GIVING LIFE. Letter carriers deliver precious packages year-round. Just a few days after Christmas, Provo, UT, letter carrier Keith Hebert delivered the gift of life to a fellow USPS employee in need of a kidney, reports the Deseret News. Hebert donated one of his kidneys to fellow letter carrier Shawn Miller. Miller has been receiving dialysis for two years. Few employees knew about his health problems until recently. Miller told the newspaper, "It still amazes me that someone would do this for me."

THURGOOD MARSHALL. The first commemorative postage stamp of 2003 will be issued tomorrow, Jan. 7, in Washington, DC. The stamp honors Thurgood Marshall, famous civil rights lawyer and the first black Supreme Court justice. The ceremony will take place at 10:30 a.m. at the Thurgood Marshall Federal Judiciary Building, One Columbus Circle NE.

PMG Jack Potter will preside over the dedication, which also will feature Chief Justice William Rehnquist. Sales of the new stamp will be limited to Washington, DC, on Jan. 7. The Thurgood Marshall commemorative stamp — the latest issue in the long-running Black Heritage series — will be available nationwide Jan. 8.

HURSTON HONORED. Zora Neale Hurston (1891-1960) — a novelist, folklorist and anthropologist known for her artistry and celebration of African-American culture — will be honored by the U.S. Postal Service on a new 37-cent postage stamp. The commemorative will be issued Jan. 24 at the 14th Annual Zora Neale Hurston Street Festival of the Arts and Humanities in Hurston's hometown, Eatonville, FL.

The Hurston stamp is the 19th in the Literary Arts series, which has included such prominent American writers as John Steinbeck, Dorothy Parker, Ernest Hemingway and Thornton Wilder. "Our Literary Arts series continues the proud tradition of presenting a stamp program that is educational, interesting and reflects the rich culture of the written word," said David Failor, executive director of Stamp Services.

Hurston was a central figure during the Harlem Renaissance, an expressive period for African-American literature, music and visual and performing arts in the 1920s and 1930s. She wrote four novels including her best work, Their Eyes Were Watching God (1937), two books of folklore, an autobiography and more than 50 short stories and essays. For more information and an image of the stamp, visit www.usps.com.