• August 18, 2005: Headlines: Stamps: New York Times: Here's the final story: Stamps provide ways for lovers to send message  Saturday, August 20, 2005 - 12:21 pm [1]

A reporter for the NY Times asks RPCVs about "Upside down stamps"



A reporter for the NY Times asks RPCVs about "Upside down stamps"

Upside down stamps?

I am a reporter with the New York Times and I am working on a story about the way that people have placed stamps on envelopes through history and how there is an age-old code of things you can convey by placing the stamp in a certain fashion. The most common remaining remnant of this code is to place the stamp upside down which typically is a sign of affection.

I was hoping to post a query to your listserve to see if anyone serving in the peace corps who has written or received letters has ever used or seen the upside down stamp tactic. If someone positioned their stamp some other way to convey some other significance, I would be equally interested.

Please, if you would, ask anyone with knowledge/experience with this topic to send a note to the following email address:

urbina AT nytimes DOT com

When this story was posted in June 2005, this was on the front page of PCOL:



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June 6: PC suspends Uzbekistan program Peace Corps has announced that it is suspending the Uzbekistan program after the visas of 52 Peace Corps volunteers who arrived in January were not renewed. The suspension comes after a State Department warning that terrorist groups may be planning attacks in Uzbekistan and after the killings in Andizhan earlier in May. Background: PCOL published a report on April 23 that Peace Corps volunteers who arrived in January were having visa difficulties and reported on safety and visa issues in Uzbekistan as they developed.

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June 5, 2005: Special Events Vote in the NPCA Election for new board before June 15 "American Taboo" author Phil Weiss in Maryland on June 18 "Rainforests and Refugees" showing in Portland, Maine until June 25 "Iowa in Ghana" on exhibit in Waterloo through June 30 RPCV's "Taking the Early Bus" at Cal State until Aug 15 RPCVs: Post your stories or press releases here for inclusion next week.

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May 28, 2005: This Week's Top Stories The Coyne Column: Love and War in Afghanistan 28 May Sam Farr supports Coffee Growers in Colombia 28 May Elaine Chao wins Woman of Valor award 27 May Nebraska has strong ties with Afghanistan 27 May Arthur Orr to seek Alabama State Senate seat 26 May Murder of John Auffrey remembered in Liberia 26 May Bill Moyers says journalists should be filters for readers 26 May Linda Seyler spent two years in Thailand digging latrines 25 May Chris Shays blasts Bush on stem cell research 25 May George Wolfe to head Loudoun Academy of Science 25 May David Rudenstine heads Cardozo School of Law 24 May Mark Schneider says declaration is "pretty thin gruel" 24 May Robert Blackwill supports seat for India on Security Council 24 May Chris Matthews weighs Thomas Jefferson nomination 24 May Jim Knopf is expert on xeriscape gardening 23 May Mae Jemison receives honorary degree at Wilson 23 May Kenneth Proudfoot says dreams come true 22 May

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Friends of the Peace Corps 170,000 strong 170,000 is a very special number for the RPCV community - it's the number of Volunteers who have served in the Peace Corps since 1961. It's also a number that is very special to us because March is the first month since our founding in January, 2001 that our readership has exceeded 170,000. And while we know that not everyone who comes to this site is an RPCV, they are all "Friends of the Peace Corps." Thanks everybody for making PCOL your source of news for the Returned Volunteer community.

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