Haiti...what do we really know?

Haiti....the most vivid images of a lifetime pushing 61 years is the earthquake of a few years ago.  The utter devastation poured on the heads and lives of a people, a country already reputed to be the poorest in the western world.  Do I have my facts right?   I remember Haiti and the very early years of AIDS/HIV linked in some conversations.  Am I making that up?

So I have this lovely collection of 5 stamps..each depicting this dude.  Each has the original value of the stamp blacked out...(white out's cousin..black out) and reprinted with a new value.  All the black outs are black except one which is red.  Of course, I want to hear that a bazillion of these stamps had black out and the red out ( a very distant cousin of white out and black out) only was used on like, 5 stamps.....hence the stamps in fine to excellent condition are extremely valuable in the collector's market.  I like to fantasize....fantasy football, fantasy baseball, fantasy sex, but I digress.   So my quest for today is to do some research....

Jean-Jacques Dessalines (Haitian Creole: Janjak Desalin) (20 September 1758 – 17 October 1806) was a leader of the Haitian Revolution and the first ruler of an independent Haiti under the 1801 constitution. Initially regarded as Governor-General, Dessalines later named himself Emperor Jacques I of Haiti (1804–1806). He is regarded as a founding father of Haiti.^[1]

Dessalines served as an officer in the French army when the colony was trying to withstand Spanish and British incursions. Later he rose to become a commander in the revolt against France. As Toussaint Louverture's principal lieutenant, he led many successful engagements, including the Battle of Crête-à-Pierrot.

After the betrayal and capture of Toussaint Louverture in 1802, Dessalines became the leader of the revolution. He defeated Napoleon's forces at the Battle of Vertières in 1803. Declaring Haiti an independent nation in 1804, Dessalines was chosen by a council of generals to assume the office of Governor-General. In September 1804, he proclaimed himself Emperor and ruled in that capacity until being assassinated in 1806.^{[2]  (Thank you to Wikipedia for this information)}

^{Assassinated.....I am sure there is so much more to learn and understand there, but I will leave that to the historians.  The stamp itself remains a mystery to me.}

HATE....KILLING ....VIOLENCE AND TERROR IN BOSTON

                                                                                           Hate.  Killing. Violence. Terror in Boston.  I thought for a long time what stamp I could use...and without going through every stamp I own, I settled on Hitler. Certainly he epitomizes the hate that still permeates our world.   

My hometown was rocked this week by terrorism and random killing.  Yes, it was a.radical Muslims, but that disturbs me only at the same leveI that I am disturbed  by the Sandy Hook killer, the Aurora killer, the Columbine kids and on and on.  Hate is hate...whether driven by mental illness, religious ideation, or political motive.  I hold no animosity to the gigantic number of peace loving Muslim men and women in this world.  I will not go there.  Evil and hate did this but it is duly noted that this particular event of  evil and hate doing their hateful thing was perpetrated by the radical Muslim element.  Again.....and again.

I hate that this is our world..i hate that so many people hate and want to kill us.  Yet this great country allows them here and supports them....the price we pay for the life we live. I thought I was OK now, a week later.  I am not...not even close.  I opened Boston.com at work yesterday and nearly burst into tears at the picture of Martin, the 8 year old.  The Medford woman was buried two days ago and I felt pain like my own daughter was killed.  I hate all this, and I do not use that word lightly, because I espouse never using the word, but there it is.  

The MIT cop my son.....and the Chinese student my adopted international exchange student.

For what?   For hate.  

Law enforcement...heroes beyond definition.  The Watertown cops playing large on the international stage.  I long have had Watertown connections in my life...and all solid A people.  No surprise that community stood tall.   The bombing first responders....amazing courage, strength and resolve.  

I just finished reading the Commission investigation of 9/11.  No secrets that the FBI dropped major balls on that.....could have been prevented.   Now this story, they had bomber #2 in their sites and let it slide.  Unacceptable.  We drug screen people for MARIJUANA? for simple jobs, we force random drug checks for our athletes.   Are you telling me we have a terrorist in our sites and he doesn't get random computer checks?  If we are paying attention, then we know who this guy is before publishing the photos. We know where this guy is living and we nab him before a young police officer is assassinated and another law enforcement officer is hurt badly. We vetted this guy and with the pictures in hand, the FBI couldn't identify him.    Seriously.  We really have no chance if that is the ultimate result of our best efforts. This element of the story will be investigated, righteous media will do its thing, and then, like the pre 9/11 screw-ups, all will be forgotten.  And nothing will change and someday, we get hit again.  We have to be better.  

As for the stamp?  In this case, who gives a shit.  It is Hitler.  He was evil.  There are a million stamps of him in every color and denomination.  As soon as i find a more appropriate stamp to respresent hate and evil, he goes.  Like the rest, who wants to be reminded of them and their kind.

Anxiety is written all over this stamp....

 So I come across this stamp while perusing my collection and i could feel anxiety as soon as i saw it.   I have to confess to never being an avid skier.....too cold, too expensive.  I have had my moments, on the slopes and trails, but for the most part, those moments were forgettable, save for some cross-country excursions back in the day.

