Saturday, July 3, 2010

Looking for a pen pal?

I often get questions from blog readers about where they can find more pen pals. Let me call your attention to one of my handy little sidebar link sets, practically titled "How to find people who might write you back." It's just under the old-school USPS logo (that came from a photograph of one of my grandfather's old patches... he worked for the Postal Service for most of his life).

All those links can hook you up with people, addresses, etc. Caveat: I have not used all of them myself, but some I list as a convenience for those who are searching. As I've said before, I've got more letters and pen pals than I think I can keep up with, but it was not always thus, and I appreciate all the tips from others I got along the way.

That being said, there are two fine blogs that are currently doing a sort of ad-hoc pen pal thang.

From the Good Mail Day blog (yes indeed, one of the very fabulous mail art pros behind the very fabulous Good Mail Day book!), there is a "call for scribblers, mail artists, and pen friends." It's very informal and ad-hoc, but people list their addresses and interests right there.

Second, Megan of the fine Australian Time after Tea has started a Penpal mailing list. It's brand-new, but it seems there will be profiles with an email option - so that might be more of interest to those folks who don't want to give out their address publicly. (To quote the abovementioned Good Mail Day Carolee, "may I just say that a post office box goes a long way towards achieving privacy peace of mind." I myself have a box at a UPS store, which has different perks and drawbacks than a PO Box, but affords the same sort of privacy... hence my willingness to post my address on this here blog for all the world to see.) There should be more details on Time after tea soon, but I am excited to see how it develops. It seems I tend to find out about these pen pal things after they're done and closed, so I'm glad to be able to share this info while it's still good and hoppin'.

Go write a letter! It's late and past my bedtime now, but I'm a little overly proud of myself that it's only July 2 (well, okay, as per the post-midnight clock, it's July 3, but it's July 2 to me until I go to sleep and wake up the next morning) and I've got 14 outgoing items this month already. That will maybe give me a head start on making up for my week of vacation off in the woods later this month...