by John M. Hotchner

Building the Future:
Visiting grown children is always a mind-altering experience; especially when it is the one among the pack who was a bit of a rebel growing up. Our second son fits this definition. He learned many of his lessons the hardest possible way. We’d tell him he couldn’t do something, and he’d find some method to accomplish the unlikely. And that only begins to tell Jay’s story.

Now just past 40, he needed to increase the living space for his growing family. Living in Southern California, real estate is prohibitive for normal mortals, so he had to find a bargain, and he did: a rickety 100-year old house on the side of a hill, not far down the coast from Santa Barbara. He has now spent two years bringing it up to code and making it habitable; doing much of the work himself, and acting as general contractor for the rest. This included everything from strengthening the foundation to replacing the roof, to laying flooring, to new windows to landscaping, and 1,001 other things that today’s codes require.

The core living space is done, but the house is not finished. He is busily making and executing plans for both inside and outside. He does this with no formal training, but he learned some of what he needed to know from summer jobs and the rest from books, and consults with friends; all this while pursuing a demanding career totally unrelated to homebuilding. Basically, he has a vision, and he is going to make it into reality. As someone who barely knows what to do with a hammer, I am amazed and not just a little proud of his grit and determination.

And I am struck as I sit here in his dining room by the similarities between Jay’s quest and serious stamp collecting. Ignoring the fact that there is not much dirt underneath the fingernails with philately, each of us in philately has a dream. Each of us is substantially self-taught, though we may have had mentors along the way. Each of us recognizes that we will probably not get done every possible project, but we all take pleasure in seeing sometimes slow but steady progress.

Whether it is a complete collection of used U.S., or a perfect house and yard, we all understand that the joy is in the journey far more than in the endpoint. I feel sorry for many of today’s youth; those who are conditioned from the moment they touch their first Game Boy or X-Box controller, to opt for immediate gratification rather than choosing and working toward long-term goals. This is, I think, one of the reasons that stamp collecting does not resonate with young people the way that it used to.

Stamp collecting — and home development — are both about goals for the future. Jay has a part of the house that he is turning into what will be a family activities room. I am developing a new exhibit of a U.S. air mail subject. We are both enjoying mulling over the possibilities, accumulating the raw materials at favorable prices, learning the things we need to know to get it done, and envisioning the payoff when the project is completed; whether it is next year or the year after that.

Both will require an investment of time, knowledge, and money. Both of us will have something of value when we are done, and the satisfaction that we took on a worthy challenge and accomplished it. And we will have enjoyed the process and completing the many small milestones that go to make up a large project.

Remembering the Past:
I am a long-time fan of the monthly Guideposts magazine that my parents introduced me to many moons ago. I would describe it as a non-denominational group of stories from people who describe faith in action in their lives, and I never fail to find at least one story that resonates clearly with my experience.

I was reading the January 2012 issue and came across an article titled “This Way to Memory Lane” by Edward Hoffman. The header drew me in with “It may be unhealthy to dwell on the past. But science has discovered that nostalgia itself is good for us.” If stamp collectors are anything, we are (to coin a word) “nostalgiacs:” people who are constantly returning through stamps to the events of our past illustrated on stamps, and even to the stamps themselves that we remember as we grew up.

I have maintained for years that stamp collecting is both satisfying and good for us in terms of physical and mental health. This Guideposts article provides further evidence, summed up in this paragraph:

“Today, technological and social change happens at a rapid pace, work and travel take us farther from home than ever before, and new information bombards us constantly. It’s easy to feel lost. A high-powered Manhattan executive may get caught up in the rat race, only to catch a scent of horses in Central Park and be reminded of her idyllic beginnings growing up on a Midwest farm. Wherever we find ourselves, nostalgia helps bring us back to our roots, back to the things that are most important.”

That looking back, however brief it may be, is calming. It provides perspective on our disordered world. It allows us to see ourselves not only in the present, but as we were before life wore down our hopes and dreams and expectations, while it also taught us lessons, and gave us more understanding. I think people tend to judge themselves harshly in the present, to mourn for the ideals we think we should have reached: the things we don’t have, have not accomplished, loves lost. Somehow, nostalgia brings us back to a more realistic, a more humble, view of what we have become; thus the calming and even less self judgmental effect.

Playing with stamps gives us a regular dose of nostalgia; especially so if we had an introduction to philately as a child; just one more of the hobby’s many benefits.

Should you wish to comment on this editorial, or have questions or ideas you would like to have explored in a future column, please write to John Hotchner, VSC Contributor, P.O. Box 1125, Falls Church, VA 22041-0125, or email, putting “VSC” in the subject line.

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