Postcard the eighty-first: Floating Islands, tee-hee

I've been to a couple of islands in my life.

But I've never been to, um, floating islands. Heh.

Another Stranger writes:

"Hello, Stranger! [Well, hi there.]
I took this lovely picture with the intention that one day your eyes would see it. I hope you enjoy it."

Well, thanks, Stranger! I'm certainly lucky that my eyes got to see your floating islands. (By the way, folks, whenever you take vacations from reality, you might want to bring along some postcard stamps. Stamping your card makes it much more likely that your postcards will reach me here. Thanks!)

Postcard the eightieth: When Octopi Attack

There are lots of things to worry about in this world.

I'm going to guess fighting cephalopod attacks wasn't high on your list of worries, BUT IT MIGHT BE SOON!

Ethan writes a cautionary tale of woe:
"Pictured you'll find the city of Denver submurged [sic] below the water. The plane which is attempting to leave the city has been attacked by an octopus. Unfortunately, the passengers probably won't make it. Unfortunately, this is the life we've brought upon ourselves by ignoring global warming."

Come on, Earth, this is why we can't have nice things! Climate change is nothing to sneeze at, especially if you now live in the Mile Deep City.

Thanks for the warning from the not-so-distant future, Ethan!

Postcard the seventy-ninth: Floating food

I don't know if you have food trucks where you live, but we've had a lot of them around here during the pandemic.

They're a nice break from cooking your own food, and a reminder of what normal life was like (and, hopefully, will be like again).

This card arrived before the pandemic, but it's also a reminder of happy times. Naomi writes:

"This place was inspired by the bustling streets of Hong Kong & the floating markets of Bangkok."

Wouldn't it be lovely to visit the Floating Food Lunar Market? I'd go in a flash! Thanks, Naomi.

Postcard the seventy-eighth: Into the Gulf

Do you ever feel out of your depth? (I do, often.)

I suppose so does our friend Rattul. (Nngh, I hope I'm spelling that right... the final vowel before the L is hard to suss out. Could be an I, could be an E, could be a U. I'm going with U.)

In any case, our friend -- who's going with it -- writes:

"Just out here diving into the Gulf of Mexico. Trying to reflection on myself and life itself. I know it's pretty deep, but I'll always stay on top."

Enjoy your deep dive, buddy. I hope your ponderous reflections don't give your brain the bends!

Postcard the seventy-seventh: Morro Volcano

It seems so many people get in the habit of vacationing in the same old place year after year.

Until suddenly, and almost out of nowhere, a brand new place appears!

Nick, who got to experience this rare wonder of nature, writes:

"I'm out here in beautiful Morro Bay. Unfortunately the long time volcanic plug has erupted. It's a little hot here now, but it keeps things interesting. Keep it cool!"

Thanks, Nick! Enjoy visiting the very newest hot spot on the planet. Some day you'll be able to tell people that you knew about Morro Volcano before it was cool. Literally.

Postcard the seventy-sixth: Home

There's no place like home, is there? Even during a pandemic when we're all probably spending way too much time there.

Home can mean a lot of things, but I think some aspects of every home hold true. Home is where you feel secure, where you're comfortable being yourself. It's where you keep your stuff. And as Robert Frost put it, home is the place where, when you have to go there, they have to take you in.

KR (who seems to feel much the same way about home) writes:

"I'm enjoying my time at my favorite place in the whole world --
...... HOME ......
or rather, a home made of all my homes (& best friend's home, & my hotel in Paris, and my mom's childhood home & my dad's childhood home)... What a place to be!"

Thank you for the reminder that home, wherever and whatever it may be, is a wonderful place, KR. Sincerely hoping you enjoy your time at home on this Independence Day.

Postcard the seventy-fifth: A fishing trip with Grandpa

If you could do anything right now, what would you do?

If you answered, "Go on a fishing trip with loved ones, of course!" you're going to like this one.

The lovely and talented Betty writes:

"I went fishing with my grandpa last month and I really wished you were there with us too! It was so much fun and we got to each mushrooms and fish, all together! :D"

It's hard to say what's more impressive, the fish or the mushrooms. (Point to ponder: if you're not casting from a gigantic fly agaric, can you really call it "fly fishing?") Either way, I'm glad you had a great time with your grandpa, Betty. Call ahead to let me know when you go again; I'm not the finest fisherwoman in the world, but whoever could resist some big ol' mushrooms? (Not this hobbit, that's for sure.)

