The Macedonian desert

While cleaning the heaps of rubbish among my mountains of old clippings I have stumbled upon two items I have treasured ten years ago. Those are the first and the second in series of issued by the US Postal Service and represent the wildlife, plants and animals, of the Sonoran desert and the Pacific coast rain forest.

The prints are a small technological wizardry. Each of those is 23x17 cm and contains 10 stamps at 33 US cents each. One needs to be careful when unplucking each stamp from the adhesive surface to place it on an envelope. So the letter will go with only a sticker of unrecognizable form, totally different from the appearance of a postal stamp. There is nothing on it but
USA
33
which, I think, was a result of a compromise not to ruin the general composition of that print of 10 post stamps. (The white frame out there is placed by myself, to indicate how this surface is divided.) I doubt that people would be willing to ruin such a souvenir (it cost a fraction of $3,30) simply to stic 33 cents postage on a postcard. Thus, this is ready cash, it is like the US Postal Service printing money.

On the back side of the print there is a message and a detailed explanation of the items on the front. One can learn. A very effective way of educating and of helping the people grasp the diversity of America and, eventually, like their country better and wish to travel to those places.

WHAT DOES IT HAVE TO DO WITH THE MACEDONIA?

Well, nothing and everything. The Macedonian postal service (Македонски Пошти) is practically a state owned firm. Their directors roam the world. But they have not ever risen to the level of understanding how much they could do, in the segment of philately, for example, for its country, its people and themselves.

They simply remain hopelessly provincial and do nothing to rid the Macedonian philately from the trash of corrupt practices suffocating it.