I have taken a tram like this on Mt. Mansfield in VT and Squaw Valley in Cali.  Neither time was I skiing.  Neither time did i really enjoy the experience.  I wasn't out of my mind uncomfortable, but in the end, what is the point?
Putting myself in uncomfortable moments never my forte.  Roller coasters...did that once.  Flying is more or less fine, because in the end, the destination rules.  Now if I ever have a truly horrible flight, all bets are off.  Can you imagine being stranded way up a mountain in one of these things....no explanation, no movement...only thing worse would be sitting in an open chairlift freezing yourself to death while you scare yourself to death

Anxiety comes in many flavors and can be very debilitating.  In some ways, it is all around my life.  Medication helps some, but certainly don't want to be tethered to meds.  How bout the anxiety of your kid driving away anytime in their early days and months of driving.  Just classic anxiety.   I have never been a big cruise guy, and the recent stories of a wandering vessel for days without proper food and sanitation....that would put me right over the edge probably of the boat itself.  Kids sick deep into the night......i could go on and on.

Stamps work as an antidote for anxiety.  This stamp shown above is a 1995 stamp from Romania. Poiana Brasov is the largest ski resort in Romania.  I certainly am a betting man when it comes to the roulette wheel....but I will go out on a limb.  Nice as it might be, I will surely never visit Poiana Brasov and right that tram.

Women---now there is a subject that will take forever to write about

Sometimes,it is just about the color...plus what is with capricorn head?

Sometimes, it is just about the color, and sometimes it is about the message and sometimes both.  I guess the mystery here is on two levels....what is EXPO 74?  World's Fair in Montreal maybe?  Second mystery is why did we make a pretty stamp and pretty much do nothing with the message of conserve the environment?  Easy art vs hard, committed work.   But seriously, what is up with the stamp below from Magya Posta?  Very colorful indeed including the convenient carry around head.  The dude with the ram or capricorn horns on his head is looking fierce.  Probably a simple explanation like it was Halloween in Magya Posta right?  We can't be the only country where grown adults and children dress in costume, go to haunted castles where people pretend or actually do kill and maim people, and send out children door to door seeking candy and to make acquaintance with the local pedophile   Must be that...must be Halloween in Magya Posta.

Another favorite chase....so "Who's this dude?"

  Here we go again....on my favorite chase back into history when real people, people like you and  
me worked, farmed, had sex, but how they survived without HDTV and a good laptop, I will never understand.  Just tough hombres.

Mariano (not Rivera--greatest closer ever, but I digress, Mariana Matamoros.  Lived to the great of double fours...44 (always a good number for you dice game APBA geeks like me).   1979-1814.

Inevitably or so it seems, all these stamp dudes were some level of hero/soldier.   This gent was ordained a Roman Catholic priest back in the day but eventually took sympathy for those fighting for Mexican's independence from Spain.   He rose up the military ranks and fought till he couldn't........captured and killed.  He is a hero in Mexico with monuments and even towns named after him.....just another who knew.   All this info was easy to find because the stamp identified the guy... a research short cut for today, points deducted.

The stamp is another search and an easy one.  This is a 1971 $2 airmail stamp created by Diego Rivera.  I have this great fictional  intelligence source  that tells me this Diego Rivera artist is a cousin to the great baseball artist, Mariana Rivera.

Think about it.  This Mariana Matamoros fought the good fight and died so these two Rivera dudes could live to paint the corners....one with paint and ink, the other with a cutter.

Do I see a 3 days at the Delano coming from this sheet of stamps?

    I have been hot on this stamp for days now, even sending it to my stamp guys...no response.  It is a 1968 Helvetia stamp (Switzerland) depicting the St Mauritius Cathedral in village of Appenzell.  More info on that to follow.

The sheet is mint, perfect condition and seems to possibly have a flaw.  The cathedral is inverted in four of the eight columns.  Was this intentional and normal in the printing of this sheet?

I am not finding much on this stamp finding only a few used singles for sale or perhaps a new stamp as part of a collection of stamps from similar design and celebration.     

The first sheet shows the serial number for the

sheet printing.  I may be crazy but I am going to keep chasing this stamp for more information.  I can seea stamp collector over in Switzerland looking for just this piece.       

                                           
UPDATE. 4/7/13----So I went to my local stamp show today and showed this to a gent who is reputed to be very knowledgeable about Swiss stamps...and no, apparently this stamp is not taking me to the Delano....might not even take me to the bathroom......but hey, he could be wrong, right?                          

Just another chapter of "Who's this dude?

UPDATE2:  Bacho Kiro, nickname for Kito Petrov Zanev.   This is a good guy! To make a long life short in words, he joined a Monastery and then worked as a teacher in various villages in his country from 1857 to 1876.  He walked streets and paths on foot preaching armed resistance against the brutality of the Ottoman empire.  He was front and center in the April uprising in 1876.  Later betrayed, he was captured and hung.

You go history...teach us.

The stamp itself is Bulgarian, 1985 stamp, I think.  The dates gave me confused.....unless celebrating the 150th of this good guy/good dude.  What an honor!
The stamp is in good condition, albeit used.  You can see the faint outline of a circular cancel.

Research and some time will hopefully yield the answer.  It is a fairly recent stamp...certainly no later than 1985. .  Nice mustache, slicked back hair, steely eyes.
One of the biggest challenges in researching these stamps is to figure out the country of origin.  Looking at this, I have no clue   The Lady of the House is very adept at research discovering a recent entry, the terror of Mongolia....was a 1945 stamp from Mongolia.   I will be seeking her help on this one.

