Have you ever heard of Postcrossing?

Postcrossing was a new term for me and the concept popped up when I was reading a blog post that I follow. You may be like me and not know what on earth Postcrossing might be. "It's a project that allows you to send postcards and receive postcards back from random people around the world," is the explanation given on the official website. 

I recall getting postcards from my Granny when she traveled. Sometimes the postcard would get to us days after Granny had returned home but we still loved getting the mail. Great Aunt Mae would also send us postcards sometimes. When I was a young girl, there were times when I traveled, I would be allowed to buy postcards and send them to family members. I remember my grandparents saving postcards that they got from relatives who traveled or from family members who were in the military service. When I was clearing out my mother-in-law's desk I found several postcards that she had saved over the years. Some had not been mailed and I wonder if maybe she picked them up from places where she had traveled and saved them as mementos over the years.

There were several about Columbus, Ohio and some of the landmarks of that city.

There were two or three from Lookout Mountain in Chattanooga, Tennessee. The back side of the postcard shown above had a printed message telling the reader that Highway 58 is the best road up Lookout Mountain to Rock City.

I remember seeing postcards like the one shown above that advertised places to stay. Usually the front side of a postcard depicted something like a landmark, in this case an image of the motel. Then, on the back there was a description or message about the picture with space above or below where a message could be written to the recipient. Of course, the most remembered message was, "Wish you were here!"  Then, the other half of that side of the postcard provided space for the recipient's address to be written and a stamp affixed. 

The motel postcard was obviously a means of advertisement. The image was the front side and more information about the motel was on the message side of the card. A postcard like this might have been a freebie found in the room in hopes that guests would send away, not only providing information about their stay, but encouraging the recipient to come for a visit as well. Notice the phone number on the postcard. Even if I couldn't tell the postcard is from long ago, that phone number would be a dead giveaway!

Somehow postcards seem to have fallen into a category of things gone by the wayside, something from the past, a part of a by-gone era. I'm sure relics like the ones I found in my mother-in-law's desk might be a collector's item for somebody. With our world being ever more virtual and digital, these days we simply send a text with a photograph or video. We might get a notification on our phone and see a selfie of a relative standing in front of some historic landmark. 

The Mister and I still get a few postcards but these are mostly advertisements for a roofer or new flooring or gutters or something like that. Rarely are the postcards in our mailbox something that is a means of correspondence from a friend or relative. Almost never is a postcard in our mailbox one that we would want to keep. In fact, The Mister generally grumbles about such mail and tosses it into the trash before he even brings the mail into the house.

Yet, Postcrossing is offering people the opportunity to send postcards as a means of "turning your mailbox into a box full of surprises." They suggest it as a means of learning about far away places, different cultures, or even practice foreign languages.

After reading a bit more information, my mind began to wander. I thought of other ways that this same concept might be a really good thing. Wouldn't it be a great exercise for a group of young people or a class of school children to create their own postcards and send them to a retirement home, or a collected group of addresses of folks who are shut-ins, or to patients at a children's hospital? The writers could:

• Create the image that goes on the front
• Write a little blurb explaining the significance of the image
• Practice their writing skills within the message
• Learn and practice the accepted way to address mail

This wouldn't have to be a formal school or civic group activity, although it could be. It could be something that a parent could do with his/her own children.

Again, the school teacher in me is coming out... A class of students could create postcards and write about a topic they just learned, a historical event, a scientific fact or phenomenon, a story they just read, a book they would recommend, etc. The teacher could collaborate with another teacher in another school for swapping these postcards. 

A grandparent or relative who lives in another town could exchange postcards about different landmarks or events with their grandchildren or relatives living elsewhere. 

A great gift might be to buy or create a set of postcards, address and stamp them, and give them to a college student going away to school, or a grandchild who lives far away, or just to somebody with whom you would like to keep in touch. The gift-giver might even make blank postcards, address and stamp them and ask the recipient to decorate the front and write a message on the back and stick them in the mail. There could be one for each month or for more frequent occasions. You could buy blank postcards here.

I know that I used to love to get mail when I was a kid - long before most of what was delivered to my mailbox was bills. I also know that the anticipation of getting a delivery is still pretty exciting - often really more exciting than that quick text that is an instantaneous means of communication. I just looked it up and a postcard stamp costs less than a dollar. Plus, I saw that there will soon be issued a special, triangular shaped Global Postcrossing Stamp for sending even international mail. Learn more about postcards here.

Examples of the Global Postcrossing Stamp

I'm sure that there are loads of other ideas for ways to communicate with postcards. I kind of like this old-school method of communication and might even take the opportunity to put it into practice myself. I don't know if I will formally join in and be a part of the Postcrossing group, but I'm thinking I see some postcards going out with my signature on them in the future. What about you? Do you think you might send a postcard or two? Would you become part of the Postcrossing movement?