Stickers & Even More Stickers

Last year thanks to good planning and blind luck I found my financial condition after tax time more buoyant than usual. Being an idiot as I cleaned up my desk after paying the last bills and filing everything away , I looked at a pile of letters from various good causes, fatal deceases, veterans and military support groups, charities and religious groups. Each of them tugged at my sentiments and most offered me something. The US Olympic Committee and a number of the mainstream nature organizations offered me hats, t-shirts, wind breakers, vests, and sweat shirts if I made a modest donation. All naturally sported a large logo proclaiming me a supporter of the Olympics, The Nature Foundation, The Tree People, Native Plants, the Veterans of Foreign Wars and National Parks Foundation. Being a fool I sent them a few bucks. The deceases and religious groups all sent large sheets of return address stickers, every one of with an uplifting, patriotic, humorous or cute bit of art work.

There were bear cubs, flowers, angels, flags, stars, baby animals of all kinds, seals and sea otter cavorting happily, artistic crosses, chi rho’s, alfa & omega’s, rosary beads, Madonna and child’s, wolves, leaping salmon, friendly primates, cuddly bunnies. On and on and I sent most of them $5 or $10 and felt a warm glow.

Then I guess the word got out and now causes and deceases I never heard of began sending me stickers. Big time and obscure Catholic religious orders sent me holy cards, rosaries, address stickers and prayers printed on special vellum papers. Even various Protestant and a couple Jewish organizations sent me stuff. I am ecumenical, but I really don’t think it would appropriate for me to use an address sticker with a silver menorah on it. Mainly it is stickers, now each and every day some group sends me more stickers.

Right now I have enough to wallpaper a two car garage, who knows by the end of the year I’ll have enough to paper the walls of high school gym. I feel like Mickey Mouse in the Sorcerer's Apprentice. They just keep on coming: more bunnies and bambi’s, angels and cute baby animals, seal pups, bear cubs, kittens and little lions, baby elephants and bull moose, trees and flowers, mystic symbols, patriotic icons, dead presidents and live puppies, it goes on and on.