Latest news with #postcards
The Guardian
4 days ago
- General
- The Guardian
Experience: I travelled the world delivering letters to strangers
I have always loved travelling, and have spent most of my adult life either on the move or planning my next adventure. In 2014, I was living in London when my dad, Eric, was diagnosed with motor neurone disease (MND). I immediately moved back to my home town of New Plymouth in New Zealand, to help and spend time with him. When he passed away in October 2022, I wanted to find a way to process my grief, and I was desperate to get back out into the world. In early 2023, I took off to the Galápagos Islands for a much-needed break. While there, I visited Post Office Bay, on Floreana Island. There's an old whisky barrel there that is used as a postbox. It was first used by sailors in 1793 to send mail back home: they would leave a letter and take any that were addressed to their next port of call to deliver them by hand. It's still used by tourists. People will leave a letter and take one that they are able to hand-deliver to their next destination. The barrel was full to the brim with postcards waiting for delivery. I took a couple home with me and delivered them with glee: one to a teacher from their pupil, and another from a girl to her boyfriend. The recipients were incredibly grateful, and it felt wonderful to have brought such joy. Weeks later, I couldn't stop thinking about the letters. I'd already planned to do some more travelling, but then I thought: what if I spent a year delivering more letters from that postbox? I realised I could keep my remote job, and at the same time travel the world delivering post, using air miles and working along the way. I decided to document my journey on social media, partly to keep a record of my adventures, but also to help raise awareness of MND. I had watched Dad lose his ability to travel and physically communicate, which was devastating, so I wanted to remember him by making meaningful human contact. In March 2024, I set off for Galápagos. I picked out 55 letters and postcards that covered a large geographic area. I aimed to deliver one a week, covering at least 52 countries and spanning all seven continents, starting in Central America and finishing in Europe. I avoided using social media to get in touch with people, going purely by address. If they weren't there, I'd ask around locally, then use social media, doing my best to hand-deliver the letter. Sometimes, friends who had joined me for part of the trip could help translate, but I had to rely on Google Translate a lot. Usually, people were initially confused, but that would turn to complete joy as they read their letter. I was extremely nervous about the first few deliveries. I didn't know how people would react to me knocking on their door unannounced. I'm 52 and very outgoing, but I'm aware that nowadays people are wary of speaking to one other. Sign up to Inside Saturday The only way to get a look behind the scenes of the Saturday magazine. Sign up to get the inside story from our top writers as well as all the must-read articles and columns, delivered to your inbox every weekend. after newsletter promotion Usually, once they understood what I was doing, they were really warm and welcoming, but there were a few exceptions. Delivering letter number 50, in Bergen, Norway, I almost got arrested. The lady who answered the door didn't believe my story and mistook my selfie stick for a weapon, so she called the police. I had to show the officers my Instagram journey to prove what I was doing, and we all ended up laughing together. In Belize, I delivered a love letter to a man, only to find he had broken up with his partner. Weeks later, I got a message to say they were back together. My favourite delivery was letter eight, in Mexico City, from a daughter to her mother, thanking her for letting her follow her dreams. The mother had been very ill, and her daughter wanted to come home from her travels to look after her, but she insisted her daughter continued with her trip. I'm still in touch with both of them. When I finished my challenge in March this year, I held a party in London and invited everyone I'd met along the way. People came from all over the world – I was so touched and humbled. I've made friends for life. Now my challenge is over, I've decided to write a book and help develop a film about my travels, but I'm already starting to get itchy feet. The only problem is finding a way to top my last adventure. As told to Heather Main Do you have an experience to share? Email experience@
CNET
14-05-2025
- CNET
How to Set Up and Use USPS Informed Delivery to Preview Your Mail
Maybe this is a unique quality for someone unquestionably Gen Z, but I absolutely adore snail mail. Last week, I sent 15 pieces of mail. Seriously. I just moved to a new state and sent all my loved ones and friends postcards greeting them from my new address. (Plus, I needed an excuse to use the stamps with manatees printed on them.) Mailing items is generally a big part of my week. I always send birthday and thank you notes as handwritten cards; my best friend, Sydney, and I constantly write each other letters since we're now 1,119 miles apart. I've even gotten into the habit of sending myself a postcard whenever I'm on vacation as a fun little travel tradition. This means I'm sending -- and receiving -- a lot of mail, and I'm eager to know what's arriving. If you're like me, you may have wanted to know ahead of time what mail is about to arrive. Or maybe you wish you could peek inside your mailbox without leaving the house. With USPS Informed Delivery, you can do just that. Well, sort of. The free service from the United States Postal Service lets you see grayscale preview images of your incoming letter-sized mail before it even arrives. You'll also get tracking updates on packages and outgoing mail. It's like getting a sneak peek at your physical mailbox, right from your phone or computer. Here's how to set it up and start using it. Read also: USPS Is Testing a Standalone App That Previews What Mail Is on the Way Step 1: Check if you are eligible CNET First things first: Make sure USPS Informed Delivery is available in your area and for your address. Most residential addresses are eligible, but some apartment buildings or PO boxes may not qualify. To check if your address is eligible for Informed Delivery: Go to the USPS Informed Delivery page. Click "Sign up for free." First enter your email address, then enter your physical address to see if the service is available for you. Step 2: Create a USPS account If you're eligible, you'll need to sign up for a account (or log in if you already have one): Visit and click "Sign in." Choose "Create account" if you don't already have one. Fill out your information, including name, address, email and mobile number. Make sure the address you enter matches your mailing address exactly. In just a few quick steps, you can know exactly what is being delivered to your home. USPS Step 3: Verify your identity To protect your mail and your identity, USPS will ask you to verify that you live at the address you're registering. Most people can do this through an online identity verification process that may involve answering a few questions based on your credit history (similar to a credit check, but without affecting your score). If that doesn't work, USPS may ask you to complete the process in person at a local post office. Step 4: Start using Informed Delivery USPS Once you're set up, you'll start receiving daily emails from USPS with images of the mail that's on its way. You can also check the Informed Delivery dashboard online or through the USPS Mobile app, available for iOS and Android. Here's what you'll see: Grayscale images of letter-sized mailpieces (usually the front of the envelope). Package tracking updates for incoming parcels. Notifications about outbound mail if you're using USPS tracking services. Note not all mail is scanned. Larger items, magazines or handwritten envelopes may not show up in previews, but most standard letters will. Pro tips for using Informed Delivery Here are some additional tips to keep in mind, from someone who uses Informed Delivery a lot. Keep an eye out for interactive content. Some businesses include clickable offers or links in their scanned mail previews. Use it to spot missing mail. If something shows up in your preview but not in your mailbox, it may be delayed or misdelivered. Get alerts on the go. The USPS mobile app is especially handy for real-time updates on package deliveries. For more tips, explore how to blur your house on Google Maps, and why you should report fraud to the FTC and FBI.
