Day In The Life – Thursday

I’m not a big collector. And instantly I think of all the exceptions – books, outdoor gear, knitting supplies for starters. But these things are my tools. OK, but other than my “tools”, I don’t collect much except for (ha! another exception!) postcards. I really like postcards. Even in my many rounds of purging, the postcards keep making the cut. When I come across them in whichever box they’ve been relegated, I always file through them, reading the back and remembering the circumstance and friend who sent them. I usually pick up a postcard when I’m traveling which serves as a satisfying enough souvenir for me.

Hanging on a wall at the Crested Butte Hostel in Colorado, is a large, framed collage of some beautiful and interesting postcards. I’ve been in this hostel many times and love looking at these images and wondering who went to these places and what they experienced. There’s one postcard that has always captivated me, and succinctly sums up my love of travel. Against a mystical and surreal-looking backdrop, a young woman is peering over a mountainside, at what, the viewer doesn’t know. The words on the card read, “Sometimes it’s difficult to describe the places you’ve been and the things you’ve seen.” I thought of that image many times as I traveled through China (and elsewhere), often alone with my thoughts, taking in the sensations around me.

Inspired by that collage at the hostel, I created my own collage on my hallway wall.

(More have been added since this was taken.)

 

Some highlights…

Sent from Judy, Pakistan, '00.

Monhegan Is., Maine with Jamie, '06.

 

 

 

 

On trek in Nepal with Jan T., Everest, '04.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

From Chris, to remind me of the peaks in CO while I was on the AT, '98.

From Jan when I was living in Yakutat, AK, '00.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Saddleback Mtn., NH, on the AT, before I was there, pre-'98.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

From a coffee shop in Suzhou, China, '11.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There is a website called Postcrossing where a person can sign up to send and receive postcards from random people all over the world. I haven’t done this, but I think it would be a great way to collect a lot of cards from very interesting places. I’d love to include a postcard from your area in my collection if you’d like to send one. Just let me know! I’ll post an update later with new additions.

 

Advertisement