| There are many "firsts" in my life - as in | | | | everything of an adventurous nature - marine and |
| anybody's! - and I have often wished that I had | | | | space exploration, mountain climbing, aviation, and |
| kept a journal so that I would know when each | | | | so on, and so I decided to branch out in my |
| of these "firsts" occurred...and why. Most times, I | | | | stamp collecting, from stamps my dad had sent |
| don't remember the first time I met someone - | | | | me, to "topicals." |
| even a special someone - I don't remember the | | | | And my collecting really took off when the pesky |
| first time I read a book, or saw a TV show, and | | | | little stamp hinge books were replaced by the |
| so on. | | | | delightful stockbooks which enabled me to simply |
| I do remember why I first started collecting | | | | slip my stamps into those little cellophane strips |
| stamps, however. | | | | with ease! |
| My father, a retired military man, was a pilot for a | | | | So now, thirty years later, I have several albums, |
| cargo airline, and flew all around the world. And | | | | each one dedicated to a certain topic. Space |
| from each location, he would send me a letter. I | | | | exploration, marine exploration, aviation, |
| saved the letters, of course, but my mom | | | | Antarctica, paintings on stamp, theatrical |
| suggested I start a collection of all the cool-looking | | | | performanes on stamps, and so on. |
| stamps from the envelopes, and so I did. | | | | I even dabbled with first day covers at one time, |
| Being an unsophisticated child, what I did was to | | | | after I met a friend who was trying to make a |
| carefully cut the stamp off the envelope, leaving | | | | business out of it, but I confess I never really |
| a bit of the envelope at the top. I then would | | | | cared for it. They were just too big and took up |
| place scotch tape over this bit, taping the stamp | | | | too much room! |
| onto a notebook page. Oh, I was quite proud of | | | | My stamp collection certainly isn't worth anything. I |
| those pages! | | | | put a few hundred dollars into it over the years, |
| One day, after my dad had returned from one of | | | | but the joy it has given me, on a rainy Saturday |
| his trips, he asked me to show him my stamp | | | | one a month or so, when I'd relax in an armchair |
| collection, and I did so. The next day, he took me | | | | and go through those books, is priceless. |
| out to a stamp shop and bought me a stamp | | | | The joy actually is many-layered. First it's the joy |
| album, hinges, and a pair of flat-edged tweezer! | | | | of looking at small, beautiful things - miniature |
| He also explained that I was supposed to soak | | | | masterpieces, as I call them. Then, it's a kind of |
| the stamps in water until it was possible to | | | | nostalgia - I can remember where and when I |
| remove them from the paper, let them dry, then | | | | bought each stamp (I kept records), and that |
| apply the little hinges and place them in my stamp | | | | remembrance takes me back to that year ... all of |
| book. | | | | a sudden, as I'm sitting there, I'm young again |
| Well, I loved that kind of detailed work, and so I | | | | with the world and my goals before me! |
| spent several days transferring my collection into | | | | And finally, of course, there's just the gentle of |
| a real album. | | | | remembering my father, and the pleasures of |
| As I was growing up, my interests were many | | | | collecting (not only stamps but also foreign |
| and varied. I was, frankly, interested in practically | | | | currency!) to which he had introduced me. |