I have two uncles left who are stamp collectors (two others passed away a few years ago). One is my godfather and has been collecting for over 70 years. He recently decided to pass along parts of his collection to me, as I am the only remaining "youngster" in the family who still collects. This is bittersweet to me. I am grateful for his generosity, especially when it falls into my areas of collecting, but I am saddened to know I am the only person in this otherwise vast family who still has philatelic interests. Of my 40 cousins, I'm it, and none of their children or grandchildren collects stamps (well, my nephew's 3-year old likes those pretty Disney stamps but I don't count her as a collector ... yet!).
It's sad on two counts. It is reflective of the broader society picture where philatelists are becoming an increasingly older group, with few new interested parties. It is also distressing from a personal perspective to think what will become of my collections, with the pride and enjoyment I put into them. I hate to think they will end up on one of those eBay big lot dealers, picked clean of individual items of any value, the rest considered throw-away or charity jobs.
There was a post in a forum recently that talked about making your collection more personalized and more of a family heritage item than "just a stamp collection." The more I think about it, the more brilliant it sounds. That will be my new project, especially with respect to my special collections.
Okay, stupid me; I wanted to edit my original post, but I deleted it by mistake! 
And both comments with it! Sorry folks; thanks for your good wishes. I did say, I was learning. Let's try this again, with a bit more substance this time. I thought I'd introduce my collecting interests and history.
I started collecting stamps when I was a young boy; my mom worked for a shipping company in Hong Kong and she gave me the most interesting stamps from their worldwide correspondence. Those were the days when catalog numbers and values didn't matter to a young lad; if they were pretty and "neat" (well, we said "groovy" back then!) I collected it. Incomplete sets, used with torn perfs and thins, items soaked off envelopes, and almost random storage in stock books rounded out my youthful philatelic heresy. The irony was, I didn't collect any Hong Kong issues, even though that's my primary interest now. How many of those 1960s stamps and cover opportunities were lost!
We left Hong Kong in 1968 for Canada, and years later I moved to Hawaii, Mississippi, New York, and Georgia. In the process the old collection followed along but was untouched. Over the past ten years I’ve since dusted off the stock books and found I had the time to sort, catalog, and hone my interests. Selling many of my older stock on eBay, back in the better old days, I used that revenue to purchase in areas of concentration. I will continue to do that here.
Currently, I have four major areas of interest in collecting. The primary area is in British Hong Kong, I guess because I was born there and must have left an imprint after all. In fact, it was after the China take over in 1997 that my interest in HK stamps was renewed. I have about 75% of the QV and 90% of the King-definitives, and all MNH from QE2's coronation in 1953 to 1997. I find myself never satisfied with any of the albums I use for this set, and one day may try creating my own pages.
Related to my primary area are my collections of stamps from the British Treaty Ports of China, and Special Cancellations on HK stamps. Both are explained more fully in posts in the "Fragrant Harbour: British Hong Kong Philately" group here, which I moderate. The fourth area is a more recent obsession of mine, to collect Queen Victoria portrait stamps from across the British Commonwealth. That came from culling my old collection and retaining only those that still interested me; most were of the Empress, so the special collection was "born."
In addition to these areas I have accumulated pocket collections, as I call them, areas where I don’t actively add to or which I inherited. Among these are many US, GB, HK, and UN first day covers (some addressed to me), small collections of different areas that intrigue me (like an old Hawaii stamped postal reply cards and stamps), and individual items that are interesting in some way (e.g., proofs, specimens, errors). Then there's the literature bookshelf!
I look at this as a great pastime, something to take the edge of an otherwise too serious life these days. I have made some nice friends, from all walks of life, political ideation, and cultures as a result. Many new friends are from SW itself, a truly unique place.
Okay, I've probably rambled on too much. I'll continue to put random and not so random thoughts up in this forum in the future. If you're interested in learning more about Hong Kong stamps, check out the group as I am going to post on many topics within that area.
May all your imperforates have large margins!
Peter
