A Special Thank You

It's been a whirlwind of a week.  Last Wednesday was the start of parent-teacher conferences... which wraps up tomorrow afternoon at around 3pm.  On Thursday, I met up with my buddy Cody for dinner.  He used to teach with me back in the early 2000's, but has since switched careers and moved across the country to Atlanta, Georgia.  Every November he flies out to visit family and friends.  Our annual tradition is grabbing steaks at a place near his mom's house called The Drying Shed.

He's not into sports cards, but he's very into 70's & 80's nostalgia.  He collects everything from Mork & Mindy to ALF, so we always have fun exchanging our latest eBay finds.  He's also into retail and food chains from that era, so this year I gave him a pair of Winchell's milk glass mugs for his collection.

He responded with some very cool items of his own.  Let's start with this Joe Montana phone card:

1995 Mervyn's Phone Card #NNO

Y'all know how much I love phone cards from the 90's... especially when they feature athletes.  But this one is extra special, because it was a promotional item from Mervyn's... which was a popular department store back in the 70's and 80's.

When I was in elementary and middle school, my mom would take me there to pick out school clothes.  It was my #1 source for Levi's jeans.

Mervyn's was one of Cody's favorite stores as a kid.  Although we didn't know each other back in the 80's, both of us also loved shopping for clothes at Miller's Outpost.  The second present he gave me was this pair of refrigerator magnets:

I have already added them to my fridge:

Last, but certainly not least... he gave me this USCG manual:

USCG: Manual for Lifeboatmen and Able Seamen (June 1949)

This might seem very random, but it's not.  My father served in the USCG for three years back in the early 1950's and was likely given this manual during basic training.  Cody also served in the Coast Guard (but during the 90's) and always wanted to sit down with my father and share stories.  Unfortunately that never happened.  But it's something that pops up in conversations a few times a year.

USCGC Iroquois (WHEC-43)

While we were devouring our ribeye steaks and exchanging early Christmas presents, I showed him a cool photo of the ship my father spent time on.  The Iroquois was an Owasco class high endurance cutter that was primarily used for Ocean Station duty during the early 50's.  According to the eBay vendor, this photo was taken in 1953... so there's a chance that my father was on this ship.

Anyways... they were asking $24.99 (+ tax & shipping), which seemed expensive for a photo.  However Cody talked me into sending the seller a best offer of $15 (+ tax & shipping).  Later that evening, I got the message that the eBay seller had accepted.

Thank you Cody for these very thoughtful gifts... and for the time you spent in the United States Coast Guard.

And a special thank you to everyone who has bravely served in our country's armed forces to help keep our country safe.

Happy Wednesday and sayonara!

Overtime

I almost forgot about the rest of the week.  On Saturday, I hit up the De Anza Flea Market.  The next morning, I woke up to a text message from my homegirl:

If you're wondering if I was already asleep by 8:36pm on Saturday night... the answer is "yes".  It was a super busy week and I was exhausted.

This year our school district scheduled a five day weekend, so my original plan was to catch up on card related stuff.  Little did I know that we were heading back down to Pismo for three days and two nights.

Unfortunately I didn't take any wallet card photos, but here's a photo of some sand art from this year's festival:

The weather was really nice... but a little warm for this time of the year.  So we mostly hung out at the hotel and enjoyed the gorgeous view.  On Monday we ventured out to grab some snacks.  Along the way, we stopped off in a strip mall with an antique store called Pismo Pickers Antiques and Vintage.

Outside there was a bin of dollar records.  I grabbed this:

All In The Family (1971)

I remember watching this show with my parents as a kid and singing the famous theme song:  Those Were the Days.

Inside the shop there was also one display case with some sports cards... including some low grade vintage and overproduced modern... which were overpriced.

However one card caught my eye:

2007 Topps TX Exclusive Ticket to Hawaii Jersey Auto #HAJA-FG

I don't usually go out of my way to purchase sticker-graphs... but $20 seemed like a steal for a Frank Gore autograph that's numbered to 25.

Unfortunately when I got home last night, I noticed that the card was damaged:

I had to play with my lighting to show off the indentation that runs across the top of the card.  This is the reason I started a collection of damaged cards.  Sadly... I know that this won't be the last time I purchase a damaged card on accident.

On a positive note, the card looks really nice from most angles:

And damaged or not... according to Topps this swatch is from Gore's 2007 Pro Bowl jersey.  I sure miss card companies specifically stating when and where the player wore the uniforms used on relic cards.

Okay... it's time to rest and relax, because I woke up this morning with a sore throat and I have to get better by tomorrow for those final four conferences.