Postcard the seventy-fourth: Splashdown!

I've had quite a bit of free time lately, what with there being a pandemic on and all, so I've taken to doing the unthinkable: cleaning off my computer desk. While engaged in the valiant struggle of freeing my desk from the kajillions of papers and other flotsam that have gradually accumulated thereto, I came across a WHOLE STACK of Wish I Were Here postcards mailed to me near the end of 2017. *hangs head* I am a poor custodian of this site indeed.

Well, let's attempt to fix that, shall we?

Once again this postcard wends its way to us from our dear friend Kim, who writes:

"Greetings from Cal Poly!
It is again time for the (un)realistic places project in my Art 182 class. Only 14 students this year -- but they're good ones!

Quote from Jason on seeing this postcard, 'That scenic CALIFORNIA BAY is just the the [sic] thing to escape the manical pursuit of evil purple clouds. They'll never suspect that I'd hide in a bay wearing blue jeans! Even yellow clouds know I have better fashion sense than that!'"

It has literally taken nearly three years, Kim (and Jason of the fantastic fashion sense), but I hope you and your talented students will be pleased to see their work, however belated, featured here in the next few days. Thank you so much for sending your stories from theoretical worlds! They are wondrous, not to mention a great break from the pandemic blues.

Postcard the seventy-third: Nanchern

I do likes me some exotic postcards.

Ooh, and this one's a beaut!

It comes to us from extraterrestrial traveler Charley, who writes:

"Dear Soozcat,
What a wonderful trip we had! First visitors to a new planet beyond Mars, Nanchern! In a matter of minutes, we walked from sunlight into darkness and watched a volcano erupting! Next time, you'll have to come with us!"

That sounds fantastic, Charley. I'm all in favor of more planets in our solar system. (You heard about what they did to Pluto? That's messed up, right?) Thanks for writing!

Postcard the seventy-second: Seven bears in Tibet

Wait, I'm not sure that title is quite right.

No matter! For here we have a fine postcard!

It comes to us from Bob, who writes:

"Dear Dan,
I'm surprised how beautiful Tibet is. I like it so well that I rented this cabin for a month. The stars at night are beautiful.
Hope you can come over for a visit. You will love the wildlife.
Your bro"

Gee, I hope Dan got this message. (Do you think we should try fixing him up with Bonnie? They both seem to have a fondness for exotic wildlife. NO no bad Soozcat, no matchmaking!) Thanks, Bob!

Postcard the seventy-first: Plan(e)t Goofy

Here's a mysterious postcard indeed.

It comes to us from an unknown source.

Said unknown source writes:

"Dear Soozcat
They sent us out to check out Plant Goofy. We came up on this valley and it started to snow, when it looked like a spring day. Maybe someday more people can come and see Plant Goofy"

Well, unknown friend, surprisingly enough Plan(e?)t Goofy looks familiar to me. Perhaps I've been there all unawares. (Or perhaps I just live on Planet Goofy. Frankly, so many things would make sense that way.) Thanks for writing!

Postcard the seventieth: Austral adventures

Boomeranging its way toward us is a splendid postcard.

This one comes to us from a world traveler named Bonnie.

Bonnie writes:

"Hi,
My visit here will be fun for sure. Lots of great animals. Off on my adventure soon."

Short and sweet, all the better to have more time available to study the unusual beasties of the Simpson Desert. All the best, Bonnie, and thanks for your postcard!

Postcard the sixty-ninth: If wishes were delicious

Guess what? No, forget it, you'll never guess.

We have another fabulous postcard from Kim!

Kim writes:

"Dear Soozcat,
I couldn't quite muster my own imaginary place postcard (or apparently the ability to spell or write clearly) but I taught an imaginary places postcard collage class at a senior living facility near San Luis Obispo recently. The folks were good sports and whipped up some cards for you. XOXO"

Aw, thanks Kim! And looking forward to seeing more work from her students in the next few days. I hope you are too.

Postcard the sixty-eighth: Skaters' paradise

We been spendin' most our lives livin' in a-- nah, not that kind of skaters' paradise.

This kind! With lots of ice skates and gliding about!

Krispy writes:

"Hi there---
I hope you enjoy my card. As a child & older I was quite a skater."

Thanks, Krispy! Stay warm out there and bring along a Thermos of hot chocolate.

