A Quick Trip to the Islands

Over Veteran's Day weekend... I traveled 2,400 miles across the Pacific Ocean for Papa Fuji's celebration of life.

Ala Wai Canal

I've mentioned it a few times on the blog, but in case you missed it... both of my parents were born and raised on Oahu.  But they didn't meet there.  They met in Wisconsin while attending college... and spent the rest of their lives together on the mainland.  Earlier in the year, my father returned to Oahu and was laid to rest in our family's plot.

He didn't want to have a service, but thought it would be nice if we could get both sides of the family together for a small luncheon.  My siblings and I were blown away by the number of people interested in attending.  It ended up being a family reunion and an opportunity for many of us to reconnect and catch up.

One of the coolest things was seeing my mother's side of the family interact with my father's side.  It's such a small world.  One of my cousins (on my mom's side) discovered he lives just a block over from another cousin (on my dad's side).

I'm guessing that a lot of them could easily play the "six degrees" game considering the majority have lived their entire lives on the same island.

Personally... I hadn't been back in fifteen years.  It was a quick trip... but I made sure to eat saimin at Zippy's, malassadas from Leonard's, and shave ice from Shimazu's:

Here's a wallet card shot from my hotel room:

Ala Moana Hotel

Although most of the conversations at the party involved reminiscing and family related stuff... baseball made its way into a few of them.

One of my cousins asked me if I was going to continue supporting the A's after their move to Sacramento/Las Vegas.

1977 Hostess #52

I explained that I've been a fan since the 70's... so ultimately I would continue rooting for them wherever they played.

2020 Topps Chrome Refractor #160

I was also reminded that the Dodgers have a huge following in Hawaii.  I spoke with three cousins who were excited about their recent World Series win... and all three are big fans of this guy:

2024 Topps Now #1

All three of these cards were part of a PWE I received from Jim over at cards as i see them.  Thank you Jim!  Looking forward to getting together again for some burgers the next time you're in the Bay Area.

I'd also like to thank Nick over at njwv for inspiring me to purchase this card:

1893 Arbuckle's Coffee #27

Nick and I are both interested in collecting cards related to the Hawaiian Islands and the Bay Area.  Although his photography is much more artistic than mine.

Well that wraps up today's post.  The past few weeks have been really busy with this recent trip and parent/teacher conferences.  However this Saturday kicks off my Thanksgiving Break.  Although I'll be spending some time with family... the plan is to spend at least two or three quality days in the office catching up with care packages, two boxes from Sportlots, and my latest COMC shipment.

Until then... 

Happy Tuesday and sayonara!

Keeping Memories from Fading Away

Whether it's about pulling a $500 Ohtani autograph out of a $3 pack or finding the final card for a forty years set build in a card show dollar bin... card collectors have a way of repeating their favorite card stories.

My buddy Mike started collecting cards back in the 80's... so he had plenty to share over the years.  One of my favorites involved him purchasing a 1984 Fleer Update set with a friend and splitting it up via an old fashion card draft.

1984 Fleer Update #U-43

He didn't remember the entire draft, but he remembered using his first pick on Dwight Gooden and selecting Bret Saberhagen with his second pick.  His friend walked away with Roger Clemens, Kirby Puckett, and bragging rights for the rest of their lives.

Last November, he passed away on his fifty-first birthday... so there won't be any new stories.  But to remember the ones he told and to help keep them from fading away... I've decided to build a collection in his honor.

The inaugural addition is the key card (for Mike) in the story.  When it came to choosing sides in the Clemens vs. Gooden debate... both of us sided with Doc.  In fact I have been wanting to add this card to my collection since the 80's.  I just needed a little motivation to dig into my wallet and pull out the funds.

Mike...  I miss you buddy.  I miss hanging out at shows, walking around flea markets, going on road trips, attending ball games, and going back and forth retelling our favorite card related stories.  I'll also miss grabbing Taco Bravo with you... but don't worry.  This weekend, I'll eat a few tacos in your honor.

Happy birthday buddy!

Happy Friday and sayonara!

Saturday Night Five: The 2024 World Series Champions

Last night was our first dance of the year.  About halfway through it... one of my students came up to me with tears in her eyes.  She was absolutely heartbroken that her boyfriend wanted to hang out with his friends instead of her.  I let her vent... and eventually her friends came along to cheer her up.  I was grateful for that, because I'm not exactly an expert on middle school romance.  Now had she had her heart broken by a sports team... then I could definitely relate to that.

I had to deal with the fact that the A's were leaving Oakland the entire 2024 MLB season.  More recently... I had to deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers delivering a gut punch to the San Diego Padres.  Not gonna lie... that really hurt.

Heartache is just part of being a fan... and it's something that we all have to deal with.  But that's not the focus of tonight's post.  Tonight I wanted to honor, celebrate, and congratulate the 2024 World Series Champions and their fans by ranking my five favorite Los Angeles Dodgers from this season.

#5:  Yoshinobu Yamamoto

2021 Topps NPB #128

The Dodgers have a way of landing Japanese pitchers.  Nomo.  Kuroda.  Maeda.  Darvish.  Ohtani.

2024 Topps #553

It's not surprising that Yamamoto ended up signing with them too.

#4:  Mookie Betts

2019 Topps Chrome Refractor #50

I was a fan of Mookie when he was in Boston...

2024 Topps #250

and my fanfare has followed him over to the West Coast.

#3:  Freddie Freeman

2024 Topps #102

The same can be said of Freddie.

