Sand Crabs Ravage the World (or My Dog Can Lick Your Stamp)
Nov 2, 2013 20:26:33 GMT -5
alyn, Ebbo, and 2 more like this
Post by Gordon Lee on Nov 2, 2013 20:26:33 GMT -5
Greetings Fellow SB Boarders
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I posted a similar story about this on Stamp Bears version 1.0. This is the original story from my old myspace blog that was originally posted in 2006.
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A baby albino sand crab, newly born and no bigger than a fingernail on an infants' hand, scuttles across an isolated beach on the Island of Madagascar in the Indian Ocean. The Eastern sun begins to peek from behind the vast ocean and the morning air is already heavy with the shimmering heat from the day before. Tiny legs of the sand crab dance the dance of urgency as he makes his way towards the water line. A very sharp eye would need to be exceedingly keen to spot the disturbance in the sand to see the trail left behind in the dry sand. Just as the baby crustacean reaches the damp sand recently washed by the incoming tide, a single grain of sand becomes jostled and rearranges itself among the millions of other pieces of rock. These grains of sand have never been touched by anything except wind and waves.
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The next wave caresses the shore and the ocean crawls another half inch higher upon the beach. A minute bit of water, when seen under a microscope, crashes into the recently replace grain of sand. The water swirls in a different flow than what it would if the sand crab did not move the sand. What cosmic change in the universe can we expect?
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What do I know about baby albino sand crabs, Madagascar, shifting grains of sand, ocean tides or cosmic changes? Not much.
.
But I can recognize a freaky, unusual circumstance. In newsgroup that I subscribe, a very interesting post was spotted. "What a neat story," I said to myself, "I bet other folks would find it interesting too." I asked the poster if it would be okay if I repeated his story. He said I could if I promised not to divulge his name or e-mail address. This is his story:
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This last Saturday I found myself making an emergency trip from Texas to Indiana (a 1,200 plus mile drive). [His sister unexpectedly passed away.]
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On the way back, I have the usual landmarks. A gas station here, an airport there, a bar-b-que place there. Places I know I've seen before, places that give me reference to how much further I have to go.
.
One place in particular is a gas station. It is about 3/4ths [of a] tank of gas from the previous place I fill up. The gas station is rather dated in that the attendant pumps gas for you, still checks the oil, tire pressure, fluids, washes the windows, says thank you. Oh how the world has changed.
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The gas station is also part of an antique shop.
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About three years ago I noticed a "Tom Corbett Space Cadet" stamp album on display. I had one of these as a child. It has only 54 pages - not much for a stamp album - but it offered spaces for the stamps that a ten-year old was likely to acquire at that time. This could only be gotten by sending in a collection of labels from some sort of breakfast drink - perhaps it was Ovaltine - I can't remember.
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It was priced at $5,000.00 - yes, five thousand dollars!
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I merely noted on each visit that it hadn't been sold.
.
This time (on Thursday) I again visited and entered the shop. There was a lady in attendance (previously it was always a man). I mentioned the album to her and she exploded, saying "That old fool - put the wrong danged price on another item!"
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I asked what it should be and she replied it should be $5.00.
.
Needless to say I grabbed it! It was packaged in a [clear] plastic bag, sealed at the top to protect it.
.
I tossed it on the truck seat and thought little about it until today when I opened the bag. It opened at the back of the book and I leafed through it toward the front until I got to the inside of the front cover. There it offered a place for the owner's name and address (as if this would be a valuable item). [Note, these old stamp albums are almost a dime a dozen and are not considered to be worthwhile collectables by real philatelists.]
.
There in a very childish scrawl - from a long time ago was written:
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My name and address from 1952.
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I do not know how this would have shown up in an antique shop in Arkansas - since I am from Indiana. My family never had a 'garage sale' - nor did we ever have a sale of items from the house. If anything went out the door, it was thrown away as rubbish.
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I'd written underneath each stamp how I received the stamp. Under one was penciled "Uncle Claude", another from "Barbara at the library", another from "Mom", and another from "Aunt Helen". Although the stamps were removed, these little notes were still legible.
.
This is something out of the Twilight Zone - or maybe not.
.
However this did happen, I cannot question. I am in awe and will covet this wrinkled and old collection of pages until the end of my days!
.
.
Okay, not an earth shattering coincidence, but freaky just the same. But surely, there must of been at least one grain of sand shifted somewhere out there in the universe for this to occur.
.
