July stats

July was a quiet month for Postcrossing, with just 61 cards sent and 71 cards received.  This brings my all-times totals to 12,432 cards sent and 12,426 cards received.  I'm happy to see that cards are getting through to recipients in Russia- 3 cards sent there this month and 7 cards received- so the sanctions seem to be truly at an end.  Despite my lackluster activity, I did move up in rank and now am 25th of more than 83,000 USA members in terms of total sent cards. (Still #1 in Alabama, too.)  As always, I'd intended to be more active in sending cards, but life seems to persistently get in the way of plans.  Here's to more Postcrossing in August.  Write on!

Rare card alert- followup

 On June second, I sent my first card using the newly issued Postcrossing stamp to a recipient in the UK.  And today, after a journey of 4,217 miles and eight days, the card was registered.  Since then, I've sent many more cards with the new Postcrossing stamps, so Postcrossers all around the world are soon to see the results of years of work that resulted in these stamps.  A brave new era in postal mail.  Write on!

Boston World Expo

 We are now just hours away from Boston 2026 World Expo, a multi day convention featuring all things postal.  This event has special interest, as the USPS will be releasing several highly anticipated new stamp designs, including the long-sought Postcrossing theme stamp.  The USPS celebrated 250 years of existence last year, and the USA will do the same this year, so many stamp issues are of a patriotic nature.  These include bald eagles, American bison, and treasures of the Revolutionary Era.  But what has held my attention more than anything else is the Encore Issue.  On Saturday, May 24, a special repeat release of some previous stamp favorite will be announced.  About a year ago, voting was open to the public to choose which design from a large selection will be chosen for re-release.  For myself, I chose the frozen treats scratch and sniff stamp, which smelled like delicious ice cream.  The chosen design has been a closely guarded secret, and I've not heard any rumors as to which former stamp will once again become available.  The "stamp con" will undoubtedly be a great experience; I wish I could be there in person.  But I will be soon sending a whole slew of new stamps on postcard to recipients all around the world.  Write on!

Back on the list

As I requested a batch of addresses from Postcrossing this morning to write some postcards, I was surprised to be assigned an address for Russia.  Because of US sanctions, USPS mail service to Russia has been suspended for the last couple of years.  I have been receiving postcards from Russia, but could not send any postcard to Russia.  Until this morning.  Not wanting to waste time and expense, I have tried to verify this change.  A check of the Postcrossing Postal Monitor page, and the USPS Service Alerts page shows that Russia is no longer listed as a suspended destination.  But it seems to be a very quiet policy change since I can find no specific announcement of a resumption of Russia service by any reputable source.  So I guess I'll take a chance and write the postcard and I hope it reaches you soon, Nikolai in Leningrad.  Stay tuned for any updates.  Write on!

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!

Letter Writing Wrapup

 Having just dropped a final letter in the mail this morning, I am happy to announce that National Letter Writing Month has been a success.  

• Letters written: 30
• Letters typed: 18
• Letters hand written: 12
• Domestic addresses: 28
• International addresses: 2
• Responses received (so far): 3
• Letters returned, undelivered: 1  (and then resent)
• Months until next Letter Writing Month: 11

It's been a fun month, but it's taken time away from my Postcrossing activities.  I look forward to more postcards in May.  Write on!

Letter Month midpoint

 In addition to it being Tax Day (don't forget to file your returns!), today is the midpoint of National Letter Writing Month.  I'm glad to report my goal of writing and sending one letter each day to family and friends has so far been uninterrupted.  The commonly given benefits of handwritten letters are that they are a pleasant and personal way to communicate with another individual.  In today's digital age, it is certainly unexpected and hopefully a pleasant surprise to receive such an old fashioned message; an actual, physical object, manually transported by a postal system that remains by far the world's largest.  But being a scientist myself, I must mention that there are actual biological benefits to writing letters.  It's science!  According to one scientific paper:

 Handwriting is a complex neurophysiological process integrating motor, cognitive, and emotional components. Beyond its functional role in communication, it carries cultural and psychological significance. 

 Handwriting develops more areas of the brain than keyboard or texting messages.  It contributes to enhanced memory development and greater engagement with the material.  It's also a classy, joyous, and affirming way to strengthen relationship.  It may take more time and effort, but that also has value in fostering a deliberate and thoughtful moment in what otherwise can be a frantic life. So in the remainder of the month, I will continue to improve my neural pathways, burnish my penmanship, and sustain my friendships.  Write on!

