Stan, unKnown, Alicia, Svenja, Bertha (Bee), Patricia, Nancy, Borderline Grafix and Marie Wintzer....a large assortment

[David Stafford]

Stan sent me this collage which put me in mind of exotic passport stamps, sour La Rana notwithstanding. He also sent me some great postcards (He has excellent taste in ephemera). This one has a charming message.

Thank you, Stan.

Alicia sent me this timely postcard with a great quote from Patti Smith: "You can't carve up the world. It's not a pie." Thank you, Alicia.

I received this book in the mail.

There is a backstory here but because of legal wrangling with Mr. Haynes' estate I have decided to let you go ahead and judge this book by its cover. Clearly we have set the stage for a dramatic volume of literature.

I'll let Detective Sandoval take over from here. "Mr. Stafford received the package from bearer unknown. The zip code address is Love's Fever, Kentucky (Found on some Greek Maps as Pleasantville). Mr. Stafford says he does not know anyone in that part of the world. Mr. Stafford…" He goes on like that for awhile but the point is...we think this is the work of the Notorious Keys Family Crime Syndicate Association (NKFCSA) It has all the…earmarks of their work. I'm having it run through the DeVillorator Algorithm at the Old Elgin Time Company. I'll keep you posted. This thong could bust wide open and by the time we're through, there's gonna be a lot of egg on faces from NSW to Love's Fever as well as a few towns in the Tri-State and Four Corners areas pending good weather.

This is not mail art. I just thought we could use a palate cleanser. This is the art of my sister. Alright then...palate's cleansed, we move ahead.

I'm afraid when I look at this card I see "16 Dogs" not "6 Dogs" and then my head goes immediately to this and I'm done for. Thank you, Svenja. You don't see the long, tall dachshund's so much anymore.

Bertha or Bee has been sending me great little packets of ephemera, postcards from the National Parks but this is the first mail art I've received. As you can see, Bee I've given the viewer opportunities for expanded points of view. I hope that is okay. Thank you for all your gifts.

Patricia Landon (related to Little Joe?) and I have been conducting an ephemera potlatch and she has beat me the punch in creating some art from the package I sent her. The package she sent me is seen in the background here. There was much more and as we say in the ephemera biz: "All Killer, No Filler, Primo Grade, Hand Picked by Post-Graduate Pickers of Rare Shit type of stuff like that…." Thank you, Patricia.

Cool stuff from Nancy. Especially love the musical piece on the right. This could be a John Cage score: "Kettle Drum Enters Rudely Here." On the other side I see a snake but then I frequently do. Thank you, Nancy.

Okay, this requires some explanation but not from me. BG, what up? Is this a real event? Here's my side of the story: We spent some time in West Texas in November, drove through Marfa, coming and going and on the way home we went through Van Horn,  Texas where I saw this gas station at the sweet hour and was put in mind of this. Because I was Marfasized you see. Anyway, I made the card in the upper left and sent it BG because I thought he'd get the joke. And he did. But then I got this card from him and he takes up the narrative below. Thank you. We love life imitating art imitating life imitating art etc. And they'd love this shit in Marfa too.

And now we conclude with another episode of Radiogram Theatre. This episode underwritten by the United Fruit Company and Dave's Etsyteria, for all your cornucopic needs. Thank you, Marie. I see the hook a comin. Exit left.

[David Stafford]

Yes, we had dinner there once. Beautiful old Harvey house.

[borderlinegrafix]

El Capitan would have been expensive without a discount for being old (Me old, although the hotel was built a long time before me).  If you have not, try La Posada in Winslow, Arizona which has pretty good food (burp).

[David Stafford]

Thank you. I appreciate the card so much. And I bet Ed does too, wherever he may be. (beat beat) So....what did you think of El Capitan?

[borderlinegrafix]

Here's my story - David - I received your card with the 'fake' Ruscha gas station shortly before vacation in December.  I had also sent Jokie X Wilson (San Francisco) some artistamps.  We travelled several degrees separation in a small world to SE Arizona and Tucson to hike the trails.  On the way back we spent the night in the El Capitan in Van Horn (Architect, Henry Trost, 1930's) and just happened to get a room facing the abandoned gas station across the street, the one you photographed for your mail art sent to me.  I photographed it and made a piece to send to you.  When I returned to Austin, I had a mail art return from Jokie X Wilson, saying travels were made to Tucson to visit the Saguaro National Forests, both East and West, and visit friends.  Then the postcard from the Blanton Museum of Art came in the mail and I could not help myself - I mailed it to you!  Long live life's artful ways.

[Toni Hanner -- tonipoet]

Thanks for this amazing post, David!

[De Villo Sloan]

Excellent work here. Thanks for sharing.

[David Stafford]

[Katerina Nikoltsou (MomKat)]

ok, moving on...

Good to see Nancy Bell Scott, "cool stuff",

not a snake...almost "cosmic" . Super!

[Katerina Nikoltsou (MomKat)]

hmmm, yep, i "know" the old days...still: only in Kentucky!

[David Stafford]

It used to be called Love's Fever. Back in the, you know, old days.