When I was a kid we used to line up for the Saturday matinee movies on the main street of my little New Jersey town. No matter what the film was -- Swiss Family Robinson, The Time Machine, the latest Jerry Lewis goofball flick -- we were always restless with anticipation, a long line of kids barely under control, waiting for the doors to open allowing us to stream in for the show.
Every so often the theater's manager would open the door, sending a thrill through us as we sent up a cheer, followed by an "Awwww" when the door closed again and we realized that it was a false alarm and the waiting would continue. Of course, it made our ultimate entry all the sweeter.
This is what the USPS has been doing with the promise of living people being allowed on stamps; the first was supposed to happen by now. But news has now been sent out that the program may continue to be on hold -- our stamps could possibly continue to feature only people who have been dead for at least five years. Thanks to the board of governors of the postal service, which is getting cold feet about the plan, the door is closing again. Still, the Citizen's Stamp Advisory Committee and Postmaster General Donahue is for the plan, which would surely add money to the USPS's coffers with the right subjects chosen to appear on U.S. stamps.
The nice thing about waiting to get into the theater was that we knew we'd eventually gain entrance to enjoy another show. That the USPS has been opening the door a crack for the past half year-plus has gotten a lot of stamp collectors excited. They never thought they'd be left standing outside this long. They now await word to let them know if there is going to be a show. The door will only have to close a couple more times before they just walk away in search of another theater, a different show.
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