Telling Secrets

Just got back from a PostSecret/Found Magazine event at Golden West Café. I thought the event was going to be a viewing of some of the secrets that the founder of Postsecret.com had received over the years, but it wasn't. In fact, it far exceeded my expectations.

For those not familiar, the PostSecret project was founded a few years ago as an art show. Then, it grew into a blog, and grew and grew from there. The founder said that he started with 3,000 blank self-addressed post-cards which he hid all over the DC metro area inviting people to tell him a secret that they had never told anyone. Now he receives between 100 and 200 cards a day from all over the world. A day...people have a lot of secrets to tell.

I have my own secrets, and I've considered sending them in to the project. However, I live in fear that the people who aren't supposed to know about them will figure out that it's me. Until I can reconcile that, I'll be keeping those to myself, thank you very much.

The other part of the evening...the part I didn't know was coming was a presentation by Found Magazine. This project, the "grandfather" of PostSecret, collects found notes, photos, homework, lists, etc. that people find on the street. The founder's brother, Peter, has even written songs about the items (one entitled, "If I get a beer, I won't make the bus") and they're actually pretty good. It lightened up the mood of the evening.

All in all, great talk, fabulous food, it was nice to see PT again (after a year and a half!) and a new appreciation/paranoia for what I leave floating out in the world of trash. :)