Philosateleia
Kevin Blackston
PO Box 217
Floresville TX 78114-0217
United States of America

Farewell, Demetrios V.

Many moons ago, I used to conduct stamp trades through this website. I had to give that up for lack of time, but managed to stay in contact and continue to conduct trades with one person, an individual by the name of Demetrios V.

Demetrios collected United States stamps only with round date stamps on them—regular machine cancels were of no use—so I would set aside the odd item with a round postmark to send to him, and in return he kept me supplied with new additions for my landscapes collection. We also corresponded by email over the years.

Last month, I received word from Demetrios’ wife that he had died after a battle with illness. It didn’t exactly come as a shock as Demetrios himself had mentioned that it looked like his time was near, but I was still saddened to hear the news.

Interestingly enough, it wasn’t long after that that Mrs. V. contacted me again to let me know that she had received a returned piece of mail that Demetrios had sent to me, but which was marked undeliverable and had been floating around for who knows how long. She forwarded the stamps inside to me, and when I received them, it was like receiving one last gift from Demetrios.

Although we never met in person, Demetrios was a friend in the Internet way, and I have no doubt he will be missed by all who knew him.

Published 2017-12-27

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