The biggest issue with Covid, for me, was the almost immediate fear of other people. Breathing, or touching anything/anyone. I love being around, hanging out, seeing what’s up. Among friends or strangers or faceless crowds. Or even better, like during the first Love Parade in San Francisco years ago, being with friends dancing through a huge crowd from one end to the other. Covid demonized that, the presence we feel when we’re near each other. Then came the misinformation and arguments, fueling fear and panic, and then an overwhelming wave of sickness and death. In Petrarch’s letters and writings he points to astrologers as the biggest manipulators of the frantic European plague riddled populations in the 1300’s. Con artist Drumpf and the rabid conservatives of the 2020’s are their direct descendants.

Amidst all this I turned to making postcards to send to friends. Derealization had set in and I just couldn’t do another puzzle or zoom call. Unconsciously I prolly wanted to mark time or stop the spinning by sitting down to conjure something tangible. Something special, for someone else. As Cicero wrote, “letters made the absent present.”

In pushing myself to continue creating these postcards I came up with one simple rule; I forced them to consist of only three elements. No more, no less. Love it or hate it, once that third piece went down it was done and on to the next. I don’t know why restrictions are sometimes so freeing.

Whatever all this did for me I don’t want to let it go. I’m still making and sending postcards.

I published a book of these postcards and it’s available for order. ISBN 979-8-218-19465-9