The best postcards are the ones that begin, "Hello, Stranger"

This? This is fantastic. Utterly charming. It hit my mailbox not long ago, from a teenage correspondent in Canada.

(Name and address redacted.)

Update: Here's the front:

Postcard Gallery: Bear-o-gram, clog-o-gram, and snail-mailed e-mail

The handwritten letter revolution continues! Can't stop, won't stop, etc. Take a look at some of the mail that's showed up in my mailbox in the last few weeks. Actually, before you do that, know this: my mailbox is currently empty, but I have ten--count 'em, ten--postcards just itching to be sent in response to ... someone. So write to me and I promise I'll write back!

And now, the Gallery-O-Handwritten (well, mostly handwritten) Awesomeness:

Clockwise from top left (with selected ones singled out below):

•  "Snail Mail My Email" letter (a concept I discussed earlier) from Susan and Tom
• Door County (Wisconsin) postcard from Shirley
• Bear-o-gram--a very cool paper bear sculpture that came in an envelope with assembly instructions--from Jane in New Zealand
• Iceberg Lake (Glacier National Park) postcard from my father
• Clog postcard (!) from Jean 
• Fenway Park (Boston) postcard from Mike
• Minneapolis postcard from Sebastian
• Postcard with a lovely drawing of a restaurant by Jane in New Zealand
• Lefse postcard (by Minneapolis's favorite illustrator, Adam Turman) from, uh, Garrison Keillor (see below)
• San Diego postcard from Susan and Tom

Okay, now a few close-ups, with notes. First of all, that bear-o-gram. That's one adorable and sharp-looking, bear, no? And it looks no worse for the wear despite the long journey from New Zealand: 

Then there's this, from my friend Sebastian, who works at the intersection of technology and travel: 

Does the use of a handwriting font make this better or worse? Discuss.

And that sweet lefse postcard is, as mentioned, signed by Garrison Keillor ... whose handwriting looks suspiciously similar to that of Oracle CEO Larry Ellison:

It says: "Doug--Love the blog! As you are aware, I'm looking
for someone to take over for me as host of A Prairie Home Companion.
Interested? You'll have to work on your stereotypes of Minnesotans.
Best, Garrison Keillor."

Susan and Tom, who live on a boat, sent this to me after I posted about the "Snail Mail My Email" program a while back. (Basically, you email your note to someone else, who then does the writing and mailing for you.) I was ambivalent ... okay, no, I kind of thought it was absurd, offering the appearance of a handwritten note without the effort. But Susan and Tom make a valid point: not everyone has easy access to a post office or otherwise finds it hard to send mail the old-fashioned way (like, say, if you live on a boat). 

And finally, baseball fans NOT from Boston will enjoy this postcard from Mike, sent about a week before the regular season ended (with the Red Sox, indeed, pulling an epic collapse): 

So. Who's next?