As a nerdy kid, about 11 or 12 years of age, I spent many of my Saturdays at the stamp store going through the penny, nickel and dime stamp selections. The owner of the store recognized me as a frequent visitor and greeted me with his usual head nod. I was a kid and he was busy helping an older lady. There were a few other "old" people in the store. They were busy looking at material way beyond my 50 cent allowance.
I went straight to the large carton of penny stamps and was soon absorbed in searching for treasures. I was completely oblivious to what was going on around me. My hunt for undiscovered treasures continued uninterrupted until I noticed the background conversation in the store had stopped. I looked around, my eyes focused on the owner of the store and the older lady. She was holding a tattered collection of stock pages.
I overheard the owner state, "I am sorry, I have no interest in purchasing those stamps but the rest of your husband's material is of interest" The older lady asked, "What should I do with this then? Is there anyone here who might be interested in these stamps?" Of course, the other advanced collectors shook their heads and returned to their research, I had already buried my head in the penny box and continued my search.
Suddenly, to my utter surprise and horror, I was hugged by the old lady, a stranger to me. She placed the tattered collection of old stock sheets in my hands and said they were part of her husband's collection.
I was speechless, here were stamps that a young collector only dreamed of possessing (a penny red, stamps from the Australian states and exotic colonies of British Africa). Of course, they were all common stamps with little value but they were treasures to an 11 or 12 year old collector. I stammered my heartfelt thanks for the unexpected gift all while trying to escape from the hug of an old lady who was not my grandmother. You know the reaction a young tween boy has to public displays of affection, let alone one from a strange old lady in front of all the "old" collectors. I will never forget that day, I still have many of those same stamps in my collection today.
Comments