Constitutional Convention in 1787

Today is the 229th anniversary of the opening of the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia, PA. Postcard US-4013590 to Germany was a 1987 14¢ postal card, the first of three issues by USPS commemorating the bicentennial of the Constitution.

The card bears a multi-colored 14-cent pre-printed stamp on its upper right corner, depicting Independence Hall as it appeared in 1787. Built in 1753, the building now known as Independence Hall was the colonial legislature and later Pennsylvania State House for the Province of Pennsylvania. It was the principal meeting place where both the United States Declaration of Independence (July 4, 1776) and the United States Constitution (September 17, 1787) were debated and adopted. Recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1979, it is now the centerpiece of the Independence National Historical Park in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

The multi-color design also shows five convention delegates: George Mason of Virginia, Gouverneur Morris of New York, James Madison of Virginia, Alexander Hamilton of New York and Charles Pinckney of South Carolina, standing to the right of what was then the Pennsylvania State House. All eventually signed the Constitution except Mason, who refused because he believed the Constitution gave too much power to the federal government. Their names are printed on the lower left corner of the card as well..

The first-day-of-issue ceremonies of the card was held in the courtyard of Independence Hall at 10:30 a.m. on May 25, 1987.

Navy Pier, Chicago

Postcard US-2558458 from Illinois shows the Navy Pier, a 3,300-foot 1,010-meter long pier on the Chicago shoreline of Lake Michigan, with the skyline of the Streeterville neighborhood of the Near North Side community area in the background. Built in 1916 primarily as a cargo facility for lake freighters and passenger excursion steamers, the pier today is Chicago's number one tourist attraction that hosts the Chicago Children's Museum and an IMAX theater. It was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places on September 13, 1979.

In the news today, winning over the competitions from Columbia University in New York City, the University of Hawaii in Honolulu, and the University of Illinois at Chicago, University of Chicago will host the Obama Library, Museum and Presidential Center on Chicago’s South Side, located in either Washington Park or Jackson Park.

Compared to the downtown area shown on the postcard, the South Side of Chicago has great disparity in income and other demographic measures, and a reputation for being poor or crime-infested, The Obama Library will not only honor the legacy of the first African American president in the U.S. who had worked at University of Chicago's Hyde Park campus, but also give an enormous economic boost for the South Side.

Wabash F7A #1189 Locomotive

Postcard US-3064218 from Illinois shows Wabash F7A #1189 locomotive, which was the last F unit built for the Wabash Railroad by General Motors Diesel (GMD) at London, Ontario, Canada in April 1953. As the last operating F7 on the Norfolk and Western, it was retired on September 18, 1979 and donated to the Monticello Railway Museum in 1982. One weekend a year, Wabash #1189 and CN #6789 get to run on the mainline track.

Behalte stets im Herzen

Postcard DE-2794333 from Germany shows a Volkswagen Minibus with the split windshield. Starting from Hanover, Germany from the 1950s to 1979 and then continuing in Brazil until the end of 2013, its production had been the longest in automotive history.

"Always keep in mind,
what you have encountered on your way,
every joy, every smile,
every preserved moment!"

Plitvice Lakes National Park, Croatia

Postcard DE-2541857 from Germany shows a photo taken by the sender Lisa136 at the Plitvice Lakes National Park, Croatia. The national park, founded in 1949,  is the oldest national park in Southeast Europe. It is located in the mountainous karst area of central Croatia, at the border to Bosnia and Herzegovina. The important north-south road connecting the Croatian inland with the Adriatic coastal region, runs through the national park area. The protected area covers over 296.85 square kms  or 73,350 acres,  which makes it the largest national park in Croatia. In 1979, Plitvice Lakes National Park was recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage site.

A Postcard to Iran

President Barack Obama spoke with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani today, as the Iranian leader was heading to the airport to leave New York after attending the U.N. General Assembly meeting. During his time in the U.S., Mr. Rouhani made a number of public addresses indicating that Iran was open to restoring relationship with the U.S. and resolving conflict around the nuclear program in Iran. It is the first time leaders from the U.S. and Iran have direct communication since the Tehran hostage crisis more than three decades ago in 1979.

I was given an address in Tehran from PostCrossing on August 23, 2013. I hesitated to send out a card for a few days because I didn't want to give a reason to the NSA spying for communicating with people in Iran. However, since we PostCrossers had already been sending out mails oversea for sometime, we would have been targets already if they chose to do so. Traveling postcard US-2379246 shows a pair of table tennis paddles and a Ping-pong ball. Each paddle is decorated with a U.S. national flag and a Chinese national flag respectively. The postcard refers to the Ping-pong diplomacy that started with the exchange of table tennis players between the United States and People's Republic of China in the early 1970s. The event marked a thaw in U.S.- China relations that had been frozen since 1949 and paved the way to a visit to Beijing by President Richard Nixon. If history can be a guide, I am hopeful that an improved U.S - Iran relationship would contribute to the peace and prosperity in the Middle East and the world.

Update: The postcard was sent on September 2, 2013 and received on October 7, 2013.

Plitvice Lakes National Park, Croatia

Lakes of Plitvice

Postcard DE-2356456 from Germany arrived yesterday shows the national park Lakes of Plitvice located in the karst mountain range of Croatia. The park is famous for its lakes arranged in cascades. Currently, its 16 lakes result from the confluence of small surface rivers and subterranean karst rivers. The lakes are all interconnected yet separated by natural dams of travertine from moss, algae, and bacteria deposition and growth. Plitvice Lakes National Park was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1979 among the first registered natural sites worldwide.