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Caught in a time warp.

The Stamp Collecting Report. I'm Lloyd de Vries.

<Hope singing "thanks for the memories.">

The news that there will be a Bob Hope stamp next year isn't really much of a surprise. 
The only question had been WHEN?

The entertainer died in 2003. At that time, there was a 10-year waiting period before 
someone could be honored on a stamp. The rule was cut in half four years later, and I 
thought the reason might be to get Bob Hope on a stamp sooner. So I asked stamp collector 
John Hotchner, who advises the Postal Service, about that in August 2007, when the 2008 
stamps were announced.

"Bob Hope is an American icon who will eventually be honored one way or another."
RUNS :05

But it didn't happen. Instead, we're getting the stamp NEXT year, in 2009.

"The Citizen Stamp Advisory Committee works 2 to 5, 6, 7, 8 years out, and so we had 
already pretty well completed the 2008 program even though we changed the rule."
RUNS :12

In fact, while we've just been told about the 2009 stamps ... the Two Thousand TEN program 
is complete, and Eleven is pretty much set, too. 

We just haven't been told what the subjects are

I'm Lloyd de Vries of The Virtual Stamp Club. For more on stamps and stamp collecting, 
and a complete list of the 2009 stamps — at least what we know so far — 
visit virtual-stamp-club-dot-com.

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