Night Owl Cards

The 1972 Topps set has been popular among bloggers at least since I started this thing. But collecting the set seems to have become more of a priority lately. I'm still trying to finish off the '71 set, and then I really should get working on '77 as it's a whole lot easier to collect than a few others I'm chasing. It's certainly easier than trying to complete the '72 set, which features high numbers that are downright evil. But none of that is stopping my interest in the '72s. In fact, I have just added my list of '72 needs to my want list . It's a pretty hefty series of numbers but I'm determined to finish it off someday. Why do I like it so much? Well, I wrote about that already . But, briefly, I like it because it's one of the most colorful, quirkiest mainstream sets ever produced. It is also one of those sets, along with 1971, that were the first "old" cards I ever saw during my initial days of collecting when I was...

When I arrived in the building where they were holding the card show on Sunday, I wasn't wearing a lab coat. I wasn't carrying a clipboard. I wasn't wearing glasses. And I didn't ask anyone to "tell me how you feel." But I definitely felt like a psychiatrist during my card transactions, because the dealers were in a venting mood. They always seem like the anxious, nervous sort, but they seemed even more anxious-er and nervous-er than usual. One dealer that I always go to totaled up my cards, gave me a price, gave me a bag and then walked away without taking my money. (Don't worry, I flagged him down). One dealer moaned endlessly about the economy and thanked the Lord above that he wasn't relying on his card sales to feed his family. One dealer told me it was the worst October show he'd ever been to in years and years of going to October shows. Then he told me a happy story about getting two flat tires on two separate occasions on the way to one of...