New York Times
11-05-2025
- Health
- New York Times
Is the Trillion-Dollar Wellness Industry a Wolf in Sheep's Clothing?
Oh, the irony of cracking open 'How to Be Well' while on vacation in Italy. There, on an island off the coast of Naples, a breakfast buffet included three varieties of tiramisu. Wine was poured not to a stingy fingertip's depth but from a bottomless carafe — at lunchtime, no less. And when stores closed in observance of an afternoon siesta, the only people on the streets were American tourists, jogging. (I was on the prowl for a postage stamp because, yes, I still send postcards.) It was from this place of abundance and balance that I followed Amy Larocca, a veteran journalist, into the hellscape of stringent food plans, cultish exercise routines and medical quackery that have, over the past decade or so, constituted healthy living in some of the wealthiest enclaves of the United States. Blame social media, political turmoil or the pandemic — no matter how you slice it, the view is dispiriting. But Larocca's tour is a lively one, full of information and humor. The book begins with a colonic, 'the flossing of the wellness world,' Larocca writes. We find the author herself on an exam table, 'white-knuckled and curled up like a baby shrimp, naked from the waist down.' She recalls her doctor's disapproval of the procedure — a sort of power washing of the colon — and its risks, including rectal perforation, juxtaposed with one woman's claim that a colonic made her feel like she could fly, like it was 'rinsing out the corners of her psyche.' Where did we get the idea that the body — specifically a woman's body — is unclean inside? A problem to be solved? And how did the concept of wellness bloom 'like a rash,' Larocca writes, into a $5.6 trillion global industry? These are the questions she seeks to answer, using data, history, medicine, pop culture and her own experience. She parses fads and trends, clean beauty and athleisure wear, the gospel of SoulCycle and the world according to Goop. She weighs the advantages and disadvantages of micro-dosing and biohacking. She too goes to Italy, where she attends a Global Wellness Summit featuring a spandex and sneaker fashion show and a presentation on ending preventable chronic disease the world over. At times, Larocca seems to approach her own subject with the same sweep. The second half of 'How to Be Well' reads like a survey course, cramming the industry's relationship to politics, men and the environment into single chapters when each could fill a whole semester. As for why meditation merits more real estate than vaccines, I can only assume that the book was already at the printer when Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was confirmed as health secretary. But when Larocca goes deep, as she does on self-care, body confidence and sex positivity, she's at her best — authoritative and witty, personal without being chummy. She debunks the cockamamie but persistent notion that 'feeling old is not an inevitable byproduct of aging but something easily avoided by paying attention.' (And by forking over gobs of cash; more on this shortly.) After attending an Oprah-sponsored conference on menopause, a subject Larocca has covered for The New York Times, she realizes that 'aging is different from disease' and 'isn't necessarily something to be cured,' let alone through 'neat, tidy, attainable solutions.' Then there's the sneaky rebranding of old-school dieting for 'detoxification,' another wolf in sheep's clothing. Think fasting, juicing, abstaining from all manner of verboten foods. Even if the professed endgame is 'glow,' Larocca makes clear, 'part of the promise is still, always, to rid us of a bit of ourselves.' And finally, refreshingly, she's honest about the money at stake for the wellness-industrial complex — not just for stylists turned wellness coaches or models turned nutritionists, but for massive corporations cashing in on an age of worry. 'None of these institutions is nonprofit; none of these institutions is altruistic at its core,' Larocca writes, in a passage reminiscent of Carol Channing's monologue from 'Free to Be You and Me,' in which she reminded us that happy people doing housework on TV tend to be paid actors. 'It is their job to persuade me to come back,' Larocca continues, 'to spend more money on what they've got to give, to serve their investors, to serve themselves.' And that, as 'How to Be Well' wisely shows us, is the bottom line.
