First Stamps of the Year — Constantinople to Danzig to China

*Originally published on another blog of mine, Miscellaneous Notes, now republished here with slight edits and modifications* Alas, while the USPS and its army of postal workers take a well-deserved break on Jan. 1, a postal tourist knows no reprieve, and — as not one of DC’s post offices is open — went back to …

Two Probably Unwarranted Complaints

*Originally published on another blog of mine, Miscellaneous Notes, now republished here with slight edits and modifications* Complaint One: The USPS Consumer Advocate As I reported earlier, I sent a letter on Dec. 20 to USPS Consumer Advocate to ask about the official name of its “National Capitol (or Capital)” station. And as I said it …

MLK by the Park and Another Hotel (DC)

*Originally published on another blog of mine, Miscellaneous Notes, now republished here with slight edits and modifications* FEATURING — Martin Luther King; General Post Office Building Today I again went on a postal trip across town — its destination? USPS’s Martin Luther King Jr. station, a short distance to the northeast of the White House. …

Benjamin Franklin Branch (DC)

*Originally published on another blog of mine, Miscellaneous Notes, now republished here with slight edits and modifications* FEATURING — Benjamin-Franklin A brief recap of my previous article — in Washington, DC’s Federal Triangle, a few blocks filled to the brim with, well, federal office buildings, stand two major postal facilities. One of them, the focus …

Old Post Office Building (DC)

*Originally published on another blog of mine, Miscellaneous Notes, now republished here with slight edits and modifications* FEATURING — Old Post Office Building It was drizzling today, but I managed to pull myself out of my apartment for another post office visit. This time’s destination was the Benjamin Franklin station, located in the Federal Triangle …

A Closed Post Office in a Closed TechWorld (DC)

*Originally published on another blog of mine, Miscellaneous Notes, now republished here with slight edits and modifications* FEATURING — TechWorld Today is Sunday, and the Christmas Eve, which means I could only undertake a very brief excursion. I have read in an old post office catalogue that there used to be an USPS branch called …

A Question Unanswered; an Envelope Un-postmarked; a District Gone (DC)

*Originally published on another blog of mine, Miscellaneous Notes, now republished here with slight edits and modifications* FEATURING — National Capitol First, the Unanswered Question The more astute readers, at least those more observant than I was, might have noticed in my first blog a slight discrepancy — I keep referring to the first post …

The National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC), Part One

*Originally published on another blog of mine, Miscellaneous Notes, now republished here with slight edits and modifications* FEATURING — NALC Yes, I did spend real human money at the NALCĀ online store, as promised, and got myself three mementos: a patch bearing the organization’s logo plus two books. A part of me also wanted to purchase …

Sisters of the House (DC)

*Originally published on another blog of mine, Miscellaneous Notes, now republished here with slight edits and modifications* FEATURING — Ford; Longworth I apologize for the rather senseless title — My barren imagination does not permit me to come up with anything cleverer. Anyways, earlier today I visited two more post offices in Washington, DC, namely …

The Beginning of a Postal Pilgrimage (DC)

*Originally published on another blog of mine, Miscellaneous Notes, now republished here with slight edits and modifications* FEATURING — National Capitol; Union Station; Department of Labor; NALC A Prologue of Sorts Well, the story began so — Ever since my first visit to the Smithsonian National Postal Museum a few months ago, I have found …