UPDATEL:  still no luck....though a dear friend did suggest he looks like a young (obviously) George Harrison.  Identifying the language is a key and Gail is chasing a stamp web site that has a language identifier.  More time is all we need to identify the language....after that, still another chase.

Khorloogiin Choibalsan--the Terror of Mongolia

I love this stamp, and of course have no clue who this dude is.  He certainly looks important what with all those medals, shoulder pads.  Now, the easy route would be to go all prejudicial and assume he is a decorated killer of humans in yet, another war, perhaps with even the good ole USA as the fighting partner.  But, I am not going in that direction....not my style.  I say he is a humanitarian.  I am guessing this dude did remarkable work caring for the sick and indigent in his country, maybe set up the first child workplace daycare.  That is what I am thinking on this one.

Update:

As Johnny Carson would say to Ed McMahon, "not so fast, bozo breath."  With the help of the Lady in the house, the truth has been found....Khorloogin Choibalsan on a 1945 stamp from Mongolia.  This dude was very bad, very very bad.  Head of state and military when he came close to eradicating the Buddhist population of Mongolia... and that is the very short story.  While born in Mongolia, he schooled in Russia, and was mentored by Stalin.  On it goes, death after death. Annialation after annihilation  Just another damn stamp telling an awesome,  if sickening, story.  You go history.  Teach us.

For the record, this stamp in this condition is a collectible worth about $30 American dollars.  Love to play it in an auction. Love the subtle color and shading. Love the history.

Sometimes, it is just about the color--Portugese edition

This is by far, not the most colorful collection of stamps I own, but this little set has a lot going for it.  The color collection is subtle but very noticeable.   Working the Les Brown collection as it found its way into and through my life, I found many versions of this stamp, many different colors, and I took a strong liking to it.

The stamp itself is a Portugese issue, 1953.  The Medieval Knight complete set consists of fifteen stamps, only 7 of which are shown here.  The complete set has minimal, but some collectible value.

I have a few fantasies in my brain, but none involve riding one-handed very fast on a horse wearing body armor and waving a sword in aggression/ self defense. Kill or be killed.  What were they fighting for?  Land and to be the conqueror?   They had to be scared right?  I cannot fathom in the deepest ridges of my rather inept brain what it must have been like to live and die in those times, and they didn't even have the internet either.  Yikes.   War, what is it good for?  Absolutely nothing.  

Baseball, the true harbinger to spring

                                                                                         

 So, snowing stupid here today in Whitewood town....no school even for us office supply clerks, so it must be a bad storm. 

 Under normal circumstances, I have always been hands off when it comes to the weather. It is what it is.  There are two exceptions.  When I was bossman of assisted living, and my buildings had to run and be staffed 24/7 and snow created trauma for single mothers and everyone else.  So much sacrifice by so many...but I covered that in an article in Retirement Community News back around 1995.  Very few storms in 20 years did I take off....sometimes having to sleep on site.  The April 1 storm of 1997 is a blog in and of itself.  The other time weather matters is if I am on vacation.  Working 49 or 50 weeks a year, raising a family, the weeks on the beach every summer were solid gold.  Just don't ask Bradley.  If one year the weather sucked, the realization that another year of everything had to happen just to get back to that place was a depressing  disheartening thought.   Weather pressure.  Now, I travel once or twice a year, and the thought of spending that time and money and having marginal or worse weather....well, the stuff of personal nightmares and  suicidal ideation. 

Which brings me to Lou Gherig and Wally Pipp.  I love the Wally Pipp story and brought it to life at work recently when I went on the disabled list for a week.    The valuable supersub, Ms R replaced me.  I was quite sure I was going to be Wally Pipped.   Probably would have been except the aforementioned relief specialist doesn't want to go to work everyday....having too much fun in retirement.  I am almost there.  Can't wait.

Which brings me to baseball.   Opening Day is only some 22 days away.  It almost never snows on opening day and the weather, while chilly, and certainly too baseball-chilly for me, is usually reasonable.  I have to remind myself of that as the heat cranks and the world is white outside. (Imagine if snow were black or yellow--how awesome would that be?  or if it changed colors each season or storm?---that leads me to a larger philosophical question..wouldn't a more whimsical God make that happen?  My religious friend(s) hates that I ask such questions.  Just thinking like that makes me a bad person according to some. Maybe I am, maybe I am not.   I understand the gun control thing is hard to fix from above, but making snow neon pink or amber rose or some other color to entertain us sinning masses, that should be fun and an easy do...wouldn't you say? Scientists would have a field day too. They would be all in a tizzy doing studies and criticizing each other.

Turning water into wine has its merits, I guess, but if there is no food on the table, does it really matter?
Way too many people have no food.  Even a ballpark hot dog tastes good if you are really, really hungry....but I digress.

