This Is Me--2024 A to Z Theme

My A to Z Themes in the past have covered a range of topics and for 2024 the theme is a personal retrospective that I call "I Coulda Been" which is in reference to my job and career arc over my lifetime. I'll be looking at all sorts of occupations that I have done or could have done. Maybe you've done some of these too!

Tuesday, February 9, 2010

And Now For the Sticky Topic I Meant to Talk about Last Week But Got Carried Away Complaining About Things I Probably Can't Do That Much About.....

      Did you think I was kidding last week?  I actually did get carried away in my post of last Tuesday and got off subject with a negative rant against government agencies.  In reality, I am pretty darn pleased with the United States Postal Service.   I think they do a great job of getting our mail to us in a timely manner (even if it is mostly junk mail) and it is one governmental agency that is run like a business for the most part.  They have quite an array of retail products available, my favorite being the stamps--most specifically the commerative stamps.

       In my adolecent and preteen years I was an avid stamp collector.  During the 50s and 60s we often heard about hobbies and having a hobby was highly encouraged for kids.  A number of hobbies were promoted in special sections of the variety stores of the day such as Ben Franklin, Woolworth's, and Kresge's--stores that were often referred to as "five and dime stores".  Even some of the larger department stores such as May Company would have a stamp counter much like one might see the jewelry or perfumes counters.  Shopping expeditions with my mother were always looked forward to as a time when I would be able to explore the world of stamps and if I were fortunate enough to have some spending money I might invest in my hobby.

       There were many options available to the novice stamp collector like me.  For prices ranging from ten cents to a couple of dollars or more, one could buy varying packets of stamps from different countries to fill the empty spaces in their stamp album.  If one wanted to be more adventurous, they might opt for a large stamp assortment that might guarentee many different stamps or even large assortments that were unsorted and might contain duplicates.  Some of these assortments were giant bags of stamps still on the paper backing of the envelopes from which they were torn.  An assortment of stamps could literally provide hours of entertainment as one sorted through them and mounted them in a stamp album.

        Stamp collecting was an education.  I learned a great deal about geography as I would memorize country names and look them up on a map; politics from the stamps that depicted world leaders and country flags and symbols; history in the depictions of events and famous people; arts, culture, sports, and the list goes on.  Depictions of everything can be found on postage stamps.  Some stamps were mundane and utilitarian in appearance, while others were beautiful or just outright interesting.

         A stamp collector can start a general collection of stamps from around the globe.  Or a collector might specialize in collecting stamps from just the United States or some specific country; topical themes such as sports, animals, transportation or any specific topic; or even oddly shaped stamps such as triangular, diamond-shaped, or round stamps--any topic or theme is fair game for a collector.  They can be mounted in albums, display cases, or frames --however a collector wishes to present their collection. 

        My stamp albums and organized files still remain in my closet.  I don't intend to get rid of the collection anytime soon and it is there for me to break out any time.  As far as I know, there are no longer stamp sections in variety stores.  Independent stamp stores are not as common as they once were.  I still see ads in magazines and Sunday newspaper coupon inserts presenting special  offers to stamp collectors who wish to pursue the hobby through mail order.

         The U.S. Post Office still promotes stamps as collectables.  Even though I would not call myself a very active stamp collector, at the post office I still sometimes purchase stamps that interest me to add to my collection.  Stamp collecting choices are now so vast that it might be difficult for a novice collector to know where to start collecting and what to do once you start.

           Stamp collecting is a wonderful hobby and I would highly encourage parents to help their children start a stamp collection.   It is the kind of hobby in which the entire family can participate and find enjoyment. Much like a board game or a jigsaw puzzle or other similar activities, the family can sit around the table exploring the world through postage stamps.

        Are there any stamp collectors out there?   Did you collect stamps as a child?  If you did and stopped, why did you stop?   What are some of the other hobbies of collecting in which you readers participate?


    

10 comments:

  1. I love the idea of collecting, but I seem to be too scattered to do it myself! I've always loved looking at other people's collections, though.

    Elizabeth
    Mystery Writing is Murder

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  2. My mom was a postmaster for 30 years so we never ever put down the postal system. :) We were told that the UPS put food on our table. I thought my mom did that...put food on our...table. But anyhoo...so of course my mom has a most elaborate collection of stamps (and coins).

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  3. Who doesn't love stamps?! Now I am not a collector, but I can certainly appreciate one!

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  4. I did collect stamps as a child but stopped when I left school and started work.
    You either love it or hate it. I enjoyed colecting stamps at the time, I couldn't do it today as our mail delivery service leaves much to be desired. All my important letters like bank statements etc go to my sons' address.

    Enjoyed the post,
    Take care and happy sticking.
    Yvonne.

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  5. >>[What are some of the other hobbies of collecting in which you readers participate?]<<

    I once collected hangovers the way you collected stamps.

    But now, as you well know, all I collect are "Motion" (or "Floaty") pens. They're pretty inexpensive and they don't make your whole body hurt.

    ~ "Lonesome Dogg" McMe

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  6. I always wanted to collect stamps, but never got it going. Still have it in the back of my mind as something to get my kids to do.
    But my mind seems to be all over the place. Take a look at the pictures in my post, "Collector Packrat"
    http://btdas.blogspot.com/2009/04/collector-or-packrat.html
    Thanks for bringing attention back to stamp collecting. Hmmmm... :)

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  7. Lately I've been collecting rejection letters...is that wrong? I actually print them out and file them away in a notebook.

    On a more cheery note: I was obsessed with the band Bush in college and collected every magazine article ever written about them and all kinds of other random things from video collections to imported CD's.

    Hmm..perhaps collecting rejection letters isn't so bad after all...

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  8. My dad used to collect stamps, but I never got into it like he did. I'm not quite sure what happened to the collection when he passed away.

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  9. I collected stamps as a child and I honestly don’t know why I quit – most likely I got to the age where I wanted to spend my allowance on clothes, make up and records instead of stamps.

    I still have my collection as well as a great one that belonged to my mother’s brother. Maybe I can interest my grandson in the hobby when he gets a bit older.

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  10. I collected stamps as a child but then turned my attention to collecting postmarks. I had a shoebox full of them, pasted onto a file card and I would write the town name under the postmark. Nowadays the USPS doesn't use the local town on its mark as much. I stopped collecting when I went to high school. I wished I had that shoebox now!

    ReplyDelete

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