February's Third

All right, here we go with another postcard update. I have four or five cards for today, so let's get on with it.
My first card this time comes from The Netherlands. Marjon posted her card in the southern Netherlands city of  's-Hertogenbosch, which is home to about 141,000 people. The card shows a little tyke having fun possibly in a sprinkler. Underneath is printed 1000 Wishes.

1,000 Wishes…

The ancient Japanese tradition of senbazuru promises that a person who folds 1000 cranes will be granted a wish, such as long life or recovery from illness. Many times a family or group of people come together to accomplish this labor of love.
The Thousand Origami Cranes has become a symbol of world peace through the story of Sadako Sasaki. Although many stories and variations exist, the most common is that Sadako was a Japanese girl who tried to stave off her death from leukemia as a result of radiation from the bombing of Hiroshima during World War II by making one thousand origami cranes. Having folded only 644 before her death, her friends completed the remaining cranes and buried them with her. (This is only one version of the story. Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum states that she did, in fact, complete the 1,000 cranes.)

There is a website about 1000 Wishes where you can submit your wish , be it for love, peace or a new pair of shoes. Have a look here.
 Here's my 1000 Wishes postcard.

 Marjon used 3 different stamps to send this card on its way. The large stamp on the right is a 2012 self-adhesive commemorative highlighting 125 years of Albert Heijn, the leading food retailer in the Netherlands. The small stamp with the candle is from the 2011 Christmas set of 10 different self-adhesives.







Now let's have a look at card # 2. It's a card showing some United States Air Force sights and the motto United ,  We Stand. It'll find a home in my aircraft postcard collection.  Joe , who I have swapped with a number of times, posted this card in Harford, Pennsylvania, a small town of just 18 persons , as of 2012.






A nice selection of stamps on this one, thanks to Joe. The top stamp on the left was issued in 2000 and shows a Los Angeles Class submarine. The top right stamp was issued in 1998 to commemorate the 50th Anniversary of the Berlin Airlift and we see a Douglas C-54 Skymaster aircraft on this one. Bottom right stamp , issued in 1997, commemorates The Marshall Plan. 





My next card is from The Netherlands and is of Queen Beatrix. She has been in the news lately, having announced her abdication , effective on April 30, 2013 after 33 years on the throne. Her son Willem-Alexander will become King. Her Majesty reined for 33 years. Perhaps my next card from The Netherlands will be of the new King. Berna, who sent this card , wrote of the 33 year reign, "It was breathtaking ".

The stamp on this card is a quite common one that I have shown many times before, so we'll leave it at that.


Now for a card showing what many from down under are quite familiar with, but how many see it quite like shown- glowing in an early sunrise. 

Vikki used a nice International Post Phillip Island Road Trip stamp featuring a bunch of penguins. 

This next card is the last for today. It's another entry in my Postbox/Mailbox postcard collection. The sender  Iris wrote that this type of mailbox is not typical of her area, but it is a nice one. The card comes from Hamburg, Germany and the caption says "Mail for you ". The stamp is a common flower definitive that's been shown many times, so no need to do so again.
















Thanks going out to Marjon, Joe, Berna, Vikki and Iris for their cards.
Thanks for reading and any and all comments are welcome, goog or bad.
Take care.