The Lucky Few: Brick & Mortar Stamp Stores

I grew up going to an actual stamp store. I used to walk up a hill every Saturday morning. The old guy who owned the store opened up at 8am and closed at Noon for the rest of the day. I had my Scott Catalog numbers written down and purchased the stamps right off the list. He always threw in a couple of stamps for free.

I went there for years until he died and the store closed down. I miss that old guy and I miss the live experience of shopping at a stamp store. There aren't very many of the those stores out there anymore. If you find one and it stocks what you need---then consider yourself lucky. Before I moved across the country I was fortunate to find one and I didn't care if its prices were higher than the internet especially when you factor shipping and the time you have to wait before you can get a certain task complete. It's worth it to shop there if nearby.

I'm not knocking the Internet stamp supply stores they often have better prices but then again they should be since there is very little overhead. In many many instances if it weren't for the Internet one would have to travel hundreds of miles just to get to a store. Where I live I literally have to go to another State just to reach a store. Quite frankly, with a full time job, 2 kids and a marriage, I don't have the time to spare to make such a journey. Heck who does?

I get emails from people who enjoy the live experience of stamping via stamp shows or flea markets---ironically most still don't have a stamp store in their community. Please understand the point of this article is not to promote stamp stores as a super great experience you cannot live without. More times than not it has been a wonderful experience and I enjoy including it fondly in my stamp memories. But I recognize stamp stores cannot always compete well with mail order/internet stores. What you do with your money is your business so I don't judge anyone on where they purchase their stamps or supplies.

Yet if you live close by a stamp store, go check it out. The people there often have decades of experience and usually enjoy speaking about the Hobby of Kings. It's a journey worth taking.

Building Great Memories: Parent and Child

You probably heard the old adage, "be a parent to your child; not their friend. Otherwise it becomes very confusing when time for discipline." I know firsthand this statement is very true but like anything in one's life you cannot take it to the extreme. Too much parenting causes the child to shut off communication and turns your presence into a giant rule maker and not someone who listens or cares about their concerns--real or imagined. That's where stamp collecting comes into play.

As discussed previous in "fellowship" article, the parent/child relationship is strengthened in the area of trust when dealing with stamps. The child is allowed to learn from stamps by making their own decisions about what, how and where to collect. Each stamp session or lesson is another building block of fruitful memory the child carries the rest of their lives. Some of my finest memories of my father, may God rest his soul, revolve around stamp collecting. Our trips to New York stamp shows, the United Nations, pulling out the albums on unscheduled rainy days and just pouring hours into figuring out this and that about stamps and about each other. We were building great memories. My father was still my father but I felt deep down inside he figured out a way to be my friend for a few hours and that lightened the load for both of us considering our respective roles and responsibilities.

I think I got to be the grown-up by making decisions and my father got to be the kid again and sat back and enjoyed not having to direct every facet of every thing in the universe. I' m remembering what I learned then and applying it to my sons in the present day. I will never stop being a father since that role today is more critical than ever before but I will find ways to be his friend whenever possible and whenever it doesn't compromise my primary role. Stamp collecting is going to be another highly useful vehicle to communicate for all parties involved.

Another excellent stamp approach is to take the stamp collecting from the indoors of your home and bring it on the road. We went to museums (Navajo heritage), planetariums (space stamps), zoos (exotic animal stamps), stamp shows (United Nations), conventions (NYC), etc, etc. that spot-lighted the educational angle of stamps. These trips also built great memories that made stamp collecting an exciting adventure. It brought my father and I closer and suddenly made me realize how fortunate I was when other neighborhood kids complained how little they saw of their parents. Some of those kids went on to school problems, behavior problems and eventually legal problems. Neglect, in my opinion, is a form of abuse. Stay active, stay involved and your children will probably stay out of trouble. Stamps might just do the trick.