With Mogwai, comes much responsibility...

Like a gremlin in water, our postcard wall multiplies amazingly fast. We’ve consolidated them all onto one wall (except the original nine) and there they will stay until the we or the cows come home, whichever comes first.



Please note: we received many Christmas cards and truly like them so don’t be discouraged from sending those for other holidays (heck, you can slip in a $5 for old times sake), but this is a description of a postcard wall, so don’t be offended if it is not mentioned here. There is one exception: this card with cousin Mikey and Sarah’s nephews, but that is because we played an integral part in the uniform procurement.

We had some first time postcard senders this round, which is always nice.

Tara “Bright Eyes” Ferris and her hubby Shawn “Captain Moe” Ferris sent us a great card of the Eastern Shoshone Tribe on the Wind River Reservation around the turn of the twentieth century. It became one of the best cards ever when we turned it over and saw that Shawn had claimed it to be a family portrait (and the tribe grows!).

Our favorite retired ski bums finally checked in. The Sick Gnar McGnars of Raleigh, North Carolina sent us a postcard apparently before the beginning of this year’s basketball season. It reads: “Tarheels #1.”

Eric Arsenault from Bangor reminded us of the beauty of Vacationland, Maine and also threw in the popular reminder that Brian is an ass.

“Where’s Kim?” Kim Geiger, of Moribabougou fame, has relocated to Chicago. She mentioned having “good beers” with us when we return, she better not be messing with the honor of Castel, the Queen of Beers. For now, she gets to enjoy them with her recently returned and fiancé, Joel. Maybe those “good beers” will be served at the wedding.

Bev and Lloyd Kozak, of Calgary, are kind enough to stay in touch after so many years. The last time we saw them was in a McDonald’s in Beijing! We still need their well-wishes just as much as back then, maybe more.

Torey Trefz’s card finally arrived from Cleveland. He has been claiming for months that he has sent one from Aspen. Right. He even wrote, “I hope this one gets there.” Very clever. Sticking to his cover story at all costs!

PCV Jake Asher sent along some “Big Kisses from Ghana.” Not sure if those were for Sam or Mark, didn’t ask.

Our buddies Paul and Marie who were here in Bamako and have since taken off around the world sent us one from India, which they describe as infinitely better than Mali. We could have guessed that. Paul’s sister Sharon, whom they were visiting because she is stationed there for her job, sent along a card with Bhagawan Shri Satya Sai Baba. He is an Indian holy man who is acclaimed for his ability to predict and imitate the exact face that you will make when you see his postcard.

Others continue to add bricks to our wall.

Barb and John continued their Mount Desert Island theme with the Bear Island Headlight and Northeast Harbor. They are going to have to feed us chowder for a week because all the coastal scenes they have been sending are making us hungry.

Kelly Jones has settled down in Pittsburg, or at least she has moved there for now. Maybe someday her stuff from Mali will catch up with her (but we are not holding our breath).

Kevin Coughlin is a veritable hit parade of ludicrosity. He sent us cards depicting “Dutch’s (explanation: he was the good cop to Mark’s bad cop on the gondola) Low Impact Aerobics” -channel surfing with remote control- and solving the mystery of “Where Jerky Comes From” -road kill. Delicious.

Brian’s roommate Katherine seems to be something of a starlet. She is in L.A. quite a bit (more than the Traveling Campbells, who claim to live there, we suspect). The Catzilla card was truly bizarre.

The Traveling Campbells continue their unbelievable pace. They sent us a card from Key West and then they sent us one from the cruise ship that they were on in the Caribbean. Getting dizzy watching them cruise around the globe.


Andrew and Nicole Wallace continue to thrive in their culinary dreamland, France. They sent us a pretty creepy card made creepier (read: better) when they said on the back that it reminded them of us.


Speaking of creepy. Missy and Bryce sent a card from Canaan Valley West Virginia, nothing out of the ordinary there. Then, the next day, like some weird punch line came this postcard of a “Deluxe Cabin.” The very fact that this card is for sale is pretty wild, the fact that the word “deluxe“ is used is just plain awesome.


And then there was a gem from Kysa (Edsal) Crusco. Under any circumstances the “You” with the snow blower and “Me” frolicking in a bathing suit on a beach in Puerto Rico is a fantastic taunt (made even funnier by the fact that she is likely pushing her snowblower right now). The fact that she bought the postcard over ten years ago on a swim team training trip with Sam really takes the cake. Well done.

Well done to everybody. Keep up the good work and keep them coming. Each card we get makes us think about how soon we will see you all and it feels great.