I may be the US Postal Service's best customer. With the latest price increase, I waited impatiently to see what new stamp designs were in store for me. At 39 cents apiece, I expected works of art. I was disappointed with the first offering: a red, white and blue Lady Liberty. Don't think I'm unpatriotic, but I like to have more than one option. Whether they promote a cause, such as breast cancer research, or honor a famous citizen, I choose my stamps with a lot of thought.

    I send a birthday card to almost everyone I've ever met, affixing candle-adorned Happy Birthday postage to the upper right hand corner of each envelope. So far, no new stamp has been issued with a birthday greeting. I could use one of the old ones, combined with the two-cent Navajo necklace in silver and turquoise, but anyone can see they don't match. And there are no stamps suitable for the newspaper articles I send my high school friend (an animal lover) who moved out of state. I hope she'll be as thrilled as I am that Curious George, the Fox in Socks and Wilbur, the pig from Charlotte's Web, are on their way.

    I've always had a soft spot for Love stamps which give new meaning to S.W.A.K. (Sealed With A Kiss). I would never waste a Love stamp on a bill, though. Before I'd send a Love stamp to a utility or credit card company, I would make a special trip to the Post Office to buy a boring old Flag stamp (Please, no hate letters-I love the flag and my country.)

    When we received a wedding invitation with Cary Grant on the envelope and Audrey Hepburn on the reply card, I knew I'd found another aficionado, someone who appreciates the art of stamp selection as much as I do. While I'd never met the groom, if he looked as much like Cary as the bride did Audrey, I could see these two would have beautiful babies. If the Post Office cooperates, their birth announcements could bear Shirley Temple stamps.

    During the holiday season, I try to match the card's stamp with the recipient's religious persuasion. I was happy when a dreidel was introduced so I cold stick the small spinning top to the envelopes of my Hanukkah cards. Yearlong, I buy flowered stamps for sympathy cards, the prettiest blossoms I can find. Death and flowers go hand in hand, after all. My all-time favorite was a white magnolia on a black background, trimmed with a decorous shade of blue.

    A second trip to the Post Office resulted in more discouragement. Again, there were no birthday stamps, no nostalgia and no beautiful blooms. Didn't they know the rates were going up? I left with 12 brightly-colored Happy New Year stamps and 20 Love True Blues-two love birds, facing each other, made a heart shape against a yellow background. Come on, postal people, get busy. You can do better than this, can't you? Here are my suggestions: how about Don Knotts for comic relief? Then, a glass half-full to spread optimism worldwide.

    When a friend suggested I peruse the Postal Service website, I found a strip featuring Five Crops of the Americas: peppers, gourds, corn, sunflowers and beans. Corn and gourds in March? What are they thinking? Frustrated, I scanned further and learned I can make my own stamps using personal photos. Wow! This might be the motivation I need to get years of snapshots in order. The possibilities are endless.