Letter Writing Month 2026

 It's April once again, which means Letter Writing Month is here.  As in past years, my goal is to write one letter each day to mail to family and friends.  (Last year's efforts were interrupted by a medical event, which I don't expect to be repeated this year.)  The letters I write during the month may be typewritten or hand written using my small collection of machines and fountain pens.  But all will be sent by USPS mail, while the service still exists.  This is a time of year I always look forward to:  renewing friendships, catching up with those who aren't online, and practicing the nearly-forgotten  communication method that served mankind for centuries.  The paper, ink, and stamps stand ready, so let's go.  Write on!

Breaking news: Postcrossing stamps

 For about as long as I've been a member of Postcrossing (well over 13 years), there has been an effort to create a US postage stamp design dedicated to the hobby.  In fact, many American Postcrossers have a plea in their profile urging everyone to contact the USPS Citizen's Advisory Committee to include a Postcrossing stamp design in each year's new stamp issues.  Many years ago, I myself wrote the committee on more than one occasion and never received any sort of response.  I'd given up hope that the USPS would ever issue a Postcrossing stamp, even as other nations continue to do so:  Germany, Estonia, and Czech Republic are but a few.  Well, today I was thrilled to learn that in May the USPS  will release a new stamp dedicated to Postcrossing.  The issue includes four different designs, and are triangular.  It will, of course, be at the international 1 ounce rate (currently $1.70).  Seems like persistence pays off, as they say.  I can't wait for the USA to join the family of nations with a stamp dedicated to Postcrossing.  Write on.

Rare card alert

 Today's rare card is a bit unusual.  It was not sent or received from an obscure, small country.  Instead, it is a card I sent to Denmark, a country that ended its postal system last year.  On December 30, 2025 the state run postal system, PostNord, ceased operations entirely, making it the first nation in the world to do so.  Reasons given were the decline of familiar person-to-person letters and other common mail, which has been largely replaced by digital communication.  And yet, Denmark remains a member nation of Postcrossing, and I was assigned a Danish address 17 days ago.  Instead of a national postal system, private couriers exist to provide the same service.  Think of it as sending a postcard by FedEx.  From what I can tell, it's an expensive option for Danish citizens to use the company, Dao, to send their postcards.  In fact, the Postcrossing member I sent my card to mentions in their profile that they live close enough to the border that they send their outgoing mail from Germany.  So today I present the delivery of a postcard I sent to a country without a post office.  Write on.

Achievement unlocked

 As an active member of Postcrossing for over 13 years, have been proud to tick off one landmark after another.  Today I mark the sending of postcard 12,000.  That works out to an overall average of about 77 cards per month that I've sent to recipients all around the world. Never could I have imagined when I started this project in October of 2012 that it would endure and grow to such a result.  Card # 12,000 went to Marks in Riga, Latvia.  It took 24 days to travel 5,024 miles.  I've spent untold hours selecting, writing and sending these thousands of cards over the years, and there's many more to come.  This landmark just inspires me to continue on with the effort.  Write on!

Blog to blog...to blog

 

In a recent post, I described how I had sent a postal cover to a blogger who solicits them, and it had been received by him in France.  In return for sending him these, he promises to send one of his own and I received mine two days ago.  He definitely has the right touch- the envelope has received beautiful hand stamp cancellations, as opposed to my lackluster processing plant high speed dot-matrix cancellation.  Also, in addition to the international postage, mine included a commemorative landscaped stamp of lower Manhattan, one of my favorite places in the world.  This is surely just a coincidence; I don't think he could have known of my frequent trips to New York City over the years.  And inside were included some picture postcards of Mende, the hometown of Daniel, my French correspondent.  Mende is an ancient community in the south of France, with a history that dates to Roman times, around 200 BC.  It is a cathedral town, and the Mende Cathedral is, like the more famous one in Paris, called Notre-Dame, and also is dedicated to Saint Privat.  This whole exchange has been very interesting.

Happy Birthday, Mr. Zip!

 In its 250 years of history, the US Postal System has been the driver of diverse areas of technology and innovation.  It was at one point, more than the military, an early user of aviation.  It has been a leading innovator in the advancement of optical character recognition (OCR) that we take for granted today.  And on this day in 1964, Mr. Zip was introduced to the nation.  He was, for over 20 years, the character who would represent the introduction, some months before his debut, of postal zip codes.  Familiar today, these five digit (becoming 9 digit in 1983) codes would help increase accuracy and speed of mail delivery by assigning a systematic code number to each post office in the country.  It was a great step forward in postal efficiency, and would later aid in delivery automation that continues to today.  So happy birthday, Mr. Zip!  Your place in the history of this country will never be forgotten.

