[ti:The Man Who Collects Secrets] [ar:Christopher Jones-Cruise] [al:This is America] [by:www.51voa.com] [00:00.00]Some people collect postage stamps [00:02.95]-- the small pieces of paper you place on letters [00:06.72]or postcards before mailing them. [00:09.52]Other people collect works of art, [00:12.70]antiques or musical instruments. [00:15.69]But a man in the American state of Maryland collects...secrets. [00:21.92]For the past 10 years, people from throughout the world [00:26.90]have been sending Frank Warren postcards and other objects [00:31.88]with secrets written on them. [00:34.62]He now has a million secrets. [00:38.51]"It's a drawing of an elevator. [00:40.45]And the secret says: [00:41.94]¡®I feel guilty when I take elevators for one floor, [00:45.79]so I limp when I get out.'" [00:47.78]Mr. Warren lives in Germantown, Maryland, near Washington, D.C. [00:52.96]Ten years ago, he created an art project he calls "PostSecret." [01:00.79]"I invited strangers from all around the world [01:04.08]to write down their deepest confession on a postcard, [01:06.77]something they'd never told anyone else before, [01:08.92]but something that was true. [01:10.41]And I asked them to mail it to my home anonymously." [01:14.14]People send him postcards, [01:16.09]other objects and emails telling their secrets. [01:21.03]Every Sunday, he chooses 10 secrets [01:25.47]and puts them on the PostSecret website. [01:31.44]"The way I choose to see it is someone is finally [01:35.92]finding the strength and courage to make their heart vulnerable." [01:39.75]Mr. Warren says he created PostSecret [01:42.54]so people would have a safe place in which to share their secrets. [01:48.27]"I was struggling with secrets in my own life. [01:51.46]And it was by creating this safe place [01:54.24]where others could share their secrets with me without judgment -- anonymously [01:58.78]-- I think that space was something I needed just as much as they did." [02:02.81]He has published six books full of the secrets people have shared with him. [02:09.54]One secret in each book is his. [02:13.42]Eric Perry delivers mail for the U.S. Postal Service. [02:19.46]He has brought thousands of secrets to Mr. Warren's home over the past three years. [02:26.18]"I have a couple of the books that Frank's given me [02:29.67]and I've read 'em all and my family's looked at em all and it's, it's wild!" [02:35.71]The project itself was once one of Mr. Warren's secrets. [02:41.15]His wife Jan did not know exactly what he was doing [02:46.54]until the first book was published. [02:49.77]"The publisher actually called me, [02:52.22]and told me that the address was going to be on the book, [02:55.85]and I said ¡®No, it's not.' [02:57.16]And she said, ¡®Yes, it is -- it's in the contract.' [02:59.55]And I said, ¡®No, it's not!' [03:02.73]I mean, I was really...I wasn't very happy about that." [03:06.62]Some people tell Frank Warren of their secret desire to kill themselves. [03:12.95]So he and the PostSecret community [03:16.74]have raised more than $1 million to help prevent suicides. [03:23.36]I'm Christopher Jones-Cruise. [03:25.80]¸ü¶àÌýÁ¦Çë·ÃÎÊ51VOA.COM.