingham, Alabama.  Daniel shows these in his post, along with some links to additional info for those who might wish to know more about Washington, Lafayette, the Boston Tea Party, Birmingham, or our Vulcan Statue.  Write on!

Evolved birthday

 Happy Darwin Day! On this day each year, I mark the birth in 1809 of the man who would lay down the foundation of biology.  It was on this day, 217 years ago that Charles Darwin was born, along with some chap in the USA named Abraham Lincoln, who would amount to something later in life as well.  After an astonishing voyage of discovery on HMS Beagle, Darwin would dither and procrastinate for many years before finally publishing his world changing ideas.  More than two centuries later, there are those (many in the area of the country where I live) who remain stubbornly resistant to the clear truth of science that Darwin and others first elucidated.  But those of us who can recognize reality will today celebrate the birth of the man best known for providing the core tenants of the life sciences.  Happy Birthday Charlie!

Save the Bounty

  Readers of this blog will know that I am a big fan of all aspects of the story of HMS Bounty, the ill-fated 18th century mission to transport breadfruit tress from Tahiti to English colonies in the Caribbean.  The famous mutiny resulted in the ship's commander, Captain Bligh, being set adrift in a small boat with some loyalists and their arduous journey back to civilization.  The mutineers sailed the seized Bounty and ultimately destroyed her after settling on a little known south Pacific island.  Since then, several books and movies have been made to recount the mutiny.  A semi-authentic replica Bounty was built with traditional woodworking methods for the 1962 version of the film starring Marlon Brando.  This ship later became a museum ship for decades before being lost in a storm in 2012.  A later version of the film in 1984 starring Mel Gibson used a more authentic replica ship, though one that had a modern steel hull and was clad in a wood veneer for appearances.  This ship still exists, though is now apparently in a state of severe neglect.

In my random internet wanderings, it is info of the latter ship's status that I recently discovered.  According to this web page, the ship lies in a woeful condition in Bankok, Thailand.  The identity of the current ship's owners is unclear, but the web page appears to be trying to organize a restoration effort.  I will certainly be watching for updates about this project.  The trilogy of novels by Charles Nordoff and James Norman Hall that fictionalized the true Bounty mutiny story was among my earliest and most beloved books. Since then, I've collected valuable first editions of all three books.  A couple years ago, I also commissioned an oil painting of the Bounty by a prominent marine artist.  Further back in time, on one of my trips to England, I visited the grave of William Bligh, the Bounty's captain.  It's long been a story intertwined with my life.  So with great interest, I will follow the progress of this restoration effort.

Delivering for America

 

For a book lover and collector with a fascination for postal mail, the newly published history of the US Postal Service was a temptation too great to resist.  My copy arrived yesterday, and I look forward to many hours spent perusing its 496 pages.  The beautifully produced large coffee table book is full of rare photos and captivating facts of the 250 years of the USPS.  It is written by James H. Bruns, the former director of the Smithsonian National Postal Museum and a prolific author and historian.  The long story of the USPS is a wild tale of adventure, innovation and technology that can hold the interest of any candid reader.  Though today's dismal state of the Federal government casts serious doubt on the future of the largest delivery service in the world, there will always be its noble history, as related in the pages of this stellar book.

Banned Books Week 2025

 We are now in the midst of Banned Books Week 2025, which runs from October 5 to Let Freedom Read Day on October 11.  The annual celebration of Free Speech and Freedom of the Press long predates the short history of this blog; indeed, it has been needed from the earliest days of our nation.  Sadly, it is needed now more than ever.  Hopefully our current thuggish, tyrannical administration will eventually recede into the dark corners of history, yet we must be ever mindful that the freedom to read any and all literature is perpetually under threat.  Censorship is today no less a problem that it has been in recent memory.  Efforts to restrict libraries in schools, universities and municipalities is a corrosive force that poses a persistent threat to society.  This year author, actor, and activist George Takei has been named honorary chairman of Banned Books Week.  Mr. Takei is no stranger to harassment and censorship, and he reminds us that a free and open society depends on the abolishment of censorship in all its forms.  So this week, I will remember that living in "the land of the free and the home of the brave" requires unrelenting effort from all of us to root out censorship wherever it is found.  Read on!

