Postcard Board Games!

  There was once a highway passing by a bustling town. One day an underground coal fire spread far and wide, threatening all who lived in the land. So the town became abandoned. And the long stretch of highway eventually became hidden in the forest, completely cut off from civilization. I journeyed to this abandoned highway, where thousands of locals would leave their mark with brightly colored spray paint markings. Then, sadly, this "lost road" went viral on social media. So many tourists came here that it became a huge liability for the owners of the property, and it was plowed over with heaps and mounds of dirt. Now it is no more.   Deep in PA State Game Lands, there are access roads open only during the winter hunting seasons. They meander through some of the most hauntingly beautiful forest scenes. These places aren't just nice to look at. They are also the kind of places where you really FEEL something. As if there are supernatural forces lurking within the woods. Y...

Hello. Here is a postcard from me to you:   Have you ever sent a postcard to someone? Have you ever received one? Where was it from? Where did it go? There are still many postcards out there to be found, sent, and received. Stay positive and keep exploring. Below are some postcards that I have purchased, sent, or received. Have a great day!  

  I'm fascinated by the global system of MAIL (or as some countries call it, POST). When I was a child, the only way to communicate with friends and loved ones was by land-line telephone or mail. There was no internet or smartphones. The only two means of receiving direct communication from someone far away that you knew was to either check the answering machine that was plugged into the wall in your living room, or to check your mailbox outside. It was such a basic way of making contact with others, and it made the act of finding a letter so exciting.    There was no Amazon, or any online ordering at all for that matter. If you wanted to buy something that wasn't stocked in the stores of your town, you had to find that item listed in a physical catalog, magazine, or newspaper, and "send away for it" by calling a 1-800 number or mailing a paper check somewhere. Then you had to wait. And when it arrived, it felt like magic. Like it appeared from a mysterious portal. It...

I recently visited some extended family members that I hadn't seen for a long time. It was nice to reminisce, go through old family photos, and catch up. We all enjoyed our time laughing, telling stories, and cooking food together. It reminded me of the theme of today's blog: community.   Merriam Webster defines "community" in many ways, but one stands out to me. "A social state or condition." We are social creatures, and thus need other people in our lives. Sometimes for guidance, sometimes for company, sometimes for safety, and sometimes for love. A healthy community includes those who derive joy from helping others to be happy.   A community can be as large as a country, or as small as a handful of friends. What binds members together can be varied, but its essence is to provide for the well-being of everyone.    Merriam Webster also provides a few antonyms of community, namely conflict and loneliness. In large and small communities alike, conflict and lo...

A jetty in Cape Cod, MA   When I was young, I loved playing outside in nature. In hindsight, rocks seemed to feature often in my recreation. Whether it was skimming stones across a pond, climbing boulders in the woods, or marveling at the strange spherical shapes of pebbles tumbled in a river, I always had a fascination for these quiet, heavy objects resting in the forest. There was a time when I viewed them mostly as stationary lumps of background matter. Ordinary. Sedentary. Bland. Sure, the forms that they took were interesting: cavernous caves, steep cliffs, handheld nodules whose outlines faintly resembled faces of monsters or other creatures. But in essence, outside of my imagination they were not alive. After learning a tiny bit about geology as an adult, I see rocks differently now. They do have their own lives, it’s just that their timelines are much longer than ours. Even though they are not organic like you and me (and the rest of biological life on Earth), they ha...