74. 28 CENTS

All you need to send a postcard anywhere in the country

* Sending a postcard to anywhere in the world isn't that expensive either. When I was in Australia for World Youth Day, it cost less than a few U.S. dollars to send a postcard from there.
* It might be argued that the way that a postcard allows us to send correspondence to such far places is lessened by the correspondence capabilities provided by the Internet. I assert, however, that a postcard's appeal is fundamentally different than that of something like an email, for several reasons: (1) The sight of another's handwriting, (2) The chance to physically hold a piece of correspondence, which was also held by the sender, (3) The special thought and effort required now that postcards have become so rare, (4) The unique combination of picture and story.
* Sometimes, I buy extra postcards from a famous place like New York City, then months later send postcard narratives that have nothing to do with that place, but merely save money on postage. Do you think that this is wrong?
* When I write postcard, I try to include as much detail as possible. In turn, I use as much available space has possible. My mother responds with comments like "Do you think that the mailman is really going to be able to find the address on that?" and "Are you going to include a magnifying glass with that?"
* In the spring of 2003, a similar Simple Miracle appeared at CWRU. Back then, "23 cents" was all that you need to send a postcard anywhere in the country.