It was early December. Christmas was still over three weeks away. “I need stamps with a Nativity scene, please,” I said to the postal worker I faced through the plexiglass COVID barrier. “We’re sold out of those. I’m sorry,” was her unconvincing apology. I offered that any religious Christmas scene would be fine. It received the same response. I left the building with a sheet of sea otters frolicking in the snow and icy water which was described to me as a Christmas seasonal stamp. I would like to think this shortage was the result of an overwhelming demand for religious stamps that exceeded the abundant supply. Forgive my doubt.
