Let's get started on this year's postcards

"If some people didn't tell you, you'd never know they'd been on a vacation."

- Kin Hubbard

When the day finally comes that I go on to that big newsroom in the sky, my surviving grandchildren will no doubt come across the boxes in my closet filled with your vacation postcards.

Right now there are about 5,000 of them. By then, who knows?

Every summer for the past decade or so, you have been kind enough to drop me a line on where you went and what you did between Memorial Day and Labor Day weekends.

When I speak to civic or church groups, one of the more asked questions I answer is: "What do you do with all those cards?"

And the answer is: "They go into the boxes."

It seems sort of impolite to throw them away, particularly after so many of you mention the difficulties you went through to find a place that sold the cards, then found a stamp, then found a postal box.

Actually, the most common comment made about our mid-summer write scheme is: "I'm sorry. I really meant to send you a postcard from our trip to the (fill in the blank) but I forgot."

Well, now's your chance to make good on such noble intentions.

Between now and Labor Day, we'll again try to collect a postcard from all 50 states and the District of Columbia.

I know you'll do it, just as you have every year since 1994. (North Dakota upset our streak in 1993.)

At the end of the summer I'm sure we'll celebrate victory, as well as pass out the usual awards for most popular state - last year Florida, California and South Carolina all tied with 17 - biggest card, funniest card and a bunch of other categories that will arise as the mail comes in.

Just be sure to send them along to me at: 725 Broad St., Augusta, GA 30901.

I'll be at the package store this weekend looking for more boxes.

Reach Bill Kirby at (706) 823-3344 or bill.kirby@augustachronicle.com.