The American Philatelic Society Web site indicates there will be second U.S. first day at Stampshow 2003, but doesn't say what it will be.

Did they say on which day and at what time?

John Cropper, Owner & Webmaster


 C³ Cachets
APS #198371
PNC3 #1460, Publicity & Publications Advisory Chairman
HCPS Digital and Print Media Editor

I, for one, have re-thought it out, and will stay in Columbus to attend the two there, but I know others who stay with their original plans.

I guess that someone may even try to attend the South Bend at 8:00AM and try to make it back to Columbus for the ceremony at noon.

Besides, Indiana has those goofy time zones and I think SB is the same time as Chicago, which would cut an hour off the travel time. Making it a 3 hour trip not 4

Most of Indiana stays on Standard time all year 'round. In the winter most of the state is synchronous with Eastern Time, in the summer, Central.

John Cropper, Owner & Webmaster


 C³ Cachets
APS #198371
PNC3 #1460, Publicity & Publications Advisory Chairman
HCPS Digital and Print Media Editor

No, actually what they expected you to do, would be turn in your rental car WITH your wife, and then proceed to check-in. I don't know of any airport, where security would want people stopping their cars at the curbside, check-in, and then park their cars. This would create a huge tarffic problem.

We usually drop off the bags at curbside check-in and then turn in the rental car. When traveling to national stamp conventions, we travel with 2 65 pound footlockers and 2 suitcases. Dragging that stuff around on a rental car shuttle bus is thereby avoided. It also avoids renting one of those $3 smartey carteys to drag the bags into the regular check-in.

We were flying a small commuter plane to Manchester, NH once. An announcement was made for everyone in rows 1-5 to move back in the plane. We figured correctly that they were rebalancing our footlockers in the baggage compartment.

Why don't they close down "curbside check-in" then if they don't want us to use it? We are only in "yellow alert" status, after all.

We now refuse to rent cars from Alamo. A couple of years ago they dumped me and the bags at a bus stop in the center of their parking lot. We didn't use curbside check-in that time, since it was a lot farther away, and time was limited. Fortunately, I was able to stay there to guard the bags while my wife went in to the rental counter. More recently, several different rental car places in Florida have "lost" our reservations, had closed counters after schlepping the bags in there, or in general had just been rude. It must be something about Florida. Several rating organizations don't like rental car service in that state either.

I don't always believe what the "map it" functions tell me regarding the travel time. And I certainlt don't believe it this time. I know that one can get from Kalamazoo to Cincinnati in about 5 hours. South Bend is about an hour south of kalamazoo and Cincinnati about two hours from Columbus (Yes, I know Columbus is further east) KNowing the roads, I would guess about 3 and 1/ hours. This is still a long hual, given the time of the two events and the time zone difference.

But as I said, I plan to stay in Columbus for both events there.

I'll keep you in mind, when making my plans. Thanks for the offer. Could you send me an e-amil and we can discuss off-line (clazaroff@yahoo.com)

Here's the surprise - the USPS put it on sale on Thursday, not waiting until Friday as rumored. So the first day of sale will be August 7. The USPS will NOT apply the August 7 Mary Cassatt FIRST DAY OF ISSUE cancel to covers that only bear the new Flag stamp. However, the small bullseye and/or STAMPSHOW pictorial cancels can be used.