2003-05-05 - 11:00 p.m.
SPACE
Mr. Philately is a philatelist. I would say that of course Mr. Philately is a philatelist but, when I married him, there was no �of course� about it. He hid it. I married a latent philatelist. Now, however, there is no doubt. To say the man is a philatelist is an understatement.
Mr. Philately collects stamps. He collects mint stamps and cancelled stamps. He collects foreign and domestic stamps. He collects postage stamps and revenue stamps. He collects errors and freaks. The best stamps he puts in binders (which is very convenient for a man who also collects binders). Others he puts in albums or boxes. All of them eat up space in my house.
But the man does not stop at collecting stamps. No true philatelist does. He also collects covers, which is a fancy way of saying that the man loves envelopes too. He collects First Day Covers with stamps cancelled on their first day of issue. He collects postal stationary. He collects assorted cancels on the covers. The best covers he puts in binders Others he puts in albums or boxes. All of them eat up space in my house.
Nor does he stop at covers. No, he also collects publications about stamps. He has the Scott books and a stamp exhibit judging manual. He gets �Linn�s Stamp News,� �Stamp Collector,� and �Philatelic Exhibitor.� The best issues he piles next to his side of the bed. Others he piles on shelves or the back of the toilet. All of them eat up space in my house.
What, you may ask, does he do for a social life? Well, he collects stamp clubs. If it is Wednesday night chances are that he is headed off to some stamp club. On the first Wednesday it is time for the North Shore Philatelic Society meeting, on the second, the American Topical Association meeting, and on the third, it�s time for the Milwaukee Philatelic Society. The best club activities take up additional time as he helps them run shows. Others require paperwork and pamphlets, all of which eat up space in my house.
And he has branched out with the computer. In recent years, he learned to love E-bay and to occasionally check out other sites but now he is running a local stamp website. He bought the program �Front Page,� from the evil (in his mind at least) Microsoft just for the sake of his stamp obsession.
But yesterday he got an e-mail that signals the beginning of going too far. He got a offer to exchange website links about stamp shows. The Minnesotans contacted him asking if he would list their show in exchange for a listing of his shows on their site. I should have treated them as I treat the spammers who try to scam me out of money for some Nigerian. And I would have too except that the Minnesotans offered an impeccable reference: the philatelists from Winnepeg.
How could I not accept Minnesotans backed by the Canadians from Winnepeg? (What are those from Winnepeg called, anyway? Winnepegians? Winnepegites?) And how could they know that I would have a soft spot for Winnepeg? How could they know that my father graduated from the University of Manitoba leaving me with the feeling that good things come from Winnepeg?
Still, this development is a problem. I have visions of Mr. Philately traipsing far and wide over the �net in search of links to exchange. The best links will require more computer time for him. Others will require hard drive space.
And worst of all, they will turn Mr. Philately himself into someone who just eats up space in my house.
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Copyright 2006 by Ellen |
