Wednesday Essay Contest #1 Winners

The Supreme Aglet is pleased at the response to my new Wednesday Essay Contest #n featurette. Although I would like to feature everyone's hard work and share the reward money with all who participated, I can only choose one winner for each side of the question. And even those winners aren't getting a dime.

To refresh your memory, the question posed for our first essay contest was:

Licked Stamps or Adhesive Stamps: Which do you Prefer?

The winner of the pro-lick persuasion of stamps was Agleteer David, (The Supreme Aglet will not reveal the full identity of fan mail contributors unless specifically requested), with this thoughtful entry:

At first, it seems quite obvious. Without a thought I would select pre-adhesive stamps. After all, pre-adhesive stamps are convenient, quick and don’t leave the horrible after taste in your mouth. But after further thought--I’m thinking I may withdraw my initial response. Let’s break down the thought process on this:

First, there is the pre-adhesive stamp. Sure it’s nice, neat and you can have food in your mouth while applying it, but what does it represent? It represents the age of convenience, the age of a rushed and hurried society, a time when people accept, without question, any change as long as it makes life faster. And, if you ever get to the post office to stand in line, these rushed and hurried people never take the time to say hi or even smile. They’re too busy closing the next business deal on their cell phone to bother with the trivial action of being a friendly neighbor.

On the other hand, we have the licked stamp adhesive. Although the taste my be unpleasant it takes you back to memories of the good 'ol days. I’m reminded of a small town, Moline, Kansas, where my grandparents retired. As a child you could walk downtown to deliver a letter for grandpa without the fear of any evil coming upon you. You could spend no more than a quarter to deliver a personal, hand written message to a loved one. The old timers would stand in line and talk about the catch of the day and everyone would greet you as you passed by. You had to hold the stamp in place until it dried but that was okay because life was slow. You enjoyed the moment and didn’t worry about rushing to the next item on your agenda.

Maybe it’s not as complicated as I’m making it. Maybe I’m being a little cynical, but then again, I must say, I miss the days of licking stamps.

Thank you David for your entry. And now, for your prize, take a deep breath...congratulations, you have just won a deep breath.

Next, taking a more broad point of view which permits all types of stamps to be preferred (and suggests that this individual couldn't make up his mind to save his life), I would like to recognize Agleteer Jim's essay on the subject:

Hands down the pre-applied adhesive stamps are the most convenient. One wonders why they weren't around years ago. A plus is that they do not stick to everything in your wallet when it rains!

Even more convenient than licked or adhesive stamps are the metered-mail machines (which were not included in you poll list). The negative features are the monotonous clack-clack of the unit and the jump in the electric bill.

The lick-licks were my favorite, as the taste always reminded me of my early school years, when I put my fingers into the paste jars. I think that the general public would appreciate their return if they came with assorted glue flavors, such as strawberry, scotch, banana, scotch, cherry, scotch, just to mention a few.

Agleteer Jim, for your prize, I would like you to find the nearest window and see what is parked in front of your residence...congratulations, you have just won the opportunity to stare at your car.

Thank you both for your reasoned and well-written entries. You are an inspiration to Aglteers the world over.

Next week's essay contest:

For our next essay contest, I should like Agleteers to submit an essay on the following topic:

Alternate Uses for my Mouse Pad

Submit your essay to thesupremeaglet@hotmail.com, and the world of the Supreme Aglet is once again in perfect balance.