2020 Topps 206 Piedmont Back #7

But honestly... I prefer seeing him pictured with the Braves.

#2:  Clayton Kershaw

2013 Topps 1972 Mini #TM-23

I've got a thing for lefties... and for a decade or so, Kershaw was one of the best in the game.

2024 Topps #351

It didn't take long before I started following him and collecting his cards.  And for the longest time, he was my favorite Dodgers player.  Until this guy showed up...

#1:  Shohei Ohtani

2020 Topps 1951 (Blake Jamieson) #16

Are you surprised?  He might have struggled against the Yankees... but his popularity is higher than ever.  

2024 Topps #500

Ohtani is one of those generational guys who is both exciting and likable.  He's easily my favorite current Dodger and right up there with Fernando Valenzuela as my all-time favorite Dodger.

Speaking of heartache... I'm guessing my student will recover from her boyfriend ditching her before any of us are finished mourning the loss of El Toro.

Happy Saturday and sayonara!

Flea Market Finds #165: Two Months & Four Trips Pt. 3

Today is the day I share my Top 5 flea market finds of September and October.  Not gonna lie... there aren't any baseball cards featured (sorry Night Owl).  But there are some pretty cool items from the 70's and 80's that have a direct link to my childhood.

If you haven't seen the first two parts of this series (which do contain baseball cards), you can click on the following links:

Part #1:  #22 to #14

Part #2:  #13 to #6

Part #3:  #5 to #1

Before we get into the goodies... I just wanted to remind you that the twenty-two flea market purchases I made in September and October took place over the course of four days at two different flea markets.

Normally I write about each trip individually, but things got a little backed up... so I decided to cover them all together.  Unfortunately... I'm not a fan of super long posts, so I chopped up the purchases into three tiers.

And I have saved the best for last.  Let's get into it...

#5:  Rare Pack of Cards $1

Flea Market:  De Anza on September 7th

Remember the guy with the skateboarding cards from Part 2?  He also had this opened pack of 1987 Astroboyz Surf Cardz.  Back in the 80's, I was really into surfing.  Not actually surfing, but watching surfing competitions and reading surfer magazines.  Yup.  I was one of those posers.

Anyways... I would have totally been into these cards had I known about them back then.  But I never saw them back in the day.  And based on eBay listings, they're pretty rare and some of these singles sell for a decent dime.

When I flipped through the pack I immediately recognized this guy who happened to be one of my favorite surfers:

Tom Curren won three World Titles back in the mid 80's to the early 90's.

Here are the cards in the pack:

The Mark Gonzalez card is also pretty cool:

In 2011 he was named The Most Influential Skateboarder of All-Time by Transworld Skateboarding magazine ahead of legends like Christian Hosoi, Tony Hawk, and Rodney Mullen.

#4:  Some Sentimental Singles $3

Flea Market:  De Anza on October 5th

A guy with tons of toys from the 70's, 80's, and 90's had a 100ct. box containing 1977 Topps Star Wars Series 4 and 5 cards.

I'm sure most of you already know this... but in case you don't... I'll write it again.  1977 Topps Star Wars were the first packs of trading cards that I remember opening and collecting.  That's why I just can't walk away from adding more to my collection if the price is right.

Considering the condition, I was excited to pay 50¢ each for these:

1977 Topps Star Wars Singles

My focus were the character cards... but I was just as excited to add these two George Lucas cards to my collection.  If this guy is set up again this weekend, I will go through this box again.

#3:  Pee-Chee Folders $10

Flea Market:  Branham on October 19th

How often do you see these featured on a card blog?  It's gonna sound crazy... but I was more excited to see these folders than any baseball card I saw that day at the flea market.

I was one of those Trapper Keeper kids... but sometime around 5th or 6th grade... I switched over to those flimsy plastic binders and Pee-Chee folders.  Year in and year out... I'd decorate them in the same way.  I'd draw a microphone in the lead runner's hand, a mouse under the batter's foot, and extra hairy armpits on the guy shooting the basketball.  There were a few other things I'd draw/write... but they aren't very school appropriate.

#2:  BART Button $5

Flea Market:  De Anza on October 5th 

I'm sure most of you are scratching your heads about why I'd put a button (that isn't even sports related) so high on these rankings.  Simply put... BART stands for Bay Area Rapid Transit and it's how got to the Oakland Coliseum for the vast majority of the A's games I attended over the years.

I honestly had no idea that their first day of operation was so close to the day I was born.  That was a very cool bonus.

#1:  1977 Star Wars Lunch Box $55

Flea Market:  Branham on October 19th

I've purchased a lot of cool stuff over the years while wandering around my local flea markets.  This one will be up there among my favorites for years to come.

Just like 1977 Topps Star Wars were the first packs I ever opened as a kid... this lunch box is just like the first one I carried my lunch in when I was in kindergarten.

I've thought about buying one of these on eBay for years... but was always afraid of excessive rust.

This one is far from being mint, but it's pretty clean.  I might do is buy another Thermos, because the one it came with is faded:

But that's not high on my priority list... since I have no plans to actually use it.  Right now... it's the newest piece to my Star Wars display:

Well there you have it.  My five favorite flea market finds of September and October.  Thank you to everyone who took the time to read this post... as well as the other two.  

De Anza is on Saturday.  The plan is to make it out there and get back on track with my Flea Market Finds posts.  But we'll see.  If you see one next week, then you know I'm back on track.  If not... another combination post might show up again.

Happy Tuesday and sayonara!