The Brown Stamp Book

In the 1970's, do you remember getting those rows of green stamps from the grocery store, and carefully sticking them into place in the special Green Stamps Book? When your booklet was full, you could cash it in for "big-ticket" items like toaster ovens and waffle irons. The Sperry and Hutchinson Co. began distributing its trading stamps in 1886. In 1951, S&H Green Stamps got their start at the Denver King Sooper store chain. In the '50's and '60's, some 200,000 retailers offered stamps that were redeemed for house wares products. S&H Green Stamps accounted for 35 to 40 percent of this market. The stamps eventually faded from the grocery scene when stores used lower prices to compete for shoppers.


My father retired from the ministry last year. He preached the Gospel in Germany as a missionary and as a pastor here in the states for over forty years.
Early in my marriage to Princess Sherri, I was whining to him about my new bride's nagging and complaining. His response surprised me. He said, "Praise the Lord. She is communicating with you about her hurts and needs." That's not the response I was looking for. He went on to tell me many women don't talk to their husbands about their issues. They simply put a stamp in "The Brown Stamp Book", every time the husband does something hurtful, whether on purpose or not, she places another "brown stamp" in the booklet. Eventually it's full; she cashes it in and kicks him out. The last stamp in the book is as dramatic as all power going out for a city block. From light and warm to dark and cold, like the flip of a switch. Most men are clueless when it happens. We leave our underwear on the bathroom floor. The last stamp goes in the book and suddenly we're sleeping on the sofa at a friend's house. "All I did was drop my boxers on the bathroom floor and she kicked me out! What the heck is her problem?"

To you ladies I say, "We are stupid. Give us grace."

To you men I say, "Women nag, because men neglect! Pay attention to her, spend time with her alone. Listen to her. Act on what you hear."