Sue (aka Suegathman) has been a guest on the Postcardist podcast, and a huge fan of postcards and correspondence all her life. We thought it’d be great to invite her to chat a bit on our blog about her love of postcards and of Postcrossing, and get a glimpse into her postcard-related interests! She agreed, and we hope you’ll be fascinated by her stories below.
- How did you come across Postcrossing? What got you hooked?
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In 2007, I spent lots of time on a message board (remember those?) for another interest of mine, and one of the members had the Postcrossing URL in her signature line. I’ve always been fascinated with anything to do with mail, and I clicked on the link and was intrigued. I signed up right away and sent my first five cards – which were immediately returned to me by the postman, because I put my return address in the corner and the scanning machine routed them back to me. I was mortified and almost gave up – luckily I decided to give it another try! I was on the lookout for a new hobby which wouldn’t take up a lot of time, since I had just returned to work full-time after many years raising kids. While I no longer had free time during the day to sew or read, I still wanted to do something that was fun and provided a little escape from reality. I also had a big stash of blank postcards I’d collected over the years. It seemed like a match made in heaven – which, in fact, it turned out to be.
- Show and tell us about your favorite received postcard to date, and what makes it special.
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It’s hard to narrow it down, since I have so many great cards to choose from. I really love old propaganda and advertising cards. They say so much to me about a culture and its values. When I received this card several years ago, I put it up on a bulletin board in my kitchen and invited everyone who came over to make up a caption for it, since it’s in another alphabet. The answers were hilarious! I also immediately fell in love with this card and put it on my bulletin board at work – which is a little cheeky since I work for the government. I share the responsibility for training our young interns, and I love seeing if any of them recognize these famous faces.
Sue’s postcard from the US showing famous people who have FBI files, such as Einstein! - How did you get started sending postcards? What is your earliest memory of them?
When my sister and I were small, my parents would often take trips during the summers while our grandparents came to our house to watch us. They always sent us postcards from their trips, usually standard viewcards showing famous attractions they visited. Our entire extended family liked to send postcards – lately I’ve enjoyed sorting through batches of old cards which my grandparents and great-grandparents exchanged with my parents.
- What’s one way that postcards have changed your life for the better?
This hobby, and our wonderful Postcrossing community, have carried me through many different phases of life. When I first signed up, I was newly back to work after raising kids, had just moved to California and was trying to figure out what my adult life would look like. During the 15.5 years since then, I’ve been surrounded by postcards as my marriage ended, I took care of my ailing parents, I lost my job, went back to school and started a new career, the kids grew up and left home (and came back again), I met and married my new husband, got through Covid isolation, changed careers again… whatever I’m doing, postcards are there with me. This hobby is the one constant as my life has moved in different directions!
- Show us your mailbox, your mailman/mailwoman, your postoffice or the place where you post or keep your postcards!
Sue’s mailbox, with the flag up to show there are outgoing postcards for the mail carrier to collect! - Have you been surprised by any place that you have received a postcard from or sent a postcard to?
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Two cards are extra-special to me because they came from people I know in “real life, ” who I didn’t know were Postcrossers! A friend I’ve known for more than 20 years sent me this card, featuring a couple of photos of us together over the years. And the husband of my mom’s oldest friend sent me a card not too long ago. These were both big surprises (and cool cards in their own right, too). It’s also been interesting, since I’ve been participating in the project for a while, to see which countries are most active. When I first started, most of my cards seemed to go to Finland. Later, there was a full year in which I hardly sent any cards anywhere but Russia. During Covid, so many countries stopped exchanging mail with the US. Lately, the US has gotten more active, so the majority of my cards go there or to Germany.
- Have you met any other members in real life?
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Yes – we’re lucky to have a really great local group in San Diego which gets together twice a year for official meetups, plus many of us have become friends in “real life” and do other things together. Some of our local Postcrossers are my close friends, and they’ve introduced me to other hobbies I really enjoy. A Postcrosser even got me my first job after graduation!
- Is there anything else that you are passionate about?
Other than postcards, food is my greatest obsession! One of the things that makes me happiest is cooking for a crowd of people, and I love hosting holiday meal and having friends over for dinner (and board games or cards). I volunteer with Lasagna Love, which matches up volunteer cooks with families and individuals in need of a home-cooked meal. Except for a few breaks for travel or health issues, I’ve been making and delivering a lasagna or two every week for the last 2 1/2 years, which is a lot of fun – I’ve gotten really efficient at it!
52 comments so far
What a great read! Loved hearing your story!
Que matéria bacana!
Sue, fascinating to hear your story. I think I either sent you a card or received one from you???? Probably, since you’re a long time member and have thousands of cards!
Thank you for sharing your story with us. That's so inspiring.📬📝📮
It's fun to see someone from our local group being interviewed. Sue's a fun member, until she brings out hundreds of cards for us to all sign at a meetup! :)
She's definitely a star Postcrosser!
