Mail Call

You know, not really as unobservant as this post makes me out to be. I've commented, at least to Shelly, for several months on the new 90-cent stamp issued by the USPS, the one that features my former home of Guam.


But today, when I opened a letter from Grandma -- and lets face it, in this era of e-mail and next-to-free phone calls across the Pacific, Grandma accounts for the bulk of the mail I get -- I was reminded of this incredibly beautiful stamp yet again. That letter, by the way, took 24 days -- October 5 to October 29 -- to make it from Eastern Iowa to Hong Kong. Is it any wonder nobody sends snail mail anymore?

Back in March, the USPS had this to say about the stamp:

Hagåtña Bay (international price) 90 cents – on sale June 1. The Postal Service will issue this stamp in the Scenic American Landscapes series to honor the Territory of Guam. Located approximately 1,600 miles east of the Philippines in the Pacific Ocean, Guam is the largest and southernmost of the Mariana Islands. Approximately 212 square miles in size — roughly three times the area of Washington, D.C. — Guam is home to a population of approximately 158,000 people, including native Guamanians, known as Chamorro, as well as others of European and Asian descent. Today the island is a popular destination for tourists, with some 1.5 million people visiting the island annually to enjoy its natural beauty. The stamp features a photograph by Michael S. Yamashita of a sunset of Hagåtña Bay in Hagatna, the capital of Guam.

I lived on Guam for three years in the late 1990s. It was a fantastic three-year period: I had an interesting job that gave me incredible access around the region, I learned how to dive and I went snorkeling practically every day. It also was an incredibly expensive place to live, and I'm sure I lost money on the deal.

So thank you, Grandma, for the great Guam stamps. Keep those letters coming!