DARIN HAYTON

Category: Postcards

  • Postcards

    Postcards

    Postcards are great, little fragments of life that somebody felt like sharing. Or brief well wishes. Amazing photo or bad, it doesn’t matter. They’re all great. I like sending postcards, sometimes to people I know, sometimes to random addresses where I hope somebody lives to receive it. Sometimes people send me postcards, which always makes my day. Not long ago I received a couple postcards. Both are “homemade,” the best kind of postcards. They sit on a shelf above me.

    A color photo of two homemade postcards, lying on a table.
    Two postcards I received recently. I still smile when I see them.

    If you want a postcard, just ask.

  • Postcard Archive: March 2023

    Postcard Archive: March 2023

    On warmer days high school kids hang out on the top level of the parking structure. Not exactly an attractive space, but I guess they make the most of what they have. But this chilly, late winter evening they were probably in the Starbuck’s at the corner — no more attractive a space, but they have to make the most of what they have.

    Behind me a man was smoking a cigarette while looking out over the shopping square. We exchanged a nod as we both headed for opposite stairwells.

  • Postcard Archive: August 2022

    Postcard Archive: August 2022

    Panta rhei, we are told Heraclitus claimed, everything flows, everything is always in motion, always changing. Where, I wonder, does this stream flow? And where will it take these leaves? How long will that one leaf resist the pull?

    I stood there in the dense woodland; a thick canopy of greenery blotted out the sky. The heat and humidity was oppressive. And yet, already hints of fall….

  • Postcard Archive: July 2022

    Postcard Archive: July 2022

    History is filled with people who have decided to wander off, who have followed some call that most of us can’t hear. Some reappear; some do not. At times I think I hear faint whispers of that call, and I wonder ….

    Sometimes I struggle to resist the lure of the forest. What would I see if I just wandered out into the trees? How far would I walk before realizing that I couldn’t find my way back? Sometimes I fight the urge not to get lost.

  • Postcard Archive: June 2022

    Postcard Archive: June 2022

    Four young people were already there when I arrived. They had, it seemed, spent the night on the beach. The beach was otherwise empty. Five people standing in a breeze thick with moisture and smelling of salt. Five people watching the sun rise as it has done a trillion times before. We are so tiny.

    Alone on the beach I basked in the golden glow of dawn and listened to the waves crashing on the shore. Soon, I knew, the beach would fill with people. It was time to go.

  • Postcard Archive: May 2022

    Postcard Archive: May 2022

    Thick smoke darkened the sun and made for an apocalyptic scene.

    The smoke from fires more than a state away blotted out the sun. Driving west, I couldn’t help but think: The world is burning up; this can’t end well.

  • Postcard Archive: April 2022

    Postcard Archive: April 2022

    On a recent trip to a foreign land I was reminded of how short our time here is and how silly our efforts at permanence.

    Postcard for April 2022: Black and White photo of a ruined castle.

    Despite our hopes and aspirations, and fortunes spent, our legacy often falls into ruin. These ruins remind me to make the most of my fleeting time.

  • Postcard Archive: March 2022

    Postcard Archive: March 2022

    I couldn’t resist the siren calls of a late winter snow storm. promising the chance to wander a desolate world, alone.

    The late winter snow adds to the atmosphere and makes glad for my gloves and heavy coat, luxuries the Continental Army did not enjoy.

  • A New Postcard

    A New Postcard

    A bit late this month, but a new postcard is now available. Wandering around the ruins of Clifden Castle, I couldn’t help but think about how quickly our feeble efforts at permanence decline into ruin. It was a reminder to enjoy the evening, the breeze coming off the bay, the smell of early spring. These moments are all we have. I was fortunate to add them to my “Museum of This I Experienced.”

    Postcard for April 2022: Black and White photo of a ruined castle.
  • Postcard Archive: January 2022

    Postcard Archive: January 2022

    COVID continues to disrupt lives and shape our experiences. I wonder how this student and his friends would be playing in the snow if times were different.

    It was a particularly cold January evening as a student, carrying his dinner, wandered back to eat alone in his dorm room. The snow only added to the cold.