PostSecret.com

My friend, Reyna, told me about the PostSecret project about a month ago. A man asked people to mail their secrets - something they'd never told anyone before. They should be the size of a postcard and he has them mailed to his home. He reads them, and posts just 20 of the hundreds he receives each week on his website. He's also put together three books, with a fourth on the way, of some of the postcards. He also travels with the postcards as an art exhibit. After one visit to the website, I became obsessed. If you're not familiar - and you already have enough hobbies and time occupiers in your life - don't get the books or link to the website. It is so addictive. You've been warned: PostSecret.com . The secrets and postcards that people send in can be funny or heartbreaking and some may find a few of them shocking. But I've always felt compassion for the authors of these secrets. It's an amazing effect that this project and these postcards have.

Today the project creator, Frank Warren, had an appearance here in Portland at Powell's City of Books on Burnside. I'd put it on the calendar and invited my mom to come with me. We drove down and then rode the street car over to Powell's. This was a first for us - we'd never been to a book reading or any kind of an event like this. When we got to the Pearl Room where the reading was being held, the place was packed. All the seats filled and people were standing and gathering in aisles. It was very cool. Even cooler was our author/creator. He is an average, normal guy. Not too artsy, not full of angst or too full of himself. And he is an amazing storyteller. We stood in an aisle for an hour listening to him talk about the project, how it started and what has become of it since it's inception in 2004. It was fascinating and riveting and good report and praiseworthy. We even got a pre-addressed postcard so that we could send in our own secrets. I wrote mine at lunch afterward. If I see it on his site, I'll let you know.