National coffee day

 Happy National Coffee Day to you all!  Today marks the celebration of that most precious of beverages, extracted from the amazing coffee bean.  One popular legend has it that coffee beans were discovered by a 9th century goatherd, but we are all indebted to whoever figured out the hard stony pit  of a cherry-like fruit could be washed and dried, roasted to a dark brown, ground into a powder, and extracted with hot water to provide a beverage so essential to so many.  I myself have previously mentioned how important coffee is in my life.  Accordingly, I roast my own green coffee beans, then brew them using several different methods, from conventional drip maker to French press to moka pot to elaborate, high-end Italian espresso machine.  While many people will today enjoy the coffee that they obtain from some shop or other, I always make my own at home.  It's the only way to obtain the best quality product.  And while I sip my daily brew, I often contemplate the economic, social, and geopolitical roles that coffee has had over history.  Much of this is well documented in the excellent book "Uncommon Grounds" by Mark Pendergrast.  (This book also taught me a different important lesson:  Decades ago, I lent my author-signed copy to an acquaintance who never returned it.  I don't lend books anymore.) So today make a point of remembering while you enjoy coffee in whatever form you prefer the amazing impact the humble bean has had on mankind.

On this day...

 I was born 60 years ago.  Leading up to this landmark birthday, I've given a lot of thought to the state of things, past and future.  On the whole, I have little to complain about; it's been a wonderful life in which I've been very fortunate.  And I certainly hope it will continue for a few more years- there's still a lot I would like to do!

In 1965, the year I was born, a lot was going on:

• At the end of January, Winston Churchill died and was given a grand funeral.  I missed overlapping the life of that historical figure by only a few months.
• In February, Canada adopted their now familiar Maple Leaf design for the national flag.
• March was a tumultuous month, with Rolling Thunder bombing missions going on in Vietnam, and Bloody Sunday civil rights protests happening in Alabama.
• In April, Julie Andrews won an Oscar for her performance in Mary Poppins.
• In May, Muhammad Ali knocked out Sonny Liston with his "Phantom Punch" in Lewiston, Maine.
• Mariner 4 became the first spacecraft to send home photos of Mars in July.
• On August 4, a newborn struggled for breath in a hospital incubator in Normal, Illinois.  He would go on to become a research scientist known for his lack of notable accomplishments, as well as an enthusiastic hobbyist baker, wooden boat builder, and postal mail booster.
• In September, the final session of the Second Vatican Council began.
• Pope Paul VI, in October, became the first pontiff to visit the USA and conducted a mass at Yankee Stadium, New York.
• American auto racer Craig Breedlove set a new land speed record of 600 mph in November.
• And in December, A Charlie Brown Christmas aired for the first time on CBS.

So, my life so far began in rousing fashion.  Since that first year, man walked on the moon a total of six times (family lore has it that I was asleep in my crib while my parents left to visit neighbors who had a better TV to watch Neil Armstrong take his first step), the last couple of which I have a memory of seeing.  In my lifetime, computers have exploded into a ubiquitous revolutionary force that has drastically altered society, sometimes for good.  Scientific knowledge, broadly, and medical knowledge, specifically, have made great strides during my life.  Indeed, technology in all facets of life have barely retained any recognizable features of when I was born.  The human side of life's equation, however, has not perhaps made such gigantic leaps.

My own life has also seen many events, both notable and mundane.  My happy childhood was certainly the epitome of a benign suburban upbringing.  I was blessed with devoted parents, a stable home life, good education, and a sufficient if not lavish lifestyle.  With all the advantages of gender, race, education and opportunity, I was able to accomplish... very little.  Certainly, less than I could have if I'd exhibited more initiative, diligence, and hard work.  In spite of a glaring lack of ambition, I bounced back from an abortive attempt at a career as a Coast Guard officer and instead studied to become a research scientist where I've built a very modest CV and a scientific record unalloyed by achievement.  But in at least one endeavor I can be proud: I've enjoyed a long, happy marriage to my wife Kathy.  Tomorrow we will celebrate 36 years of wedded bliss.  So if there is nothing else, I can at least look on our union as one of my life's great accomplishments.

