Date Meets Zip in 92025

Today was 9-20-25 and our hometown post office 92025 (Escondido, CA) had a Date Meets Zip gathering at the post office. We had no idea what to expect or whether anybody would show up or care for what seemed like a philatelic event. The local paper -- the Escondido Times-Advocate -- ran a front page news piece last week with a photo of the postcard and cancel design.

It turns out these events are a celebration of our local post office staff more than anything else. We got to meet the postmaster, Dat A. Nguyen, and the whole staff came out to take a group photo in front of a new mail van. There were about 20 postal workers, 20 guests and a crowd of 40 onlookers.

The event was led by Susan Baker, president of California State Association of Letter Carriers (CSALC), Escondido Branch, who mentioned that she was a lifelong stamp collector. We did not get a chance to ask her what she collects. Escondido Mayor Dane White was there, always a nice guy, and we've come to expect him at any local event. Other community leaders were there.

There was bottled water for everyone, two cakes, and a selection of small treats and cookies. There was a table showing a collection of classic mail truck toys. A little something for everyone.

After a few sets of brief words at the podium, the big screen ticked down to 9:20:25 and they released a fanfare of silly string as promised. I was bombarded by a few small objects that turned out to be fun-size chocolates, and some bags of snacks (Pirates Booty) were flung into the crowd. It was way more festive that we were expecting. Everyone was so nice. I was good to see some positivity in the world.

Sure, there were some technical glitches. The big screen got reduced to snapshot size about 20 seconds before we really needed it, and people had lined up in front of it. But with a few "scoot over" gestures, I was able to catch the exact moment, except for the hour 9, with the very first of the confetti in air. 

 

After all that, the actual Date Meets Zip covers were disappointing. A lovely postcard was designed, and the printing was done as a donation. I thought the covers would be canceled in advanced and sold for $5 or so, but all you had to do was buy a stamp at the counter and get in the short line. It turns out that you can add a message and hand these in, and they are put in a stack for actual delivery. The main issue was that the cardstock was too porous, or the ink pads were not the right type, so neither of the two staff members could get a clear impression of the postmark. I think the postmark design was too dense, with too many raised surfaces and not enough spacing between elements. I got two postmarks in blue and two in black, with quality from about 20% to 60% of what a collector would expect. Kudos for the matching Mr. Zip shirts on the cancellation team. That was a blast from the past.

For a rare, unusual reason for people to get together, this was very enjoyable. 

Note: I initially sent this to Linns, but never got a response, and I don't see it on any of their pages.  So I am backdating and posting it here now.