Live December 8th – December 14th
—email—
Frank
I was the first female pilot to fly Fat Albert for the Blue Angels (it was featured in one of your secrets this week about the horny sneezer). It was cool to see my love for post secret mesh with my professional life. Thanks for all you do.
Major Katie Cook
—email—
To the person who feels horrible for telling their child there is no Santa. My son just wrote Santa last night asking for that special present. And I didn’t have the heart to tell him that “Santa’s” back injury has kept her from waiting tables these past two weeks, and with no child support check these past 7 months, all the other bills are adding up too. And the local charity is saying the application deadline is past, and they can’t guarantee anything specific.
What’s my secret?
I wish Santa Claus was real, so on Christmas, no child would have to go without, and no parent would have to feel like they failed their child.
-Amber
—email—
Hey PostSecret,
I just read the response the woman wrote about not being able to get the “special present” for her son. I know I can’t do this for every child out there, but if you’d tell her that there’s someone out there willing to try and buy their son that gift, then I’d appreciate it very much. I’d have to know what the gift is. I’m a college student with a limited budget, but I don’t want her to feel like a failure for having an injury. It would be a lovely Christmas present for me if I were able to put a smile on the faces of two strangers on Christmas morning.
-Molly
—email—
Hi Amber,
If you set up a PayPal account, I’ll contribute to it, and invite others to also.
-Frank
—email—
Dear Frank,
First off let me tell you how thankful I am to you and your wonderful offer. I was not in any way expecting any sort of help. I just wanted to let this person know that they’re not alone. I did set up a PayPal account under this email address.
Gratefully yours,
-Amber
—email—
Hi Amber,
Thanks for providing us with a way to help you give your son the Christmas all children deserve. I just made a contribution for you and expect that you might get a few more from other PostSecret visitors.
Happy Holidays,
-Frank
—email—
Hey Molly,
Check the website again. You can help,
-Frank
—email—
Dear PostSecret,
I made a donation, and I was surprised at how good it felt. You don’t have to be a millionaire to feel the joy of being generous.
-Molly
—email—
Frank,
Santa Claus is real, and alive and well. He lives in you and others like you all over the world. I’m overwhelmed by the love and generosity strangers have shown my family today. I never would have imagined it would get as large a response in such little time as it has. Not only will I be able to afford the present he asked for, but clothes and other necessities I’ve been putting off. I’ve got what I need, so please remove my PayPal account from PostSecret, and I urge anyone who wants to help someone in need to get in touch with their local charities.
Thank you for making my wish come true,
-Amber
Originally Posted November 20th, 2011
And now here is my secret, a very simple secret: It is only with the heart that one can see rightly: what is essential is invisible to the eye.
— Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
The seed that grew into PostSecret was planted during an extraordinary dream I had my first night in Paris. After flying all night, I arrived at the Charles de Gaulle Airport on a cold and wet December morning. I caught a taxi to my hotel in the Latin Quarter but before going inside I took a personal detour down the serpentine streets exploring some historic bookstores, warm cafés and tourist shops.
I was shivering when I finally checked into my hotel that night still carrying my luggage and the only items I had purchased that day: three postcards from the Antoine de Saint-Exupéry story, The Little Prince.
In my room, I felt a gratified exhaustion as I prepared for bed. The last thing I did before falling asleep was place my three postcards in the nightstand drawer. During the night, I had a lucid dream. This was not the first time I was aware while dreaming, but this vision in my dark hotel room would redirect my life and eventually lead me to the PostSecret project.
In my dream, I was alone my room – the same hotel room where I was having the dream itself. I saw the nightstand, wondered if my postcards would be inside, and walked over to see. When I opened the drawer all three were there but each one had been altered.
The first postcard looked like it had aged 50 years. The next one had been cut like a shell and the last one looked upside down and had a pattern of holes resembling a neural network. I got excited when I turned them over and saw messages on the back. I knew with my heart beating faster I would be pulled out of my dream soon so I tried to take some mental pictures.
One message I couldn’t understand at the time. Another one was about a ‘reluctant oracle’ and the last one read:
unrecognized evidence
of forgotten journeys
unknowingly rediscovered
I woke up a few moments later and instantly tried to recall how they had appeared in my dream. Then I took the actual postcards out of the drawer and worked to recreate each one as I had seen it. I didn’t know it then, but that artwork would be the first in a trilogy of postcard projects that would eventually turn my life upside-down and reveal a hidden world.
I continue to keep postcards around my bed at night to search for in my dreams.
