Ever
since I was a little boy I was fascinated by stamp collecting. This was
further instilled in me by my primary school teacher who pushed us
to
take up stamp collecting in order to learn about the world. Geography has
been my love ever since. In those days stamp albums printed short
info
on the countries depicted in the album. The info consisted in the name
of the country's capital city, main industry, religion, currency, and
language.There
were long periods of hibernation and periods of great intensity. When I
took penfriendship again (another hobby instilled in
me
by my primary teacher) I took up stamp collecting again and since '82 I
never stopped; I only changed direction. Now I only collect Malta
and
US stamps. along with stamps I now collect phonecards as well. Phonecards
collecting is big in Europe and is becoming a great business
here.
The USPS has began issuing phonecards but I think it is till a novelty
stateside.
Bio
I was
born on July 14, 1947 at Valletta, Malta's capital. My parents were both
out of towners and hailed from Vittoriosa across Grand Harbour.
The
war has wreaked havoc on everybody and my folks weren't an exception. Mother
and grandpa moved to Valletta so grandpa could be
nearer
his work which was ships-related. Dad was a seaman and met mom during one
of his visits to his homeport. They fell in love and in 45
got
married. Two years later I made my appearance.
Post
war years were hard and my parents moved to their original hometown of
Vittoriosa . Dad kept up his seafaring though it wasn't a steady
job.
The 50s were hard for us. Mom lost two babies, her father, and dad lost
his job. It was hard time. There were times that mom sold some her
family
jewels so that we can eat.
My
primary schooling was over and I entered the seminary. It happened that
I was in the wrong place in the wrong time. Malta was undergoing
one
of her worst times. It was the politico-religious conflict. Malta Labour
party supporters were interdicted by the catholic church and branded
as
reds. Since I came from a Labour stronghold I was so branded and was given
a real hard time.
I
dropped out and started looking for work. The sixties again were hard but
as we went into the 70s things began to change. Mary and I got
married
and a year later Caroline was born. In 76 on Elvis Presley 41st. birthday
and the USA's 200th anniversary year Jacqueline was born.
Believe
it or not both my daughters are named for JFK's wife and daughter.
In
79 we bought a two storey house at the small, sedate village of Kalkara
and moved out of Vittoriosa never to return.The daughters loved
Kalkara
and quickly made friends. In 89 we visited Germany for the first time to
return in 95. Meanwhile Caroline fell in love with Chris and got
married
in 94. Six weeks prior to the wedding my mom lost her battle to Parkinson's
disease. In December 96 we became grandparents of
Kimberly
and two years alter Eric arrived. Now we are looking forward to the upcoming
marriage of our youngest daughter Jacqueline to
Dominic.
