Night Owl Cards

I am on vacation this week. During these pandemic times, with limits on where I can go and what I can do, this would be a prime 7 days for getting some chores done and catching up on sleep, right? Nah. The city is working on my street again. I had no idea this was going to happen. A couple days ago, two doors down from me, whatever tool they were using shook the ground and knocked me right out of my nest. This morning, two doors down on the opposite side, they've been using a loud vacuum thingy to suck away my sleep. This throws off my night owl schedule. I end up napping in spurts, not really getting anything done, and on the back half of the day -- baseball takes over. I'm not a TV watcher. It's ball games and that's it, and even then I'll get up and do things while the game is happening. But postseason baseball requires your undivided attention, especially if your team is playing. And this season, they play EVERY NIGHT. There are no breaks, no catching your brea...

It is becoming apparent that looking for cards in a big box store card aisle is going to be a futile exercise at least through the end of the year. I refuse to hunt down the distributor's schedule and stalk the poor worker, congregating with other stalkers amid a pandemic. There is absolutely nothing released in 2020 that is worth that. I collect cards. I don't flip them and almost never sell them. So, really, what's the point? I don't need you card aisle. Yes, you and me have been friends -- along with card counter and card end cap -- since the 1970s. You have been a happy destination for many, many years. But it's time to address what has become mere habit for too long. Nothing in your card aisle is needed anymore. Find a set like 2015 Topps flagship or Allen & Ginter between 2006 and 2011, or a scenario when Fleer and Upper Deck shared the shelves with Topps, or when Chrome had borders. Then give me a call, card aisle. I'll be there. Repeat...

I just got back from a quick jaunt to my folks' house to continue with the never-ending clearing out process. What a project. When I returned and walked through the door this afternoon, the mail from the last two days was sitting on the computer desk. It contained two pieces of junk mail and five -- five! -- envelopes containing cards. Five! For a moment I was transported to 2010 when that kind of card bounty was a semi-regular occurrence. To what did I owe the cardboard pleasure? Back in those days, I was so buried in cards from others that sometimes I had to feature more than one card package in the same post. I haven't done that for a long time. But I'm doing it here now. Because my brain is a bit fried from a long drive. This will be quick though. I'm showing only three of them and two of the envelopes contained just one card and the other contained two. Each, however, is quite interesting in its own right. OK: The first card arrived from Peter...