Wednesday, December 01, 2004

Postage stamps

After sending something priority mail today, the clerk asked if I needed any stamps. I told her I was trying to see if there were any commemoratives that I liked. I asked, “What are the ones with the woman holding the baby.” She reached for very recognizable Christmas stamps of the Virgin Mary and the baby Jesus. I told her that I meant the other stamps with the mother holding the baby. The sheet I was looking at depicted an African American mother holding her baby. The stamps warned people to test early for sickle cell anemia. I can’t imagine referring to the Virgin Mary and the Baby Jesus as “that woman holding the baby.”

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