Baseball...the ebb and the flow.  Certainly it is not a Red Sox thing.  I could be as happy on a hot summer night sitting in Philadelphia, or New York or San Francisco just watching a game.  I have been to Chavez, the new park in SF, the old and new Yankee stadiums, Shea (for regular, world series and football Playoff game) Philly, Baltimore Camden Yards (rain out and an ugly blog waiting there), Pawtucket, Portland and Orleans and Chatham on the Cape.   Just last night, planning this year's excursion to Washington with my son to take in a Nats game and to have dinner at Ricciuti's....a family (real family to me), exquisite fine dining Italian restaurant.  Baseball and outstanding food, family I see not often enough............that sounds like the real deal for me.  It freakn' better not rain or I'll be pissed.

The stamps above, general issue by the US Postage Service.  You can have them both for 33 cents.  They are mint, original gum, never hinged yada yada.  Hard not to respect a stamp honoring the great game of baseball, whose opening day is the true Harbinger of spring.

Why is there a $1 overprint on this Russian occupied Finnish stamp?

  I guess in that end of the planet, Russia was occupying everybody at one point or another.  In this case, it was the good people of Finland who were occupied.  Throughout the course of this blog, I will be doing some research as to why and when that happened. Good chance this is a 1917 stamp from that period.  The similar stamps to this that I do see are imperforated....this one not so, yet another reason why I think it is fake.

Why the 1 dollar overprint?  What could that mean?  My first guess is always a fake/forgery of some kind, but who knows?  I have found the particular stamp on delkampe.net and even ebay but of course, without the overprint and without the perforations.   It is the overprint which makes it unique and special, if it is in fact unique or special  The color is great, the margins excellent, the perforations neat...a very good stamp.  Of note, I have a full collection of overprinted stamps that would take the rest of my lifetime to research one by one, all with their unique history and likely speaking to more occupations/

Specific to the occupation of Finand by Russia, I copy this from Wiki.  The policy of Russification of Finland (1899–1905 and 1908–1917, called sortokaudet/sortovuodet(times/years of oppression) in Finnish and förtrycksperioderna in Swedish) was a governmental policy of theRussian Empire aimed at limiting the special status of the Grand Duchy of Finland and possibly the termination of its political autonomy and cultural uniqueness. It was a part of a larger policy of Russification pursued by late 19th–early 20th century Russian governments which tried to abolish cultural and administrative autonomy of non-Russian minorities within the empire. The two Russification campaigns evoked widespread Finnish resistance, starting with petitions and escalating to strikes, passive resistance (including draft resistance) and eventually active resistance. Finnish resistance to Russification was one of the main factors that ultimately led to Finland's declaration of independence in 1917.

So much history, so much to know and understand.  It seems most every stamp leads to a story about conflict and occupation, and war, and freedom.   Why is it that so many people in our country live in a bubble, thinking the world started around 1776 if not 1960?  Why is it that much of the great history of the people of other countries gets minimized by the chest thumping USA populace?  Why are we so insecure as a people such that we have to discount history and the accomplishments of people who lived under far adverse situations, yet made do, made love, made family, and made war and somehow came out the other side?  Why is there a $1 imprint on this stamp?   And why is it not a one of a kind rarity that would sell for $100,000 at auction?  Too many questions and not enough answers.

1980 China monkey...a legitimate collectible

This is a 1980 stamp from China...depicting the year of the Monkey.   The Chinese Golden Monkey Stamp or Gēngshēn Monkey is a postage stamp issued in China in 1980 of which 5 million copies were printed and which therefore cannot be regarded as rare but which has come to symbolize the strong market for collectible postage stamps in Asia. Demand for the stamp has made it one of the most sought after contemporary Chinese stamps. (Wikipedia)  

I read a story in my research, that a postal worker was forced to spend 3 mos. salary to by a dozen unused sheets of this stamp by the kind folk in Chinese government back in 1980.   He just sold one such sheet for $1,200,000.   How about that!  

This is a stamp that has been forged often.  There are some very good comparison pictures online.  For my money, this stamp is original., but unfortunately, used and not in outstanding shape.  Still to a collector, or better yet, to a speculator, this stamp has some real value....

Monkeys....the original collection that came my was was called the Drunk'n Monkey collection belonging to Les Brown.  I still hold many pages of monkey stamps from all over the world, holding on to those pages and some others while most everything else went to auction.  

According to Chinese lore, the number 8 and the color red are both good luck/good fortune symbols.  On the day I post this particular stamp, I visited my accountant to deal specifically with the proceeds of the past year's  auction.....and for me, the news was all good.    I see the connection.   I am in.  My new favorite number is 8, and my new favorite color, red.  i am taking bid now on this stamp at dcalsrandomcollection-stamps@blogspot.com.

UPDATE: Today I was checking my favorite auction site and they had about six of the stamps, albeit new and in excellent condition.  They were expected to bring $10-15,000 each.  I love this stamp.

Canada Christmas stamp....1898

                                                                                                        

   1898.   Think about that.  That is 115 years ago and parts of two centuries ago.  This little piece of art survived all those years in someone's collection, someone's box under the bed and now resides in my random collection.  This particular stamp, and the picture does it no justice because I have not worked hard enough on the photography element of this project, is in great shape....  mint, as they say, original gum (sounds impressive, right?), clean perforations and clear, even margins.  I actually own two of these stamps.  The shading on the photo is from the photographer..the stamp pristine in its color and condition.