What lies ahead?  That's a little less clear, but I am hopeful there are still some pleasant memories yet to be made.  I have enjoyed good health up to this point in my life, with a small episode earlier this year marring a record of otherwise trouble-free corporeal operation.  There's nothing to indicate today that I might not yet enjoy a few more years, so perhaps I can at last summon some ambition to do something notable with my life.  If I ever manage it, I'll be sure to let you know all about it right here.

No Kings

In General Congress, assembled-

The History of the present King is a History of repeated Injuries and Usurpations, all having in direct Object the Establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid World.

He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public Good.

He has endeavoured to prevent the Population of these States; for that Purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their Migrations hither, and raising the Conditions of new Appropriations of Lands.

He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone, for the Tenure of their Offices, and the Amount and Payment of their Salaries.

He has erected a Multitude of new Offices, and sent hither Swarms of Officers to harrass our People, and eat out their Substance.

He has kept among us, in Times of Peace, Standing Armies, without the consent of our Legislatures.

He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil Power.

He has combined with others to subject us to a Jurisdiction foreign to our Constitution, and unacknowledged by our Laws:

For cutting off our Trade with all Parts of the World:

          For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent:

          For depriving us, in many Cases, of the Benefits of Trial by Jury:

          For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended Offences:

In every stage of these Oppressions we have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble Terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated Injury. A Prince, whose Character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the Ruler of a free People.

Happy Typewriter Day!

 It is time, once again, to celebrate that remarkable invention - the typewriter - that was patented on this day in 1868 by Christoher Latham Sholes and others.  Their wonderous mechanical writing machine would go on to enjoy over a century of prominence as the symbol of writers, journalists, and the literary sect.  Even after being largely replaced by electronic word processers, elements of Shole's original design remain, most notably the familiar QWERTY keyboard layout.  Though interest in typewriters has enjoyed a moderate resurgence among some groups, I am proud to be fairly unique in being a regular typewriter user.  A week doesn't go by in which I don't type a few letters to send to family and friends.  So on this day, join me in remembering the historic and transformative machine, the typewriter.

Postal History

 

This year, the US Postal System will celebrate 250 years of service.  As most of us learned in school, the service was begun by Benjamin Franklin in 1775 as a crucial means by which the 13 colonies could communicate and unify against British rule.  Later on, in 1787 when the US Constitution was created, it specified the postal system as an essential service of the government. Today, the USPS is the largest postal service in the world, processing about 318 million pieces each day.  To recognize this moment in history, the USPS will later this summer issue a sheet-sized stamp mosaic of postal functions. Leading up to the release, the USPS podcast, Mailin' it!, has put out an episode examining the history of rural free delivery, an important service of the USPS.  From the episode notes:

USPS Historian Steve Kochersperger joins us to discuss the origins and lasting impact of rural free delivery—an initiative that began in 1896 to bring mail directly to farm families across the U.S. Learn how this historic service helped bridge the gap between urban and rural communities, supported economic growth, and laid the groundwork for modern mail delivery. 

Give it a listen at the link below.

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.

Anniversary

 It was one year ago today that I began this blog, with the intention of returning to an online presence that involved more long form discourse, and less of the short-attention-span posts of the social media that is now the current fad.  As someone always drawn to anachronisms, blogging appealed to me partly because it is now considered old fashioned.  I've not really settled on a unifying theme for this blog, but instead share random observations about some of my interests: typewriters, postal mail, food, and books.  A year after it began, it's likely what is found here hasn't much altered the course of the world.  But whose hobby ever does?  Here's to another year!

Beginnings

 On this day in 1989, a new chapter of my life began.  In the Cathedral of St. Paul, my lifelong family priest, Fr. Donald Pock asked me that all-important question, to which I replied, "I do."  This began a 35-year long adventure that continues to today.  Kathy and I have seen a lot so far, and I can't wait for what the future holds.  In my otherwise unremarkable life, I've always been proud of an enduring marriage.  I can offer no secret advice on how to achieve it, but am only glad that it's happened to me. So on this day as I reflect to how things have changed over the decades, I am grateful for the steady foundation that underlies it all- a happy and healthy marriage.  And as retirement looms and a new phase of life is about to begin, there is no one I'd rather experience it with than Kathleen. 

