QSL, NPOTA, and More

I QSL DO U?

     I've had a couple random thoughts on QSL cards today, but first, let's deal with the actual purpose of this post...I just dropped a bunch of QSL cards off at my local post office.  A significant chunk of these were for my recent NPOTAthon, as a way to thank those that contacted me, and they looked like this:

     Or, if you contacted me at a whole bunch of parks like K1RO did, the one coming your way might be a little busier:

     While NPOTAthon was a success for me, it was really only possible because of all those folks that contacted me, so this was my way of saying thanks - after all, postcard stamps are cheap!
     With that in mind, even though postcard stamps are pretty cheap, they can add up pretty fast (not to mention getting things printed in color on card stock...) so I only sent QSL cards to those of you who contacted me at 2 or more parks.  I have some left over, so if you only contacted me at 1 park, and you want a card, just send one of yours my way, and I'll return one in kind. 
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the (lost?) art of QSL Cards

    I love getting QSL cards.  I know in today's world, people don't send them as often - and I have to assume I'm a bit of an anomaly in the fact that I love sending and receiving them, since I am technically a "millennial" and my age group is supposed to think that actual mail is "old fashioned."  Even so, there is something exciting about opening up the mailbox (or PO box in my case), and finding a letter or card addressed to you.  It's even more exciting when the person has taken the time to include a note (bonus points if it's hand-written!)  It just gives that extra human touch that is often missing in today's mostly electronic world - it makes you feel just a little bit more significant in this huge world of ours when you realize that someone took the time to carefully enter the details of their contact with you into their log, look up your address in a database somewhere, write out a card, and send it your way, at their own expense.
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A Man Said to the Universe
​BY STEPHEN CRANE
A man said to the universe: 
“Sir, I exist!”
“However,” replied the universe,
“The fact has not created in me
A sense of obligation.”

    Maybe the universe is a cold hearted something or other, but Amateur Radio Operators are a thoughtful, helpful, caring, and genuinely friendly bunch (most of them anyway...) - thanks to everyone who is out there on the other end of the ether, kindly waiting with their stack of QSL cards (and SWL cards too - I got my first one of those this week!) to send out to those of us who still get excited by letters in the mail!