What surprises me is the writing below.  "We hold a vaster empire than has ever been."  Really?  Has that been substantiated?  Canada ruled the world in 1898?  Can that be true?   Personally, I think not.  And I am right.  As described further below, Canada was actually part of the British empire in 1998 and the map is that of the British rule around the world.   Why is it forever that man, women and their homelands have this continued need to take over the world?

My memories of Canada relate to hockey.  Who doesn't know that Bobby Orr was raised in Parry Sound?   I twice have traveled to Montreal.  The first time as young teenager, after my father died.  I went with my cousin Bob and Uncle John and Uncle Wes.   For the older guys, drinking in bars then to the Bruins game.  Bob and I would walk the city, me with more stamina and interest than he.  Even then I loved walking city streets in and out of places that I didn't belong.   I remember buying a great winter hat, my favorite for years before leaving it on the top of my decrepit red Datsun before leaving for Maine....never seen again.  White with a red maple leaf...just a classic hat gone forever.  

Most recent trip was a few years ago....cousin Len joined later by Charlie.   We pretended to be my old uncles.....finding ourselves walking the streets, bar hopping, restaurant discovering.   No hockey games, but grand moments of friendship and love on a cold. snow flurrying April weekend of 2007.   

The first Stamp issued by a colony of the British Empire without the cameo of the British family.   In 1898, after substantial lobbying, and increasing pressure in the UK as well as in the colonies, Great Britain introduced a One Penny (two cent) postal rate both at home and abroad, for all letters transmitted through the British Empire. To commemorate this event, Canada's then Postmaster General, Sir William Mulock, introduced the first postage stamp to appear without the cameo of one of the Royal Family. The image chosen for the stamp was the Map of the World, depicting the countries comprising the British Empire in red.  (compliments of mapstamp.org)

This particular stamp is all over ebay....and in mint condition like the above, it could fetch $25-50 at a good auction.

So, who is this dude? (dudette?)

  This face adorns numerous stamps that came through my life.  This one, however, is unique in its color and the fact that it is a trio connected.  They are use and cancelled, and I know enough to know this stamp is from the great country of France.  

Marianne is a national emblem of France and an allegory of Liberty and Reason.

Marianne is displayed in many places in France and holds a place of honor in town halls and law courts. She symbolizes the "Triumph of the Republic", a bronze sculpture overlooking the Place de la Nation in Paris. Her profile stands out on the official seal of the country, is engraved on French euro coins and appears on French postage stamps; it also was featured on the former franc currency. Marianne is one of the most prominent symbols of the French Republic.   (kudos to google, wikipedia and numerous stamp sites for the above information)

There is a lot of history regarding marianne and her symbolic place in the history of France.  I will let you, the loyal readers of dcalsrandomcollection to take it further.

I would like to visit France, enjoy coffee and crepe in a side-street cafe...and a full day walking the streets of the city, before taking off to some seaside villa where I could get lost among the people.  France does not enjoy the best of reputations for a number of reasons, but it always has felt like a romantic place with idyllic countryside and luxurious coastal resorts......sounds like my kind of place.

New Zealand Postage and Revenue

This is another in a series of stamps in my collection that I set aside.  The condition of these stamps is excellent/mint.  The fact that it is a pair increases any inherent or collectible value.  However, what is that inherent value.

Just another stamp, apparently.  Looks to be a 1935 edition 9d value.  There are a number showing online with an overprint that says official.  That seems to be of more value.  This pair here might be worth ten or twenty dollars to a collector, based mostly on the pairing and excellent condition.
Not much else to say here....vibrant color combination of red-orange/black, perfectly centered, clean and defined margins....a worthwhile, collectible stamp.

Who ever heard of the Liberty Pole?

So, what is the Liberty Pole?   How did I miss this in a series of social studies/history courses from 1st grade to graduate school?  I must have taken a personal day on the day the Liberty Pole was discussed.   Of course, no surprise that violence is depicted in a stamp honoring the good ole' USA.  Admittedly, we were at war with England, and last I checked, violence against humanity is part of the war thing.  The liberty pole itself in this stamp is hard to distinguish, but it is clearly shadowed in the background.

 A Liberty pole is a tall wooden pole, often used as a type of flagstaff, planted in the ground, which may be surmounted by an ensign or a liberty cap 

A liberty pole was often erected in town squares in the years before and during the American Revolution (Newport, RI, Concord MA, Savannah, GA, New York City, NY, Caughnawaga, NY). An often violent struggle over Liberty Poles erected by the Sons of Liberty in New York City (relating to the Battle of Golden Hill) and periodically destroyed by British authorities (only to be replaced by the Sons with new poles) raged for 10 years: from the repeal of the Stamp Act in 1766 until the occupation of the city by British troops after the Battle of Long Island in 1776.[1] The liberty pole in New York City was crowned with a gilt vane bearing the single word, "Liberty".

When an ensign was raised (usually red) on a Liberty Pole, it would be a calling for the Sons of Liberty or townspeople to meet and vent or express their views regarding British rule. The pole was known to be a symbol of dissent against Great Britain. The symbol is also apparent in many seals and coat of arms as a sign of liberty, freedom, and independence.

During the Whiskey Rebellion, locals in western Pennsylvania would erect poles along the roads or in town centers as a protest against the federal government's tax on distilled spirits, and evoking the spirit embodied by the Liberty Poles of decades earlier.

