Guess what? Rain is softly coming down in Seattle. Whoo whoo! After weeks of wildfires in the West and polluted air in our skies, I’ve never been so happy to see the clouds releasing the moisture and cleaning the air. It gives me hope and appreciation of little things that are often overlooked- like opening a window, a walk to the park, decompressing after a long day with some exercise.
There are silver linings that emerge when life is hard and stressful, and one thing for me has been listening to music. We always jam to something fun when doing the dishes (usually the blues show on KNKX-88.5). There is pop music in the car (dance like nobody’s watching), and in my studio as life felt stifling and stale, I was taken on an empathetic, musical high by Seattle local music station KEXP at 90.3 Seriously, good medicine all around.
One of the things that I learned while listening to KEXP was that Tuesday, September 22, 2020 is officially “Good Mail Day” at the station and in support and appreciation of the US Postal Service, the station is requesting that listeners from around the world send them musical requests on postcards…hmmm, I said, arty postcards…let’s do it.
Ok, Green Garage Art Studio followers, this one is an easy one. I’m going to post KEXP’s info here- follow the link to learn more, but the bottom line is that, the post office has been played the puppet by politicians. To show the appreciation for the post office and your love of snail mail, mail your handmade cards to:
KEXP Good Mail Day
472 1st Ave North
Seattle, WA 98109
You wonder will the postcard make it there in time? Will the post office be so overwhelmed that they won’t be able to deliver all the musical requests? Well according to the tenet of the USPS and its historical predecessor, The Pony Express, “The mail must go through.” Even if it doesn’t make it to the station in time for Tuesday’s official “Good Mail Day”, they will still be thrilled to receive your note. Nothing like going to the mailbox and finding a handmade card!
I think my request might have to be Gene Kelly’s “Singing in the Rain”.
Materials:
For a postcard: heavyweight paper or thin cardboard from cereal box (3.5 x 5 inches to 4.25 x 6 inches is standard postcard sizes) or…if you’d prefer, you can just use regular paper and standard first-class envelope)
Postage Stamp
Art making materials to decorate your postcard or letter
Procedure:
Think of a song that you’d like hear on the radio.
Write a letter or postcard to KEXP requesting that song.
If you are making a postcard, be sure to save half the paper for the address
Decorate your postcard…it can be an illustration of your song, abstract drawing, collage, photograph, etc.
Put a stamp on the postcard or envelope and put it in a mailbox or give it directly to your mailperson and say thank you!
Listen on Tuesday, September 22 to FM 90.3 to hear listeners requests…maybe your song will get airplay.