Postcard the sixty-seventh: I wish we could do what they do in Katchoo

A wild postcard arrives!

And a strange and wonderful wild postcard it is.

Darcy writes:
"Hello Soozcat--
We finally made it to the haunted castle in Katchoo. We sailed by boat for two days to get there and had our very own Magical Sheep to tour us around the island. Highly recommend taking the trip. Katchoo is a special place."

Well. All I have to say about that is "Coo, coo, Katchoo." All I need now is a boat to get there. Anyone willing to charter a trip to a haunted castle?

Thank you for writing, Darcy. And all the best to the Magical Sheep too!

Postcard the sixty-sixth: Valentine Alley

And you thought we were done for a while. (Well, actually, I thought we were done for a while.)

But to our rescue comes the lovely and talented Gail Anderson, who provides us with a Polaroid-style snapshot of Valentine Alley circa 1973.

Gail writes:
"Dear Soozcat:
Wish that I could hop inside a time machine and go to this place. Not only does Valentine Alley look like fun, but the early 1970s were an interesting time. I couldn't really appreciate them because I was in middle school at the time."

Middle school does make it tough to appreciate a lot of things. Myself, I couldn't really appreciate the early '70s because I was learning to walk, talk, feed myself, poop through the white donut, etc., at the time. But I am curious. Anybody got a time machine Gail and I could take out for a spin this weekend? We promise not to go all A Sound of Thunder on anybody!

Postcard the sixty-fifth: Over the rainbow

Barring any latecomers, this is the final postcard in the Cal Poly SLO series.

And, fittingly enough, it comes to us from over the rainbow.

Ryan writes:
"Dear Sozcat,
Greetings from a place over the rainbow. I hope you are enjoying your life in Redmond. I hope there are many rainbows from the plentiful amount of rain in Washington. Hope you love all the cards we sent. ♥"

Ryan, I don't think you and your classmates will ever really know how much I loved receiving these cards. You were bold in coming up with so many imaginative places, and fearless in showing them to a complete stranger in a faraway city. Yes, I realize this was a class project, but you showed plenty of flair and style in completing it. Many thanks and much appreciation to you, your classmates and your instructor.

About the rain? I love it. There are many grey days here in Washington, but there is no spring tree so green as one growing against the backdrop of a grey Puget Sound sky. There are also plenty of rainbows, if you know which way to face to see them. Despite all the wonders of the many imaginary places seen here, there really is no place like home.

Thank you for writing.

Postcard the sixty-fourth: Surf's up!

We've had all these postcards from various corners of the planet and the galaxy, but I hear many of you calling out, "HEY! WHAT ABOUT THE SURF REPORT?!"

Fear not; we gotcha covered.

Our surfing enthusiast friend writes:
"Hey Soozcat!
As you can tell the surf is up here, hopin' the mountains keep holdin' them off! Enjoying the sights and sun happening in the hopping paradise we have here! Gotta go catch some more afternoon rays and feel that salty ocean mist. Catch you later cat!
XOXO"

D'aww, cantcha just feel the love? Or maybe that's just ocean mist. In any case, thanks for writing and don't forget the sunscreen!

Postcard the sixty-third: Floating in the moment

Every now and then, you come across a moment that sticks in your head and stays there for the rest of your life.

J. King and friends seem to have shared such a moment.

Here's the details:
"I don't remember how we got here...
All I know is that my friends and I were staring out at the ocean, when the image of what we saw slowly drifted from waves crashing against the shore of San Diego to soft clouds gliding over the city of San Luis Obispo. We were weightless, as if we were floating in the moment. It was breathtaking.
My friends from home and I may not be in the same city anymore, but that won't get in the way of the bond that we share."

Well said. Some friends are transitory, but others -- much like certain moments -- stick with you for life. Hoping you find and keep such true friends!

Postcard the sixty-second: Whalhaven

I'll be the first to admit that I'm a touch paraskevidekatriaphobic. I know, it's not the least bit logical, but there it is.

So on this Friday the 13th, I'm pleased to present a postcard that has nothing to do with luck or fate and everything to do with inspiration and perception. Oh, and also flying whales, because what else would you expect from Whalhaven?

Jasper writes:
"Dear Soozcat,
I am always inspired by the forms clouds take on every day.
Look up, look around!
INSPIRATION IS EVERYWHERE!"

This just makes me happy. I hope it makes you happy (and at least a touch inspired) too. Thanks so much, Jasper!