A Long-Lost Postcard: A Timely Message from the Past
August 12, 2026
A postcard sent 26 years ago from Denmark has finally found its way to Bob Sheppard’s home in Long Beach, California, carrying a message from his late parents that arrived at a time when he needed it most.
Bob Sheppard / ABC 7 News
Back in July 2000, Sheppard’s parents had set off on one of their numerous global adventures, this time writing to him from Copenhagen. Their short note read:
“Flying in, we saw lots of water and green, green land everywhere. Love, M&D.”
Though the postcard bore a simple message, its significance was profound, especially since both parents had since passed away. Joanne, his mother, died four years ago, and his father, John, passed during the COVID-19 pandemic six years ago, a loss compounded by Sheppard’s inability to bid him a proper farewell due to hospital restrictions at the time.
“It haunts me to this day,” Sheppard expressed, reflecting on those difficult times.
Uncovering the postcard after more than two decades was a poignant moment for Sheppard. “I just started looking at it and go, ‘Oh my gosh. This is a treasure!'” he recalled.
His parents were avid travelers, exploring destinations like Easter Island, the Galapagos, and Africa, leaving behind a collection of photographs and passport stamps that Sheppard had compiled for their memorial. The newly arrived postcard now joins these cherished mementos.
The whereabouts of the postcard during the intervening years remain unclear. Postmarked in Copenhagen in July 2000, it also bears a Los Angeles postmark dated August 2026. A postal worker speculated that it might have slipped behind some office furniture before being discovered and forwarded.
For Sheppard, the mystery of its journey is less important than the timing of its arrival. “This was, to me, almost a postcard from heaven,” he said.