(compliments to google and wikipedia for the info above)

So here we have then is a stamp from Grenada, probably 1976 edition celebrating 200 year anniversary of American Revolution. So be it. I never heard of Grenada until 1983 when on my honeymoon, I was staying in a downtown Washington DC hotel during the US invasion of Grenada. There was a tenseness in the city, helicopters flying about. Gail and I were watching this unfold on television between what I assume were honeymoon moments, not that I specifically remember.

So further research indicates we invaded Grenada in response to a military coup that overthrew the government, that apparently, (ahem), we, the good ole' US of A thought they should have. Just doing the USA thing. The invasion was not well received around the world, but what else is new?  Invasions of any kind often do bring about that level of response.

Wool, longstanding greatness in the material game...

This stamp has long intrigued me, and while I will  do a halfhearted chase, I am very sure I will not be able to identify it.   The wool logo on the bottom left makes it even more suspicious to me.  RSA??  15.  There is a name on bottom left that may be the only real clue.  The cancel is serious, but not identifiable by me.  I am fairly certain I am looking at a lamb here.

Lambs as we know are young sheep which we know produce wool, which for my money is one great fabric or material.  I have always been able to count on it to keep me as warm and dry as possible in the most adverse circumstances that I have found myself, which admittedly, aren't the harshest experiences.  However, in my 'ute, I slept in a snowbank or two, and certainly squeezed into a tent with  a combination of characters with the temperature sliding fast to below zero.  I am sure I was in a down sleeping bag, but I am equally sure I had wool pants, shirts and hat, either on or in my backpack.  Some of my favorite business suits that I have owned have been 100% wool, light enough to wear in summer and serious enough to wear in winter.   Versatility in the fabric game....as valuable there as in life itself.  Wool socks.... a fixture forever, and a count-on-it Christmas present.   One of my great visuals of my father, from long, long ago, that I have been able to hold onto was him in his red and black wool jacket with a blue wool hat and a happy man smile. Great memory visual there.

Now, I am sure there is a whole generation of newer, better, faster, lighter, warmer, sexier and less scratchy hybrid combinations of winter warmth greatness right at the click of a mouse, and I am not against any of that.  However, as I lie on the couch writing, it is my favorite wool shirt that is keeping me warm.    In fact, I wouldn't even need it so much as today is winter warm, except for SOMEBODY (think the e-trade baby's voice) failed to secure the front door when bringing the groceries in from the car.  But I digress, again.

Update:   Much to my surprise, this stamp was easy to identify.  1972 from the Republic of South Africa.  There was a set of two which was identified as wool industry lamb and sheep.  It was an odd pairing as the sheep looked almost like a photograph and this lamb, anything but that.  While a curious stamp, it has negligible monetary value or collector value.

So, who is this dude, chapter 3

This is obviously a Bulgarian stamp of a gentleman who lived among us for 58 years.  The stamp has a vivid piece of cancellation on the lower left corner and is worth 8.  However, the question remains, who is this dude?    I can find nothing on  he name, which in and of itself is confusing, Bakus Anpuao6.  Is that even a name?

I guess this is the day to post stamps that are unidentifiable to me.  Her is another dude.  Notice the dates of 1835 to 1985.   Call me naive, but I don't think this guy lived to be 150 years old.  So, in my morning collection of mystery dudes and stamps, this mustache guy is my second.

And a third.....this gent seemed to live here in the 20th centrury from 1935-1967.  Do you suppose he died of a heart attack when Petrocelli caught the pop up to end the '67 season catapulting the "Cardiac kids" to the 1967 World Series with St.Louis?   The same '67 World Series when my mother took care of Red Sox pitcher Dave Morehead's new baby when he and his wife had to travel to St. Louis?   Probably not.

While foreign stamps can be very, very interesting, they can be also be very, very frustrating to learn the etiology...and of all the things said about me in 60 years, I am quite sure nobody referred to me as a great researcher or foreign language stamps.   I am guessing that these stamps will remain a mystery to me forever.  However, a belated kudo to each of these dudes for earning their place in history.

Communication--not enough? too much?

So going in, I am quite confident in saying this stamp is not a classic and has absolutely zero value.  

(15 minutes later)   Of course I would find some education and did.  1976 stamp from Sweden depicting a 1929 Ericsson DBH 1001  a phone designed by a Norwegion designer named Jean Heiberg.  (thanks here to wellcentred.wordpress.com---interesting bilingual site, English and what looks like a SE Asian country.)  Why Sweden was issuing a line of stamps depicting a retro telephone will remain a mystery to me for now, and likely forever.  I haven't the time for that one.  An earlier telephone receiver is depicted on top, and the frame of the stamp is an electric circuit.  It is worth 130 of the postal currency of Sweden.  I would let it go for $1,400 american currency.....kidding, not a dime less than $2000.

"Failure to communicate" has been  everyone's favorite bitch statement for a long time.  We could delve into communication issues as they apply to marriage or similar partnerships, but why would we do that?

What does it mean to be a great communicator?  What does that even look like?  Ronald Reagon was purported to be a great communicator.  He was a B-grade actor who, come to find out, presided over this country while his last years in office coincided with the early years of Alzheimer's disease....not that there is anything wrong with that.  The way I see it, we are all in early stages of dementia....to one degree or another.  Remind me to research the details of the arms for hostages communications...see what techniques of listening, cajoling and strong arming were used for their communication benefits...nevermind that it has to be a very compelling historical read.

