Press Coverage!-- Card Update #12

Someone got interviewed for the newspaper.  This guy:

Okay, a few someones got interviewed for the newspaper. Not just Bubbles, but us guys too:

So last week, the newspaper from the area where I grew up ran a story on our project. Cool! Not only was the reporter gracious and easy to connect with, she was really interested in what we were up to. I thoroughly enjoyed talking with her and then reading her take on our story. (On page A7! With 3 big pictures!) I was glad to hear that the message of love and connection shone through, and super-stoked that she quoted me talking about people having ideas all the time, but action being the extraordinary part. The article only has one inaccuracy, which was a note about me asking people to stop sending cards. (I haven't!) In fact, they've been trickling in from here and there, including Bali a few days ago and Taiwan today. Fun surprises every one of them!


If you're curious, here are the stats:

Days 13-?? Totals

Card Count: 873 (ish!)

Country Count: 25

Anticipated: 41+

Australia, The Bahamas, Bermuda, Brazil, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, China, Colombia, Cuba, Ecuador, Egypt, Ethiopia, Finland, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Latvia, The Netherlands, New Zealand, Pakistan, Poland, Puerto Rico, Singapore, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Tanzania, United Kingdom, United States, US Virgin Islands

Yes! -- Card Report #11

The "yes!" is in reference to this image:

My original vision for this project involved Dad at our dining room table with a mountain of cards from all over. And here it is in reality! I just love it! 


That original idea was inspired in part by the scene from Miracle on 34th Street in which mail is piled high in front of the judge as proof that Santa exists. Here's the scene in which that plot is hatched in the movie. To me, this pile of mail is proof of something even cooler-- that people are willing to go out of their way in the name of joy and love and levity in the world. Awesome! More on that here. 




Do you spy a familiar card in there? A cheerful one? One that makes you curious? It truly is a treasure hunt.

Days 11 & 12 Totals

Card Count: 785

Country Count: 18

Anticipated: 41+

Australia, The Bahamas, Bermuda, Brazil, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, China, Colombia, Cuba, Ecuador, Egypt, Ethiopia, Finland, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Ireland,Italy, Japan, Latvia, The Netherlands, New Zealand, Pakistan, Poland, Puerto Rico, Singapore, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Tanzania, United Kingdom, United States, US Virgin Islands

Dear Bobby-- Card Report #10

Remember the story of Sue & Arthur? Well Sue and Arthur have indeed sent a card to the Bubble. They must be about 102, but they're apparently still alive and kickin'. Here's what they had to say:


Bobby,

Vacationing in Florida. When are you 

coming to see the grandchildren? 
Everything okay in Old Greenwich? 

Sue & Arthur

Love it! One other piece of the project that I love is a giant photo puzzle organized by my friend, T. She got 22 people (well, 18 people, 3 cats and one photoshopped picture of my Dad) together for a series of photos that, when put together will form a message. Each postcard has a note on the back and the front is a picture of a person with a playing card on their head and a letter on that card. Hmmmm... What could the message be? I can't tell until Mom and Dad figure it out, but in the meantime, here's a peek at a few of the cards.

And the puzzle mastermind (who looks nothing like a chipmunk, of you ask me!):

The rest of the pictures and the solution are forthcoming. We're just waiting on the Bubble to find the last few pieces and solve it. Many, many thanks to Tracy, Seema, DeeAnn, Dave et al. You guys crack me up.

Day 10 Totals

Card Count: 769

Country Count: 17

Anticipated: 41+

Australia, The Bahamas, Bermuda, Brazil, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, China, Colombia, Cuba, Ecuador, Egypt, Ethiopia, Finland, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Latvia, The Netherlands, New Zealand, Pakistan, Poland, Puerto Rico, Singapore, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Tanzania, United Kingdom, United States, US Virgin Islands

Dear Frank-- Card Report #9

Cards are still rolling in from here, there and everywhere, but today's mail was dominated by cards from the little city of Spokane, Washington. So a big shout-out to the folks from Spokane who really brought it today!

_______________________

Have I mentioned that my parents' live in a town of ~1,000? This kind of mail volume has been a phenomenon in such a tiny town. The folks at the post office said that they've never seen this much mail for anyone's birthday before. Frank, the postmaster, said that he almost felt like he should send Dad a card, just to get in on it.


I've been giggling about this from afar, but thought nothing more of it. Not so for my friend, K, who took it upon herself to write Frank. She wanted to thank him for his part in the project (i.e. sorting and delivering all that mail) so she sent the following:

Awwww.... Thanks K!

Day 9 Totals

Card Count: 751

Country Count: 16

Anticipated: 41+

Australia, The Bahamas, Bermuda, Brazil, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, China, Colombia, Cuba, Ecuador, Egypt, Ethiopia, Finland, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Latvia, The Netherlands, New Zealand, Pakistan, Poland, Puerto Rico, Singapore, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Tanzania, United Kingdom, United States, US Virgin Islands

A Gift for a Bubble-- Card Report #8

Before our regularly scheduled programming, I'd like to send a shout-out and great big thank you to fabulous ski blogger Kim Kircher for featuring our crazy project on her blog! It was so great to see that in print. Thanks so much for your enthusiasm and generosity, Kim.

