The days are getting shorter. The fireworks have been shot. Even though the heat and humidity are still a part of everyday living in h, time marches on. Summer will be done before we know it, which means the days to get postcards from all 50 states are dwindling — and, by last count, we have 23 states to go. 

For those who are playing along at home, we are missing: Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Delaware, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Maryland, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Vermont and Wyoming.

If you're curious, we've received postcards from 16 countries around the world, including Australia, Austria, Canada, Croatia, Finland, France, Germany, Holland, Ireland, Mexico, Spain, St. Barth, Switzerland, United Kingdom and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

For comparison, last year at this time, we received 76 postcards from 23 states and six countries. We ended up, by Memorial Day, receiving postcards from all 50 states and 22 countries. So, we're ahead of schedule from that perspective. 

Meanwhile this summer, the postcards I've received are again such a reminder of what I love about the human spirit. They are a variety of beauty, charm, humor, quirkiness and whimsy. Plus, they teach me interesting things. 

For example, Allison Vaillancourt sent a postcard from The Butter Museum in Cork, Ireland. As a butter aficionado, I was delighted to learn that such a place exists. (I'll add it to my list of places to go the next time I'm in Ireland.)

Vaillancourt wrote, "My sister Chris Gerarve, asked me to send you a postcard from Ireland. Here is a fun fact about Irish butter: Grass-fed cows make it extra yellow."

As I considered this year's Postcard Project, I thought about encouraging people to send postal messages on interesting things. Like, did you know you can add postage to a flip-flop or a coconut and, if addressed properly, you can mail those? I have yet to receive a mailed flip-flop or a coconut, but I have received three make-do postcards from a fellow named Michael G. from the New Orleans area. So far, he has sent me a postcard he cut from the end of a tissue box, from a cereal box and a political mailer, encouraging people to vote.

I adore Michael G.'s makeshift postcards and would be interested to see the variety of postcards he has sent through the years. Based on the three he's sent, I'm not thinking that he sends flip-flops turned postcards — as that would require more postage, and Michael G. seems to be the practical sort. 

I also learned an interesting tidbit from Tom Roche in New Orleans. He wrote: "Fun fact: With the decline of the stamp collecting hobby, old stamps, most of them, are available from dealers at face value or below, but still valid postage!"

As if to prove the point, Roche sent the postcard that features eight vintage stamps. I couldn't help myself and did a bit of research on the stamps he used, which include:

  • A 10-cent Continental Army stamp from 1975.
  • A 4-cent Project Mercury stamp from 1962.
  • A 10-cent 50th anniversary U.S. Air Mail Service stamp from 1968.
  • A 3-cent New Hampshire stamp from 1953.
  • A 25-cent airmail stamp from 1947.
  • A 5-cent "to the fine arts" Pablo Picasso stamp from 1964.
  • Two half-penny Benjamin Franklin stamps from 1938.

I don't doubt that the stamps are available from dealers at face value, but there are plenty of people on the internet selling these very stamps for much more, including:

  • The 1975 10-cent Continental Army stamp sells for 65 cents.
  • The 1962 4-cent Project Mercury stamp sells for 50 cents.
  • The 1968 10-cent 50th anniversary U.S. airmail Service stamp sells for 75 cents.
  • The 1953 3-cent New Hampshire stamp sells for $3.75.
  • The 1947 25-cent airmail stamp sells for $1.95.
  • The 1964 5-cent Picasso stamp sells for 73 cents.
  • The two half-penny 1938 Benjamin Franklin stamps sell for 35 cents each.

If you're curious, that adds up to stamps that may value $9.03 to mail the postcard — that is, if indeed the stamps are actually worth that. After all, they are still for sale at those prices. Not sure that anyone has bought them yet, and I have a feeling Roche has a better handle on it than I do. 

I received a postcard from Mackinac Island, Michigan, from Kay Smith. She wrote, "I have circled my cottage on the East Bluff on Mackinac Island. I mail about 20 postcards a week to friends in nursing homes. I am 76 years old. I have been sending cards since I was 10 and belonged to the New Orleans Pen Pal Club. Every good wish, Kay Smith."

I love the way she signed the card. On the idyllic scene on the front of the postcard, Smith had, indeed, circled a fairy-tale looking cottage looking over the shore of Mackinac Island.

Every good wish, gentle reader. 

Email Jan Risher at jan.risher@theadvocate.com.