Semper Paratus

 Happy Coast Guard Day!  On this day in 1790, the precursor service to the US Coast Guard was brought into being, making the Coast Guard the oldest continuous marine service in the country; older than the US Navy.  Of course, the Coast Guard has changed many times over the years and has taken on many roles.  Most familiar may be it's primary role as a search and rescue service, but it also has responsibilities in law enforcement, fisheries management, maritime safety regulation, upkeep of aids to navigation, and several educational roles.  I was, for a very short time, a proud member of the Coast Guard.  In the mid-1980s, I was a cadet at the US Coast Guard Academy and looked forward to a career as a Coast Guard officer.  But after about two years of the four-year program, reality reared its head and I washed out of the academy, and made a life in biomedical research instead.  All these years later, I am proud to have known some very fine fellow cadets, some of whom went on to long careers of service.  Most are now retired, but a few still serve at high levels of the Coast Guard.  Among my classmates have been two Captains of the USCGC Eagle, the academy's tall ship.  One classmate served as the head of the Academy itself.  Others have reached the rank of Admiral and still serve today.  Mine was a small class at the academy, and I was proud to have known all my classmates.  So on this day, I salute them, and wish them all a happy Coast Guard Day.

It's in the mail 8

 This morning, as the nation struggles with a widespread computer network malfunction, I ponder a simpler time when communication didn't depend on digital equipment.  So today I focus on another in an ongoing series of postal collection boxes.  This one is outside the door of Jefferson Tower, part of the sprawling complex of buildings that comprise UAB University Hospital (which was just - once again - named the best hospital in Alabama and one of the tops in the country.)  JT, as we UAB employees call it, is a 1940s era high rise structure that was once the main hospital building in Birmingham.  It replaced Hillman Hospital, the adjacent building which was built in 1888 as a small charity hospital.  So for over 100 years, doctors, nurses and countless patients have passed the site of this mailbox, and no doubt many sent letters from it to tell friends and family of their medical condition.  Hopefully for most, it was a message of good news.

It's in the mail- UK edition

 Despite obvious differences, the postal systems of the United States and the United Kingdom share many similarities.  Most notably, they both currently suffer from serious mismanagement and regularly impose significant rate increases while services are in steep decline.  But the Royal Mail goes the extra mile to be dysfunctional while being privatized many years ago, and coming under foreign ownership most recently.  Finally, the Royal Mail has adopted ugly barcoded stamps, like some other European countries, while the USPS has so far avoided this travesty.  However, the Royal Mail has long excelled in the charming character of their public collection, or pillar, boxes.  Even today, these adhere to the classic design themes instituted by Anthony Trollope, the popular Victorian novelist who wrote books while keeping his day job as a postal official.  His classic red pillarbox design is a familiar symbol of the UK all around the world.  Part of the charm of Royal Mail boxes is that they bear the Royal Cypher of the reigning monarch when they were installed.  So one can trace the history of any pillar or wall box one might spot by reading the monarch's crest.  The most common, of course would be those boxes bearing the symbol of Queen Elizabeth II, due to her extraordinarily long reign.  But find a box old enough- and these durable articles exist- and you'll see the symbol of Queen Victoria from over 100 years ago.  So today, the notable event was reported- the installation of the first box bearing the cypher of King Charles III.  Another addition to the long, long history of the Royal Mail, which is enough to fill a 700 page book.

Happy Typewriter Day!

 On this day, June 23, in 1868 a patent for the first conventional recognizable typewriter was granted to Christopher Latham Sholes.  And since then, the mechanical writing machine has been a symbol of authors, journalists, poets, and students as they pursue their literary quests.  Sholes' most enduring innovation, the QWERTY keyboard persists to this day, into the digital age.  It has made text entry familiar to generations of typists, whether they use all ten fingers, or just two thumbs on a cell phone screen.  While Sholes' mechanical wonder and all those that followed may not be in common use, they by no means have vanished from the writing ecosystem.  Many in the younger generations have re-discovered the joys of writing tangible documents, removed from the invasive, all-seeing digital landscape.  Fortunately, the mechanical typewriter, made in the millions in the early and middle 20th century, was a remarkably hardy and durable creation.  So many still exist in perfect working condition, and the trade in these machines on resale sites like Ebay is active and robust.  For those, like me, who have a tender heart for the time when these machines dominated the landscape, this is a special day to remember the beginning of a glorious age.