Stamps on the Street

During the late 80s and early 90s when I was traveling frequently and working in Central Asia, all flights in and out of Central Asia had to go through Moscow. Over the six years of traveling in the USSR, I watched the Soviet empire crumble as communism fell and free enterprise began developing. I remember the first time I saw bananas for sale by a street vendor—something that was not allowed during the Communist days. I saw a line of people two blocks long that started on an empty street corner for apparently no reason—only later to see a truck from a collective farm arrive with milk and ice cream.

Once while walking down a Moscow street, I watched as a long line of people formed at a small shop about 20 feet wide. Being a curious farmer, I had to know what they were lined up for. I asked my interpreter to find out for me. He said that many people in the line did not know what was in the store, but since a line was forming, they figured it was for something that was difficult to find, so they just joined the line. He discovered that the small shop sold wedding veils!

There was not much to buy before communism fell, but I have been a lifelong stamp collector, and even in desolate places like North Korea, one can buy stamps when no other souvenirs are available. During “glasnost”, people started selling or swapping wares on the sidewalks in Russia and Central Asia. One of the things that I enjoyed buying was small stamp collections. One might say that I was taking advantage of these poor people who had to sell their stamp collections to get money to feed their families. But I would counter with the fact that since they were offering them for sale, then at least I could give them a decent price. Plus, I would give them US dollars for which they were extremely grateful since the value of the Russian Ruble was tumbling daily.

Once I stopped traveling regularly in the former Commonwealth of Independent States, Jim Tilton started sending me from time-to-time other small stamp collection books that he purchased from street peddlers or local markets.

I am presently working through some of those small books of stamps that Jim and I collected over the years. Some of the stamps are crimped and torn, but most of them are in good condition. Some of them are really old stamps. Each one represents someone’s tender care to preserve a snippet of paper for future generations to enjoy.

Maybe if all the people who are concerned with preserving the planet would leave that task to the stamp collectors, then we would not have to worry about the wellbeing of planet earth.

God has given us the task of stewarding His earth. “For the earth is the Lord’s and everything in it.” I Corinthians 10:26.