---------------------------------------

You'll recall that when I asked Dad what he wanted for his birthday, he said that all he wanted was a card. Goodness knows we delivered and are delivering on that. (Truly, still are. Feel free to keep spreading the word throughout the month!) I said early on that I would only send one card. I sent him a Thank You card for being such a great dad. It seemed only fitting. I also said that I was committed to send a gift only if one connected to the project hit me. 






And hit me it did.








What do you get for a man who is getting thousands of cards for his birthday?








One might suggest a larger mailbox, as one clever second grader did, but Mom and Dad get their mail at the post office.






Hmmmm...








So again, what do you get for a man who is getting thousands of cards for his birthday?

A letter opener! (In this case a somewhat tacky brass letter opener.) Sure, he's been using it and that's great, but my favorite part is that it'll sit on his desk as a reminder of the year that he was inundated with cards. I just love it!




Here's how it was wrapped up:

Even the packaging held a nice surprise. I bought my mailer at the post office and chose the first red one I saw, since red's his favorite color. One might even say that the circles look like bubbles, another nice touch. Or you could say that's a stretch. Either way, there's no denying the cool coincidence of this:

Day 8 Totals

Card Count: 717

Country Count: 16

Anticipated: 42+

Australia, The Bahamas, Bermuda, Brazil, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, China, Colombia, Cuba, Ecuador, Egypt, Ethiopia, Finland, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Latvia, The Netherlands, New Zealand, Pakistan, Poland, Puerto Rico, Singapore, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Tanzania, United Kingdom, United States, US Virgin Islands

The Big Day-- Card Report #7

From a friend's first grade class yesterday:‎


1st grader: Do you know what tomorrow is, Mrs. Hood?
Teacher: What?
1st grader: It's Bubbles' birthday!
Me: And it's Valentines day
1st grader: Oh, yeah! Cool!



It is indeed Bubbles' birthday and Valentine's Day!


So from my family to yours, here's to you and the love that y'all are spreading in your lives, through the mail or otherwise.

Oh, and by the way, I revealed the blog to the old man today, so this is now a creation from all three of us.

Day 7 Totals

Card Count: 607

Country Count: 14

Anticipated: 42+

Australia, The Bahamas, Bermuda, Brazil, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, China, Colombia, Cuba, Ecuador, Egypt, Ethiopia, Finland, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Latvia, The Netherlands, New Zealand, Pakistan, Poland, Puerto Rico, Singapore, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Switzerland, Taiwan, Tanzania, United Kingdom, United States, US Virgin Islands

Not the First Jokester in the Family-- Card Report #6

It's fun how these chats about cards have contributed to our family dynamic. I'm getting to hear about some of the familiar senders, and am sharing with Bubbles how me might be linked to others, and of course there's speculation on everyone's part about how big this thing really is or will be.


Another neat piece is that a few family stories have come out. Today Dad told me about his sister's 50th Birthday, when her dear friend made a giant sign out of an old rolling shade that said, "Honk to wish Bea a Happy Birthday!" and put it in her front yard. Apparently that street in Northbrook, Illinois wasn't so quiet that day!


There's another an old family story that relates to this project. It's a story that comes from one Christmas when my father was young. The depression hadn't been over long and my grandfather was a frugal man. When he saw that the family's Christmas Card list had 74 people on it and they had 75 cards, he could to stand to waste that last card.


So he more than solved the problem. He addressed it to another couple (my grandparents' best friends) and signed it "Sue & Arthur". Well, my grandparents' first names weren't Sue and Arthur; They were Julie and Wilfred. So naturally the other couple was confused. 


That may be joke enough for some, but my grandfather (like my father, like me, and like my Anutie Bea's friend, apparently) liked to take a joke to the next level. So the following year he again sent them a card from Sue and Arthur. This time he included a brief note that said, "You haven't come to see the new house yet." And when my grandparents were at their friends' house, they saw all the Christmas cards out on display. My grandfather took the opportunity to  ask them about this card and that card, finally honing in on the card from Sue and Arthur. "We're so embarrassed, but we don't know who they are," gushed the other couple. They had concern about these folks not being on their Christmas cards list, and the fact that they simply couldn't remember a couple with those names.


Some would give themselves away and have a good laugh at this point. Not my grandfather.


The next Christmas he sent another card. This year the note read, "You haven't met the new baby yet. Love, Sue and Arthur".  


Sue and Arthur lived on for at least a decade, having new babies and raising a family. I'm not sure how their identity was eventually revealed, but I do know that a reveal did eventually happen.


So you can be sure that we found someone in Old Greenwich, CT (where my dad grew up) to send a card to Daddy signed from Sue and Arthur with a note about how the grandkids are doing.


So there you go, love and laughter in the world and in my silly family. My you have a Valentine's Day filled with love tomorrow.

Day 6 Totals

Card Count: 457

Country Count: 12

Anticipated: 42+

Australia, The Bahamas, Bermuda, Brazil, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, China, Colombia, Cuba, Ecuador, Egypt, Ethiopia, Finland, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Latvia, The Netherlands, New Zealand, Pakistan, Poland, Puerto Rico, Singapore, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Switzerland, Taiwan, Tanzania, United Kingdom, United States, US Virgin Islands