You may remember that on my last trip to Mexico I gave Alejandro's nephew Ezra my stamp collection and that I bought him some more stamps for him to add to the collection. This summer I received an advertisement in the mail from one of the stamp companies from which I had made a purchase. They were offering "absolutely free" to their customers a selection of stamps from North Korea. It is the first time in more than fifty years that stamps from that oppressive, authoritarian regime have been allowed in the U.S. It seemed strange that the company was offering the stamps for free, but I signed up for them.
A couple weeks ago I received the package, and I was upset when I saw a bill inside. Then I realized that there were two packets of stamps... one was the free offer, the other a packet of stamps on approval for purchase. The free stamps were a way to get me into their program of constantly receiving stamps on approval. I put those stamps in the envelope provided, wrote on the envelope to cancel all future shipments, and sent them back.
Anyway, Ezra will now have some North Korean stamps for his collection. The stamps are quite pretty, and belie the reality of a closed society under a brutal dictatorship that is often referred to as 'the hermit kingdom".
Fascinating! My brother was an avid stamp collector all 70 years of his life! It brought him such enjoyment. I have often wondered what happened to that collection!
ReplyDeleteI would never even think of North Korea for stamps! Amazing. Ezra is a lucky boy to have you bringing him such a gift.
Ezra seemed to enjoy working on the stamps when I was there in April, but I don't think he has done anything with the collection since then. Maybe it will be something that he only does when I am visiting.
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