Communication can't be just about volume of words.  Who among us has not wanted to stuff a sock into the mouth of someone who was just annoyingly chattering you to death?   How about the obnoxious, drunk screamer, sitting behind you on a warm, sultry night in the center field bleachers at Fenway Park?  Ever try to communicate with one of those folks?  Not happening without a confrontation.

You have to be an assertive communicator said one.  (actually, I like that one.)  You have to be a good listener, said another.  You have to reflect back on what you are hearing to be sure you are hearing exactly what they meant to say, said yet, a third.   Sounds exhausting to me.   When I was studying (and I use that word rather loosely) in college, I defaulted often to "reality therapy" as a way of communicating.   I said something to the tune of "STFU, stop complaining and do something about it" to someone in a counseling class. Carl Rogers I was not.  Because it was a class, it was privileged communication.  If I said the same thing to her at Friday night party, I would probably get my ass kicked.   4 months later, this same woman stopped me on campus and told me I changed her life with what I said to her. "Nobody has ever been that honest with me," she said.   I learned  then the power of words and communication and hard honesty.  Scary stuff, actually.

What I can't figure out is why the same technique does not work around my house?  Probably because i am a lousy communicator.  Really probably because I won't often or willingly go there....too scary even for me.

That being said, the telephone must have felt like a top ten invention when that hit the streets. People could talk to each other without saddling the horse or something.  How many years before someone said, " I am going to kill the next telemarketer who calls this phone."  Do you  remember answering telephones because it was ringing?  before caller ID?  Before just being able to shut your phone off or plain, just feel empowered enough to ignore the call?  Someone should invent a handheld phone......now whoever accomplishes that will make a few bucks.



   

Not my favorite Lincolns.....

These stamps are on target for further research.  They are both mint condition.  That is the thing about stamps...variations.   There are many, many variations of Lincolns and Washingtons and Frankins.....some very valuable and some a little valuable and some not at all.  I can rarely tell the difference for sure.  I am just not that smart.  These stamps have nice borders and are very well centered, and the color is very good if not so evident with this photograph.  1923 issue?   Makes them about a 90 year old stamps.  Maybe worth a few bucks to someone.

My favorite Lincoln is my black Lincoln, but I will show that at a later time.

Between stamps, currency, movies, books.....ol' Abe is not going to ever be forgotten....nor should he be.  All he did was free the slaves and change the course of this country for the better forever.....that's all.  FTW.

Cars, it all started with a Toyota Corona

So, there are only a bazillion or so stamps out there with a picture of a car.   Why did I choose this one?  I love taxis....I love riding in taxis.  I love yellow NYC taxis... and this stamp has some nice taxi yellow color going on plus the contrast orange to yellow.... I like the stamp.    And it is a car.   And it is an Indonesian stamp and I do like to illustrate diversity in my stamps.  The stamp itself is certainly no relic.  My initial attempts at research found nothing of note.




So many directions my mind and fingers want to take me...but those stories and updates are for later.  However, I will say this.  Having to stay home and rest and recuperate.....not such a bad thing.  Books, computers, videos, stamps....I am not feeling so well.   I think I need more time to rest and recuperate.

Lets see....got my license in a classic white Dodge Dart with red interior.....circa early 60s.  Went to the high school prom in a green Ford Torino.  My first car that my brother bought me for $600 (quite possibly making this up) was a Toyota Corona....an early version of the Corolla.   Great car.  I survived a middle of the night 360 spin on a snowy, stormy night on 495 on a  middle of the night drive back to Westfield after playing hockey in Tingsboro.  Goldie riding shotgun.   I had no business surviving that night, but angels are always a best friend....in this case road angels as opposed to airplane or other angels.  Angels just plain do good things and are worthy of a long conversation...but I digress.  Ah...the stupid, dangerous things we do when we are young and braindead.  Then and now, a warm roadside hotel had far more upside and possibility than dying cold on the highway.....

The red Nissan with the flying hood on New Years Day, and the same car delivering no heat rides to Maine....yikes, I remember how cold that ride was.  Blue Dodge Dart with the smashed fender and leaking oil.  The yellow pick up...very cool and the blue, shift on the column, Buick?

My first new car...the green Fiat.  I actually have an Italian stamp that looks like that Fiat 128 only mine was light piss green.  That car would amputate your foot if not careful getting into the back seat when front seat went down.  Great car till it caught on fire.   Hey, fire happens, right?

Let see Gail's F128 Nissan----horrible car and I helped her buy it.  I suck.  The orange Toyota Tercel o that I tried to change the oil and nearly totaled a brand new car all by my own stupidity   Yikes, frightening really.   The Subaru station wagon, and the 66 Volvo Wagon...best car of all.  Served as the limo for my wedding with cousin Len in the driver's seat.  Hand delivered by David Wambaugh of Fryeburg, Maine.  Classic great car replaced in the winter with shitboxes of historic proportions.  On and on it goes, the Blue Isuzzu SUV that took a big hit with Gail and kids sending it on its side.  That went 100k.  The voyager of course, another 100k.  The black Camry that is now 12 and belongs to Amy and the late, great Ford Explorer, 132K miles that died this week of transmission disease after 11 long, honorable years of service.  It deserves a pic of its own.  There were others within too.....the silver Volvo wagon that wouldn't start, and the Volvo sedan which I liked.  How could I forget my first company car....all the rage back in the 80's. That was a classic blue Camry sedan.   Company paid car, insurance, and gas...what a benny and I was just a site ED.  Those were heady days.  Of course, the red Jetta living on with 108K miles, Brad's Hyndai and the Ford 500....best car ever with 140K and looks, drives and feels like a brand new car.

