This is the first time I've ever asked for a favor from the community, understanding and patience perhaps, but a favor, no...

My nine year old step-son, coincidentally his first name is Cooper (and he would like to change his full name to Cooper Cooper), started collecting stamps. He is searching every letter that comes into the house looking for stamps.

Over dinner this evening he asked me if I would talk to the community and ask them to send him stamps from around the world.

So my favor... If you have a little time to send off a stamped letter from your corner of the world to Cooper Cooper c/o Curious Labs, 655 Capitola Rd. Suite 200, Santa Cruz, California, 95062, USA that would make a nine year old junior philatelist very happy.

Thanks,

Steve Cooper
Curious Labs

Oh yeah, Karen reminded me, his birthday is this month, Halloween day... Thanks again Kupa

Postcards would be better than letters, the kind that tourists buy that show things of local interest. That way he'll get a geography lesson too. Cooper Cooper? for some strange reason I like it. Like Wilson Wilson on home improvment.

Postcards would be a great idea. I'm glad these are being sent to our office, we could see some crazy postcards. ;-)

cool Q

Canada's not around the world... Not exactly exotic... I've got a friend who might have some suggestions, though. Wait for it. Q

Hey, I'm in Canada too but must admit that some locales down on the strip are somewhat... ummm... exotic. Besides, if someone lived their entire lives in the prairies then they may well find the Rockies exotic (grin). Anyhow, I'll visit the post office and see if we have any "neat" looking stamps in circulation. If so I'll sent a postcard with a few of them. On second thought I won't. I'll put them in an envelope so instead of being postmarked they will be in mint condition. - Jack

Think he'd like one from Cal Ripken's hometown? I live a very short distance from where he grew up. -Tim

You're right , of course Jack. I'm a local and quite exotic. :) Q

Mr. Cooper, Years ago my mom gave me her stamp collection, having lost interest in the hobby. I confess I've never gotten motivated to pick up where she left off. Your request on your stepson's behalf gives me the perfect excuse to pass on some of these stamps without feeling guilty about selling or discarding them. This is a delightful thing ... and if you ask me not so terribly off topic, considering the graphic challenge of a well-designed stamp. (Hm, Poser contest idea, anyone?) I'll revisit the collection and send some excerpts within the next few days. By the way, I used to live on beautiful property in Aptos (in the mountains behind Cabrillo College) so every time I see the CL address, I get heartsick. You folks work in one of the world's nicest areas, as you know. :-) Encouraging the interests of young people is one of the greatest things an adult can do. Perhaps for this reason your request put me in a great mood. Cooper the Younger sounds like a cool kid.

I don't know anything about philatelists, but are the postmarks important? I mean would uncancelled stamps be ok? Taiwan has many beautiful stamps with Chinese designs. I could throw some in an envelope, but they wouldn't have the postmark on them. What do you think? Doc

Got no stamps I can think of....how bout coins? Scarab

...I'm a local and quite exotic. :) LOL Quixote! It seems we Canadians can be a strange lot. Last month a newspaper devoted half its editorial to me. He compared me to both Hydro One's Eleanor Clitheroe and some musician in the Bahamas or somewhere (just who the hell is Jimmy Buffet anyhow?). Half the info in the article was wrong but I don't really care because the editor is nominating me as an artist to the Mississauga Arts Council even though I don't think of myself as an artist. Life can be funny sometimes. For the last 13 years my wife and I have lived on our cruising sailboat. Our friends think we're eccentric. I think we're normal. - Jack

I'll send from Moscow, Russia. Don't know how long it may take before Mr. Cooper Cooper receives it. It's a pity there is no stamped Emails :-).

AH! the Press. I was called Canada's Maplethorpe once. Ducked and covered for the rest of the year. Could not stop laughing at the idea. Arts Councils are strange bodies. The food's good so's the wine. But the ARTISTS... Jeez... If only we could get them out of those things... who do they think they are anyways? :) I got out of there after 3 years of lobying governments for money, and producing report after report on every aspects of life and culture in the region. Oh! and did I tell you about the ARTISTS... Jeez. Why can't they starve in silence???? Seriously. I made a lot of good friends and we did do some very good work. Good luck on the nomination and full speed ahead. Q

Steve, You've got a batch of stamps on their way from Taiwan! Give Cooper Cooper our best wishes for his birthday! Doc

Tell him happy birthday for me.

Postcards and Stamps from Wiltshire(stonehenge,Avebury and crop circles) Dr Paul Cooper(one of the Wiltshire Coopers!)

Some stamps from hus, Denmark will soon be on their way. I just want to get more different ones, then they'll be on their way. :o) ~TrekkieGrrrl

Welsh ones with dragons on them on their way today...

Kupa Well NYC is out of the running for cool stamps :P But you have to scan them in when you get them! :) sounds very cool. I want to see the Taiwanese ones :)

My wife is from Estonia. I'll see if we kept any that her relatives sent us. Since ninety five percent of people I meet don't know where Estonia is, it should be unusual. (it is a former USSR country located under Finland) Bill

Think I may have one left with the St George flag & a football from this years world cup...I'll pop it on a London postcard.

Hello, I forgot to mention thatI started collecting stamps when I was about his age but that was so long ago, we had to wait for the Pony Express to arrive to see what new stamps were out. Don't know what happened to my collection. But anyway, there used to be a company called H G Harris or something like that where you can get starter kits, stamps on approval, etc. They used to have lots of older stamps from all over the world and older US stamps as well. Just a thought for his birthday. (Mine is the day after Halloween) Bill

I just sent him a postcard as well :)

If anyone has any Penny Blacks they don't want you can send them to me! :)

that's so cute, i'd send one but i'm in florida, not gona help much.............. HAPPY BIRTHDAY COOPER

A postcard from Sweden will be on it's way soon :-)

I will look for some stamps from Germany to send ;-)

My daughter's birthday is 10/31 as well :) I started collecting stamps about the same age..its a pretty neat hobby...got kinda ruined a few years back when all the investors got involved, but I think its back in order a bit again.... I live in Wisconsin, so not much in the way of different stamps, but I can sure send a postcard with some cows, beer, or cheese pictures :) First day covers was always a great collection. I had this idea of trying to get a cancelled envelope from every post office in the state....then maybe neighboring states...then the entire USA...and maybe the WORLD...hhhahahhahaha >Oh yeah, Karen reminded me, his birthday is this month, >Halloween day... >Thanks again >Kupa

I'll send you some Spanish stamps

Wow! This is really great! Little Coop will be so stoked. :) Every day he checks the mail to see what sort of stamps he can pull off the envelopes. He's been rather disappointed lately to see how much is metered (all junk mail & bills - yuck!) so this will be really fun for him. Thanks to everyone for sending postcards/stamps. :) Karen-

Some on the way from the great land of OZ.

Happy Birthday Cooper Cooper! He'll have some stamps from Scotland in short order.

I'll send one out tommorow. Postmarked from the gool old North Pole!! (Alaska anyway...) Tell ol' Cooper Cooper Happy Birthday for me!! Barry

Estonia is a former Soviet republic, but the language is much closer to Finnish and the architecture much more European (in Talinn, anyway). BTW wasn't Congress passing a law against online philately?

Hey Raven, I had a friend who had a Penny Black. He pointed it out to me rather proudly one day (of all things it was framed and hanging on his living room wall) and I did my best to look impressed. Then he told me the significance of a Penny Black and it suddenly became quite an incredibly beautiful thing to behold! (LOL).