 

Blog to blog

 A few months ago, I discovered the blog "La Boite aux Lettres du Monde", which my high school and Duolingo French lessons enable me to translate as "Mailbox of the World".  The blog author, Daniel, solicits postal mail with interesting stamps from all over the world, which he posts on his blog.  In return, he promises to reply to senders with mail of his own.  This is a man with whom I share a like mind, so I sent off my letter on about November 30th.  Today, Daniel has posted my letter.  For the international 1st class 1 ounce postage rate of $1.70, I used two first class forever stamps ($ 0.78 each) and a vintage 14 cent stamp.  The paired forever stamps come from this year's issue of battlefield scenes of the American Revolutionary War, which was issued this past April.  Some of that stamp issue are matched pairs, or two stamps that combine to make one scene; the ones I used were from the Battle of Lexington and Concord.  I've had great enjoyment following this blog, and seeing all the beautiful stamps from around the world, and I look forward to receiving my reply from Daniel.  Stay tuned.

Rare card alert

 As a Postcrossing member for more than 13 years, I've eagerly (but hopefully not obnoxiously) spread the word about my hobby.  Along the way, I've convinced a handful of family and friends to join me in sending postal mail to random strangers around the world.  But in sending nearly 13,000 postcards to randomly assigned people, it was only this week that for the first time I sent a card to someone I know in real life.  This rare card didn't go too far- just to Jacksonville, Florida to an old friend from my college days.  But in sending this first ever card to someone who is not a total stranger, I achieved another first in this hobby that has occupied so much of my time.  Write on!

Rare card alert

 For whatever reason, there are not many active Postcrossing members in central America, and therefore cards from that region are rare.  So it took over 13 years of Postcrossing for me to receive my first ever card from Guatemala.  Sort of.  The card itself is from Amsterdam and was sent by a Dutch Postcrosser who was travelling in Guatemala at the time he sent it.  So it has an ID number from that country: 2131, meaning I've sent nearly six times as many cards as the entire country.  In fact, there are only 23 registered Postcrossing members in the country.  All this makes for an exceedingly rare card, one I'm happy to add to my collection.

October stats

 A productive month for me on Postcrossing.  In October, I sent 141 cards to recipients around the world, and received 122 cards.  This brings my all-time total for sent cards to 11,759, which earns me the rank of 28th Postcrosser in the USA out of 76,696 members.  I also hold on to my #1 ranking among Alabama Postcrossers.  And on this cold November morning, I'm steadily writing cards that will go out in todays mail.  Write on!

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.

World Postcard Day

 Once again, it's World Postcard Day when we celebrate the date of the first postcard, sent in 1869.  Long before email or text messages, the postcard represented a quick and inexpensive way to send a short message.  More recently, picture postcards were a popular through the mid 20th century as a way to send souvenir photos from vacations back to family and friends.  Today, enthusiasts like myself preserve the tradition by sending postcards around the world in an exchange program facilitated by Postcrossing.  Of course, that's not enough anachronistic messaging for me, so I also send personal postcards to family and friends during vacations and on other holidays and special events.  This year I will be sending a commemorative postcard that was published a few weeks ago to specially mark this day.  And by sending a few cards on this day, I will earn a profile badge at Postcrossing, as I have every year since 2020.  As I write my postcards today, I'll be remembering the long history of the humble paper rectangle- the world's first short message system.

Rare card alert

 Today's alert is a card I sent myself and was just registered by the recipient in...Downers Grove, Illinois.  In over twelve years of Postcrossing during which I've sent over 11,600 postcards, this is the first card I've sent to the western Chicago suburb where I grew up.  Downers Grove is now a moderate sized Chicago suburb of over 50,000 residents, though it was much smaller when I lived there through the 1960s, 70s, and 80s.  The village (it's always been referred to as a "village", for some reason) was founded in 1832 by a settler named Pierce Downer.  It is located on a commuter rail line into Chicago, and so has become a prosperous bedroom community, and all-around basic, nondescript suburb.  My childhood there was pleasant and comfortable, if not exciting.  Downers Grove is not known for producing much of note, apart from Sherrill Milnes, the famous operatic singer, and Emo Phillips, a once-popular standup comedian.  My high school friend and soccer teammate once served as mayor of the village.  All these decades later, I still have happy, nostalgic memories of the place, which were revived by sending this postcard.

The postcard that was just registered in Downers Grove.