Len's van.    Roadtrips with the boys before wives and kids.....those were the days when we were young.  That van took me to nights sleeping in the snow in Rocky Mountain Park to the beaches of Long Key State Park, to Mt. Katahdin on the day Yaz popped out to Nettles to end the game.

Cars just being cars.   I am always amazed they work as well as they do.  Cold mornings....not a problem.  I am never surprised when they breakdown....I am more surprised they keep working as well as they do.  Just bought one today.

My favorite rides however are taxi rides....from the airport to some luxury resort like the Delano, or the Bellagio, and rides around Manhatten from Central Park to the Gramercy Park Hotel.   Those are the very best rides of all.  I will gladly take a taxi any ole day......you got the meter?

NURSES--I could write for hours

As Ned Martin was inclined to say, "Mercy!"  Raise your hand if you know that Ned Martin was a radio announcer for Red Sox games, certainly on radio and with Curt Gowdy, in the earliest days of baseball on television....ah, but I digress.   I could write chapters, many chapters about the nurses I know and have known.

Nurses....Similarly to my blog about Pittsburg and the seemingly interwoven and random connections to that city....and of course yes, I know a Nurse who was born and raised in Pittsburg......nurses are just all over my life.  My sister is a nurse.....Mass General School of Nursing from back in the day.  Her friends that came to Pittsburg---and one who comes to our annual family Christmas party .. .all nurses.

Before going further,  a bit about the stamp.  One thing about stamps, there is a stamp honoring just about anything and everybody.  Many are deserving.  Nurses certainly are.   This stamp is from 1961 depicting what I have learned. (I love google and computers.) is the candle lighting, an integral part of the ceremony of nurses being pinned.  The nurses I know always spoke more reverently of their licenses than their pins..lots of stories in that line....but I digress.  This particular stamp is a plate block, mint condition....with no inherent value above the four cents worth of postage.  It is advertised for $4.50 on ebay...which means it might sell for either 16 cents or $4.50.  Nice hat eh?  No nurses that took care of me or that I managed ever wore that....but the stamp is 52 years old and stamps are all about history.

Spent a night with a team of nurses this week in Needham...but this is not about that...except that i enjoyed the professional talent of nurses on the job in various places, shifts and responsibilities throughout the day, pre and post op.  This of course being the routine for nurses and patients everywhere, everyday, 24/7 delivering the hands on to get you through what it is you need getting through.

I have managed nurses..hired nurses, fired nurses, been frustrated by nurses, been enthralled by nurses and generally, challenged to my core of management experience by nurses.  I have worked with nurses who delivered heroic, unbelievably competent work performances daily. I dealt with a few evil, incompetent nurses.  My career in management of assisted living residences was dependent daily on nurses just doin' their damn thing. The excellence of nurses supported my career and hence, my family in a huge way, and for that, I will always be indebted.  However, in addition to delivering comfort to the elderly and their families, my nurses all had to be managers of people, and staffing for 24/7 and on-call.  Oh, how many conversations were had on those subjects.  Sessions or psychotherapy as we senior execs referred to those hours of chatter.

Of course, you will never hear me generalize but nurses by and large are outspoken...a kind way of saying whiny and bitchy, not that that is necessarily a bad thing.  I am sure I have been called much worse.  One of my bosses from years ago who was not a nurse, actually she was social worker and an incredibly talented business leader. In my presence, she never said anything that wasn't intelligent and never said anything controversial, but was heard by me to say, "Nurses eat their young."  That quote sits proudly among a few of mine on a memorial t-shirt gift from the staff of the greatest assisted living residence anywhere.

Nurses take care of my mother now in that aforementioned greatest assisted living residence.  My sister received loving nursing care at the time in her life when it was most needed.  My friend Charlie back about 40 years ago when men like me were young, said about nurses, "I like dating nurses. They are good with their hands and not afraid of the body."  Charlie being Charlie.  The nurse I dated...well not such a fond memory.  

For all the bitchin', nursing is a great, honorable and I think pretty damn lucrative and respected profession.  I had a few nurses negotiate me to salary numbers my then bosses were aghast at.  But they were getting the same thing on their nursing home and hospital side of the business.  Jobs used to be more plentiful, and there was a time a good nurse could go anywhere she/he wanted and work any shift and earn a damn good living.   No foul there.  Hospitals, nursing homes, assisted livings, doctors offices, schools......nurses are everywhere.  Bitchin' everywhere.........sorta just kidding to you nurse readers whoever you are.

So serious kudos to the nurse profession and those in it.  You make the world a better, more tolerable, more honorable place........You deserve all you get and more...thank you for everything....now just zip it.  (kidding on the zip it part.....actually, no I'm not.)