Summer in the city

The World Stamp Show came and went. Gone are the great exhibits - the One Cent Magenta, the US Navy Curits Jenny bi-plane, the Mauritius plate. And gone are most of the dealers. Only Champion Stamps remains, vending from its midtown address Mon-Thu. Weekends however are still kicking with the Cafe Koshichka and their colleague Pete the Greek, it has moved back to its Chelsea Market location on West 25th Street between B'way & 6th Avenues. But in that bazaar it had decided to move to the more shady back area, visible but not accessible from West 26th Street. Same great discounts and selection. Maybe no upsidedown planes, but they have added some significant sections including a spoof section, what with Queen Hillary 1st and the Amelia Earhardt falling out of the sky...and the China spoofs, some of which are only for sale to Allied Military/NATO member armed forces service personell. A strict limitation of 888 makes these the rarest spoofs in the world. So the summer heats up, and the US elections with them - just this week someone was arrested trying to grab a gun and kill Donald Trump - but the stamp collectors in the Big Apple will have it made in the shade with the hottest stamps around. Some, what with the political connotations, too hot for even the World Stamp Show. New Yorkers know how to keep the best for themselves.