Respectfully,
Gordon Lee
Great Fritain Royal Memorabilia & Worthless Stamp Emporium
.
I posted a similar story about this on Stamp Bears version 1.0. This is the original story from my old myspace blog that was originally posted in 2006.
.
.
A baby albino sand crab, newly born and no bigger than a fingernail on an infants' hand, scuttles across an isolated beach on the Island of Madagascar in the Indian Ocean. The Eastern sun begins to peek from behind the vast ocean and the morning air is already heavy with the shimmering heat from the day before. Tiny legs of the sand crab dance the dance of urgency as he makes his way towards the water line. A very sharp eye would need to be exceedingly keen to spot the disturbance in the sand to see the trail left behind in the dry sand. Just as the baby crustacean reaches the damp sand recently washed by the incoming tide, a single grain of sand becomes jostled and rearranges itself among the millions of other pieces of rock. These grains of sand have never been touched by anything except wind and waves.
.
The next wave caresses the shore and the ocean crawls another half inch higher upon the beach. A minute bit of water, when seen under a microscope, crashes into the recently replace grain of sand. The water swirls in a different flow than what it would if the sand crab did not move the sand. What cosmic change in the universe can we expect?
.
What do I know about baby albino sand crabs, Madagascar, shifting grains of sand, ocean tides or cosmic changes? Not much.
.
But I can recognize a freaky, unusual circumstance. In newsgroup that I subscribe, a very interesting post was spotted. "What a neat story," I said to myself, "I bet other folks would find it interesting too." I asked the poster if it would be okay if I repeated his story. He said I could if I promised not to divulge his name or e-mail address. This is his story:
.
.
This last Saturday I found myself making an emergency trip from Texas to Indiana (a 1,200 plus mile drive). [His sister unexpectedly passed away.]
.
On the way back, I have the usual landmarks. A gas station here, an airport there, a bar-b-que place there. Places I know I've seen before, places that give me reference to how much further I have to go.
.
One place in particular is a gas station. It is about 3/4ths [of a] tank of gas from the previous place I fill up. The gas station is rather dated in that the attendant pumps gas for you, still checks the oil, tire pressure, fluids, washes the windows, says thank you. Oh how the world has changed.
.
The gas station is also part of an antique shop.
.
About three years ago I noticed a "Tom Corbett Space Cadet" stamp album on display. I had one of these as a child. It has only 54 pages - not much for a stamp album - but it offered spaces for the stamps that a ten-year old was likely to acquire at that time. This could only be gotten by sending in a collection of labels from some sort of breakfast drink - perhaps it was Ovaltine - I can't remember.
.
It was priced at $5,000.00 - yes, five thousand dollars!
.
I merely noted on each visit that it hadn't been sold.
.
This time (on Thursday) I again visited and entered the shop. There was a lady in attendance (previously it was always a man). I mentioned the album to her and she exploded, saying "That old fool - put the wrong danged price on another item!"
.
I asked what it should be and she replied it should be $5.00.
.
Needless to say I grabbed it! It was packaged in a [clear] plastic bag, sealed at the top to protect it.
.
I tossed it on the truck seat and thought little about it until today when I opened the bag. It opened at the back of the book and I leafed through it toward the front until I got to the inside of the front cover. There it offered a place for the owner's name and address (as if this would be a valuable item). [Note, these old stamp albums are almost a dime a dozen and are not considered to be worthwhile collectables by real philatelists.]
.
There in a very childish scrawl - from a long time ago was written:
.
My name and address from 1952.
.
I do not know how this would have shown up in an antique shop in Arkansas - since I am from Indiana. My family never had a 'garage sale' - nor did we ever have a sale of items from the house. If anything went out the door, it was thrown away as rubbish.
.
I'd written underneath each stamp how I received the stamp. Under one was penciled "Uncle Claude", another from "Barbara at the library", another from "Mom", and another from "Aunt Helen". Although the stamps were removed, these little notes were still legible.
.
This is something out of the Twilight Zone - or maybe not.
.
However this did happen, I cannot question. I am in awe and will covet this wrinkled and old collection of pages until the end of my days!
.
.
Okay, not an earth shattering coincidence, but freaky just the same. But surely, there must of been at least one grain of sand shifted somewhere out there in the universe for this to occur.
.
Respectfully,
Gordon Lee
Great Fritain Royal Memorabilia & Worthless Stamp Emporium
I can always count on you, Mr. Butterflies.
