From Belarus

At a dinner party awhile ago, I sat next to an iconographer. He told me he paints religious icons in the Russian Orthodox style. Since that dinner, I run into him from time to time at various events. Whenever I see him, I say to myself, "There goes the icongrapher." It's not often you get to say that.

I received this icon postcard from Belarus. It's beautiful, isn't it?

Today I passed a tiny shop with a curious window display of figurines and candles. Turns out the store does business in books, firearms, and church supplies. They have an in-house psychic detective, too.

I peeked in the store, but it was dim and I didn't see a postcard display to lure me inside. I kept walking, though I wouldn't mind meeting the detective. I'd like to be able someday, when I see the detective in chance encounters, to say, "Well, there goes the psychic detective." But, I'll have to live my life without being able to say that.

Then again, what do I know? Maybe I will get to say it. I really can't predict, after all, whether I'll meet such a person or not in the future.

But, back to the mail. Here are the beautiful stamps on the back of this beautiful postcard.