sent from: Mortimer Street, London, UK. destination: Los Angeles, California

  When I first moved to Los Angeles in the late 90s, I was equal parts fascinated with and petrified by all the things LA was infamous for – earthquakes, gangs, and plastic surgery, as if they were contagious somehow.

   I remember taking a walk along Venice Beach in my first couple of weeks and coming across a series of postcards (of which this was one), depicting various natural disasters that had befallen the area in the past few years. There was this one showing the earthquake, another showed massive fires in the Santa Monica mountains. I haven’t checked the pile but I presume it will show up sooner or later.

   I like how the card is both informative and sensational – the way the word “Earthquake” has small cracks in it, and “k” just about falling over. And yet, very specific, letting you know what happened to this house.

   This card returns to the place it came from, sent to a friend I am not in as much contact with as I’d like. Write soon!