Story 1
My parents fully believed that stamps were THE collectable. Every time a new stamp was released, Mom would buy a full page and store them. They are now mine. Thousands of them.
Story 2
It’s very easy to figure out the value of a stamp today. You look at the number on the stamp and that’s what it’s worth. In other words, stamps were a HORRIBLE investment. I am using them up one envelope at a time.
Story 3
My parents weren’t perfect. Neither are you. Many of my parents’ opinions were right and many weren’t. Same for you and me. Your safe advice and strategies about events that you are certain will come to pass may very well be horrible. Good to know.
Story 4
Talk about dinosaurs! Check out the 25-cent first-class stamp that you have to lick with your tongue! Since that stamp was issued, so many more dinosaurs have been dug up, that now we think they were much different now than we did 30 years ago. Even though they have been dead for millions of years. Weird.
Story 5
NO. The guy at the post office will not allow me to trade these in for a like amount of 60-cent stamps. Yet another guy at the post office probably hates me for sending letters using the old stamps, because they must be hand-cancelled.
Story 6
That would make my dad chuckle. He always hated The Man. If he had a beef with an insurance company/utility company/city hall, he would sit down with a phone (landline of course) and spend hours on hold, trying to prove a point.
Story 7
It kind of makes me chuckle, too. I lick a stamp and mutter, “…take that! And that!” We inherit more than just genetics! Something to be aware of, especially when you’re tempted to complain about the way your parents are.
Story 8
The 10-cent stamp is from the 200-year anniversary of this great country, which was a BIG deal. Bicentennial stuff was everywhere: water towers, fire hydrants, shirts, cars, you name it—all red, white and blue. We are now coming up on 250 years, which is also a big deal (our semiquincentennial—I just looked it up) but I have heard nothing about it, have you?
Story 9
I’m told that most people who live in this country prefer not to self-identify as American. Does that make me a dinosaur? Will I be the only one standing when they sing the national anthem?
Story 10
If I stand at the anthem, it’s because I have spent some time researching and revisiting the story of America. It’s a really, really great story I have been presenting all over the country. If you have a group that would like to hear it, let me know! Here’s a link that tells more.