Thanks for sharing. It's wonderful to hear about your passionate hobby. I've become passionate about it as well.
You're a wonderful human, Sue. I'm SO HAPPY that you're on the spotlight!! Hope to meet you one day in person! :D
Thank you for sharing - how wonderful to have a constant hobby through the shifts of life
Sue,
Quite a collection, and it matches your personal trajectories. Ever thought of matching the best postcards with each of your career and life changes, a personal book for the family? And for board games, try the "Exit the Game" series - see https://store.thamesandkosmos.com/collections/exit-the-game.
Also an attorney, and just a little behind in your numbers (7300 or so)...
Ron & Donna
Cottonwood, AZ
What a great story, thank you
I made the same mistake as Sue when I first started! I feel better knowing I am not the only one😉
Thanks for the interesting interview. I hope you have many more happy coincidences.
Wow, this is amazing, I just received a postcard from Sue!!
Hey! It's TDSG!! Our pal.
Great to hear Sue's story! I sent a postcard to her almost exactly one year ago. I coordinate an active calligraphy education group in San Diego (mostly on Zoom since early 2020), but live in the Inland Empire, where we've been having our own meetups. I had recently thought about inviting several nearby Postcrossing buddies to attend the San Diego meetup. I've heard about it for years, but have never made the drive--mainly due to scheduling conflicts. This is a reminder to make a serious effort to go!
Lovely interview Sue!!! Your enthusiasm and real life warmth comes through in this blog! Hope to see you soon:)
Sue!
I loved this story about you.🥰
Folks: she's a cool, down-to-earth and kind person.
Also agreeing with Nancyjb that Sue always has the largest stack of meetup cards for us to sign/stamp.
I always look forward to mailing them all.
I’m a new postcrosser, and I recently received a postcard from you, Sue! Your message made me feel so welcomed to this community. I enjoyed reading your postcrossing story!
It's cool, once i sent postcard for Sue too!
"[...]whatever I’m doing, postcards are there with me. This hobby is the one constant as my life has moved in different directions!" I love it! 💌
Love this story. Sue you are a real treasure!!
Loved reading your story, thanks for sharing
Really love the postcrossing interviews. Blessing with your Lasagna project too!
Thanks Sue for share your story !
I think this year you´ll be among the 5 Postcrossers who sent the most cards... !
Yay Sue!! I've been lucky enough to receive an official card from you, plus extra surprise meetup cards!
What a heart warming, feel good story! Thank you for sharing.
That is a beautiful story; thank you for sharing it with us!
Sue gave me a good reception message of the card I sent her. Thank you and you are welcome!
This is great, to read about other postcrossing friends. More more please!
Wow! Sue is my role model now!
It turned out, I sent her the postcard https://www.postcrossing.com/postcards/RU-8405160 two years ago)
I really enjoyed reading about Sue’s mailing experiences. It’s always inspiring to get to know other Postcrossers.
Thank you for sharing your story with us.❤️❤️❤️
Enjoyed reading your story.
I especially like that Postcrossing keeps us interested over time and continues to bring joy. Thank you for caring and sharing. Best wishes always!
Hope I'll receive your adres someday soon! Love your story Sue
Wonderful story of postcard collections over the years in your different chapters of life. Thanks for sharing Sue.
What a wonderful interview! One of these days, I'm going to crash that San Diego meetup. It's on my bucket list :)
Sue was the one of the first people I drew to send a postcard to. I lived reading her bio and it is nice to see her featured here!
Hi Sue - You're famous! So glad our paths have crossed more than a few times!
Wow, it's wonderful
I just recently sent a postcard to Sue! Feels like I sent one to a celebrity! lol
How wonderful you are here and spread the joy of postcards. I wish I had found this site much earlier. I would buy postcards from all the places I visited because as a teenager I did just that in Germany. I am so glad I am here :) Thank you, Sue, so happy you have found joy.
I will think of your goodwill and kindness when I write my postcards and eat lasagne. Thank you for sharing your powerful story.
Sue. I remember sending you a postcard once and getting a very polite reply.
'This hobby has been a constant as my life has taken me in many different directions! .
This sentence encouraged me to continue postcrossing in the future. Thanks for your wonderful story.
Lovely!
Great interview!
Thank you!
❤️ your story!!!
Thank you for sharing.
I sent a postcard to Sue, sadly it didn‘t arrive!! 😳🙄
Love to read your story, Sue! Thank you for sharing it.
It's wonderful to see how sending and receiving postcards through Postcrossing can remain a constant through the different episodes of one's life.
I simply love this hobby!
beautiful story!
Sue loved your stories and thanks postcrossing for bringing these stories to life
We had lasagne just last night but would enjoy sharing one of yours with you Sue
enjoy your day Ozpom
What a delightful read! I'm new to PostCrossing so wow, you've been doing this for 15 years. You sound like a really wonderful person. Thanks for sharing your story. Debbie
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