Dear Brooklyn Bridge

Dear Brooklyn Bridge,

I hope you are enjoying your 130th birthday today. You certainly have aged well. You happily carry all those vehicles, with their dirty exhaust ... all those people, with their sometimes exalted, sometimes exhausted, footsteps. You have created memories for many, included the childhood memories of Laura's husband, who was born in Brooklyn, then moved to the midwest US, and Laura's daughter, who was born in the midwest but is now in Brooklyn. You have been the inspiration for artists, poets and writers.

Walking across your span is one of my favorite memories from my trips to New York City. I like being above the cars on the road below. I like that your cables cast interesting shadows and segmented views of the city. I even like that you sway a bit to the rhythm of the people crossing you. Or maybe we are swaying to your rhythm.

Happy birthday, dear Brooklyn Bridge. And I wish you many more.

Postally Yours,

PostMuse

Making Your Way in the World Today

The Bull & Finch Pub on Beacon Street in Boston is the inspiration for the television show Cheers. I used to go here when I lived in Boston. But only in the winter or early spring, before the tourist season, and never on a weekend.

Juli was in her early 20s when she first visited Boston. A friend, who was attending M.I.T., picked Juli up from her late night arrival at Logan Airport. Juli was amazed that she didn't have to go to bed with just airplane food in stomach as one can grab a bite to eat late at night in Boston. And everyone knows your name.

Of Dogs and Babysitting

Kaitlyn first fell in love with the 101 Dalmatians movie, but when she was 15, she babysat her little nieces and she discovered the magic of reading aloud as a way to keep the calm. She read this book and that was the charm. Kaitlyn writes that this is one of her fondest memories of her nieces at that age.

Dodie Smith is probably best known for this novel, but she wrote two other novels, and one is a favorite of mine ... I Capture the Castle. It has one of the best opening lines of any novel, contains lots and lots of literature and art references, and its ending is quite perfect. I look forward to the day when my grandchildren are old enough to read it.

This postcard is part of a large collection of Puffin Book children's book covers, and I picked out nine favorites to added to Orphaned Postcard Project. This is the second of the nine to be featured on the blog. The first, The Snowman,  appeared this winter, and there are four more scheduled for the summer months. Two are still traveling, and one, The Improbable Cat, is still available for adoption.

Sitting in the Way Back

This view (taken in about five years ago) of Portage Glacier from the visitor center is no longer an option, as the glacier has retreated, and one must take a boat to see it now. Views on climate change are ever-changing in the US, but I don't think most will say climate change is a hoax any more. Although, I know there are many views as to whether it is caused by man, or just a cyclical event of nature.

Randi grew up in Anchorage, Alaska, which is a 40 minute drive from Portage Glacier. Her dad would often gather the family together on Sunday afternoons and make the trip to the glacier in the trusty station wagon, a vehicle I remember well from my own childhood. The seat in the very back faced the rear and, because I was the eldest, I got to sit there all alone. I wonder if Randi got to sit in the "way back."

Inky Thoughts from Belgium

This lovely building is the Belgian Federal Parliament, a late 18th century design of Gilles-Barnabé Guimard. Yves lives not far from Parliament, and this postcard has provided a bit of a push to inspect it more closely the next time he passes it. Sometimes the marvelous places in our own backyard are the places we miss.

I met Yves this past February through a letter writing challenge on Fountain Pen Geeks called International Correspondence Writing Month (InCoWriMo ... a play on the novel writing challenge NaNoWriMo). The challenge has ended, but those who enjoy fountain pens might be interested in the continuing penfriend thread in the forum, InCo Pen Pals.

And speaking of missing things in one's own backyard, the two Belgian attractions on this postage are two I completely missed when I visited Brussels years ago. I knew of Manneken Pis, the little boy statue, but just didn't have an interest in seeing it, although I have seen pictures of him dressed up in costumes, and I would have enjoyed that ... I would love to be the person who costumes him! He would be the Google Doodle of statues! The other attraction, Atomium, is one I really did want to see, but I never made it. It has been refurbished in recent years, but I think I would give it a pass should I return to Belgium. There are so many belfries to visit.

From Germany to Georgia

Catrin is originally from Germany, but she now lives in Georgia, USA. She writes that it is a beautiful place but she doesn't always think about that, until she sees a picture of her new home state. This really is a lovely view.

The mountains in the background must be part of the Appalachian Mountains, in the northeast corner of the state, the southernmost point of the Appalachian Trail, a hike I've always dreamed of making, but won't because I don't really like "roughing it" and the bed and breakfast inns are far and few between.

Many Views

I have lots of orphaned postcards featuring Köln Cathedral. There is this one with pretty framing (and a mention of chocolate), this one with a gorgeous evening sky, this ghostly one, this very early OPP post of a mapcard for the cathedral area, and this vintage view showing a similar view though lower aerial shot. There is one more Köln Cathedral view in transit somewhere, and when it is back, I think I'll have a very nice overview of the site. Having many views from so many angles, at many different times, makes me very happy.

Germaine writes that Köln is the subject of more songs that any other city, and that the inhabitants adore their city. However, Germaine does not share that love. She attended classes and work seminars in Köln and got lost most every visit. I think her words express it best ...  "it spits me off." I think that is a translation of a German idiom, but I understand completely. I often feel the same about my own city, Pittsburgh. I get lost at every turn and just can't seem to ever feel at home.


The postage Germaine used commemorates the Elysée Treaty of 1963, which brought increased cooperation between France and Germany. I like that the image implies looking towards the future, through a shared vision.