Childhood memories, adulthood inspiration

marja2006 | Finland | Feb. 2008

Once upon a time, there was a little girl whose father encouraged her to read The Little Prince. When I started reading the book, the first thing that called my attention was the beautiful drawings and the fact that the author had drawn them himself. Second thing: how Antoine de Saint-Exupéry explains why he decided to dedicate the book to Leon Werth. If you read it, you'll understand why I felt that the author was actually talking to me. And suddenly I was under the impression that he should have been a very wise man.

"To Leon Werth. I ask the indulgence of the children who may read this book for dedicating it to a grown-up. I have a serious reason: he is the best friend I have in the world. I have another reason: this grown-up understands everything, even books about children. I have a third reason: he lives in France where he is hungry and cold. He needs cheering up. If all these reasons are not enough, I will dedicate the book to the child from whom this grown-up grew. All grown-ups were once children -although few of them remember it. And so I correct my dedication: to Leon Werth, when he was a little boy".

Of course I was going to grow up and become an adult myself, but I promised that I would never forget Saint-Exupéry's message. So many years later, receiving a postcard with that message was a kind of blessing. When someone asks me about my favorite card, I know there are too many that I love, but this postcard is always the first answer that comes to my mind.

Is there any card in your collection that you find particularly inspiring?

Greetings from the past

Brazil

If you think this card looks old, you are right, but there's a story behind it that I would like to share with you all. It was 1980 when my parents got married and decided to spend their honeymoon in Brazil. They went to the marvelous Carnival in Rio de Janeiro, and to the beautiful city of Salvador. Once there, they sent this postcard: it was written by my mother and addressed to my father's parents.

Almost two years later... I was born. Many years went by, I started collecting postcards, and during Mother's Day celebration in 2011 (we celebrate it in October), my grandmother showed up with this card saying I should have it.

The view is not that great, but this is definitely the most special card I have. Even my parents were thrilled when my grandmother took the card out of her bag. Totally unexpected, absolutely awesome.

Have you ever received a very special old card?

Happy autumn!

Lucas C. | Argentina | May 2012

Summer is, unfortunately, over. Well... at least here in the southern hemisphere. But as much as I would like to live in an endless sunny season, autumn does have its own beautiful views. To welcome it, I decided to share this Argentine postcard that I received around a year ago. Mendoza was the land of my grandfather and it's one of my favorite holiday destinations within Argentina. The Andes (which can be seen on the card) offers amazing and different views along the year, and it is the western border of my country. On the other side: Chile.

The Andes is the longest continental mountain range in the world, and is the world's highest mountain range outside of Asia. If you ever fly from Argentina to Chile (or the other way around), please don't forget to look down. Pretty impressive, I must say.

Do you miss summer / winter? How are you welcoming autumn / spring?

"I live somewhere here"

renegade_Cavalcade | Canada | Mar. 2008

There was a time when I used to read that a lot of people wanted "map cards", but I didn't know what they meant. Eventually I got to know what map cards are, but I wasn't very fond of them. I don't like the ones I can get in my country, and I thought all of them were more or less of the same type. Fortunately, I received a card that made me change my mind (thank you renegade_Cavalcade!). Now I'm a huge map card lover, and I found out that cartoon style maps are my favorites. Another great thing about this Canadian card is that the sender included a small transparent post-it saying "I live somewhere here" (if you look carefully, you'll see it at the bottom, between Manitoba and Ontario). It's really awesome that it survived the long journey, and it was definitely a nice touch!

Have you ever received a postcard that made you change your mind about a certain type of cards?

A penny for your thoughts

I've read that these words are written on the front of New York's post office and I loved that. They do sound kind of romantic, don't they? There's a certain rhythm in them that makes me read them out loud over and over again. Herodotus lived hundreds of years ago (c. 484 – 425 BC), and circumstances may have changed. However, mail carriers still continue to complete their appointed rounds no matter what.

Have you ever seen a postcard showing this inscription in New York? I definitely would like to get one!