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For broadcast on CBS Radio Network stations June 18-19, 2005:

Mugged By The Mugginess

The Stamp Collecting Report, I'm Lloyd de Vries. 

Once upon a time, stamp collecting pretty much stopped for the summer, because it was too hot 
and sticky to handle little gummed pieces of paper. Then came air conditioning, and it was 
safe to pull out the albums and boxes.

Recently, I attended a stamp show in a northern city during a heatwave and it DIDN'T have air conditioning. It was hot and sweltering inside the high school fieldhouse....and there wasn't 
much activity.

The organizers are ruefully calling the show SWEATPEX -- "pex" is short for Philatelic 
Exhibition -- and say they'll never use THAT facility again

It's amazing how much the weather can affect a stamp show. If it's too cold or too hot, 
collectors don't want to leave their homes. If it's raining too hard, or too windy, or snowing, 
the show is likely to be a dud, too.

And if the weather is PERFECT -- that's ALSO bad for a stamp show, because people want to 
spend the time outside.

You can't win. Is it any wonder so many dealers are now on the Internet?

And that's Stamp Collecting this week. 

I'm Lloyd de Vries, CBS News. 

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