Letters to all executive heads of state and governors-general in North and South America were sent out today. We’re looking forward to hearing from our neighbors!
Minister of State, Monaco & President of Ireland
His Eminence Cardinal Fernando Vérgez Alzaga
A lovely letter came back to Anson today – never before had he known about the Vatican nor the Pope. The Cardinal sent a message of hope – an excellent opening to this new chapter of writing.
Europe mailing complete
The remainder of the letters to European leaders is complete and stamped and awaiting hand-delivery to the post office; the contested territories of Crimea, Transnistria, and Northern Cyprus are not serviced by the United States Postal Service so, I will need to find another means to mail their leaders. I may need to set up a contested territories list at some point… Next up, are Palau’s states and the nations of Oceania.
Compact of Free Association
After reviewing the Compact of Free Association list, I noted that not a single nation sent a letter back; I looked to see if any had elections in the intervening years since 2019 – and most all have new leadership. I updated my address list, and off the letters went to each president and governor.
I did not realize that Palau had a federal structure like that of the Federated States of Micronesia; I am researching the governors of each of its sixteen states… look for an addendum in the upcoming weeks.
Re-starting the letter campaign
With the world opening up, so too has international mail service. Dusting off old address lists, I have started with Europe, since it figures so much in our news cycles in the United States. A batch of letters went out yesterday and today, starting with Andorra and ending with Luxembourg. In addition to the letters to European leaders, I sent letters to our new President and Vice President – our old one did not respond. I am optimistic that thoughtful responses will arrive in our mailbox, soon.
Hello again
This site has lain fallow for over a year.
I had lost my momentum in sending letters out to world and local leaders. The pandemic that swept across my community and quarantine put most of my projects on pause. My family and I sheltered in place and watched the world outside our windows go ablaze due to social unrest with some of our political leaders fanning the flames. This year has been a dark one. As a parent, I have had to teach calm and admit that ours is a dangerous world, yet offer hope for a future time when all is behind us.
Recently, however, in the space of a couple of weeks, two letters reached our mailbox: one from Dom Dinis, the Duke of Braganza and pretender to the Portuguese throne, and a dual letter from the British Resident and United States base commander at Diego Garcia in British Indian Ocean Territory. Their letters were inspiring, and they illustrated how there are people both concerned and striving to make their corner of the world a better place. Their words were encouraging to Anson – they affected him to think about what they wrote, deeply.
And it is due to Dom Dinis and those letters from the British Indian Ocean Territory that I’m re-starting this project. This month I’ll start by sending letters off to non-governmental and religious groups; they often fight for making the world a better place. And then, I’ll draw a straw and see what continent is next.