The biggest change is that I won't be teaching summer school this year. This will only be the second time in my twenty-two years of teaching in my district that I haven't taught during the summer. The last time it happened was fourteen years ago. I took the summer off, because I was transferring schools and I wanted some extra time to pack up my old classroom as well as set up my new one.
This year, the program I usually teach is focusing on online instruction, which completely takes the fun out of teaching (at least for me). It was a tough decision, but ultimately my co-teacher and I decided to take this summer off.
How will this impact the way I collect? Well... my summer school paychecks normally cover my the two mortgage payments I make when I'm not bringing home a paycheck from the school district. This year, I'll be tapping into my savings to cover the mortgage... which is fine since that's what it's for.
That being said... my hobby cutbacks will likely continue until at least September. The good news is I'll finally have some free time to organize and dig into my collection. There are a few things I've been wanting to write about, but I have to look for the cards in boxes that have been buried for years.
And now that I'm officially on break, putting together a bunch of PWE's from my mystery bag giveaway is at the top of my list of things to do. I haven't touched the cards in probably a month, because I was focusing on work and honestly didn't want to think about them.
The other thing I really want to do is finish more sets that I have laying around. I have a couple of posts dedicated to that topic, including one involving a few Kellogg's sets from the 70's. But that's for another day.
Today's post summarizes a very cool care package I received from Tom over at The Angels, In Order. I figured I'd kick off this summer with this summer related item:
I'm not sure if this is a decal or a vinyl business card, but it's a nice addition to my surfer collection. My nephew has really gotten into surfing, so I'm hoping to drive over the hill and watch him in action sometime this summer.
Next up is a Oscar Meyer oddball card:
Nothing says summer like eating an Oscar Meyer hot dog at the ballpark. Sadly, that's another big change this summer. It doesn't look like I'll be attending any A's games, but I'll definitely be barbecuing some hot dogs or at least Italian sausages.
If the season does get off the ground, it looks like regional play is a possibility... which means the A's could see the Texas Rangers and Don Wakamatsu several times this summer.
Wakamatsu is the Ranger's bench coach and is half Japanese. His father was born in the Tule Lake War Relocation Center during World War II. I'm very excited to add this to my Japanese Athlete PC.
Tom often writes about his successful TTM experiences. I assume the Wakamatsu is one of them. He also sent me these two autographs:
I'm familiar with Billy Kilmer. He was a Pro Bowl quarterback for the Washington Redskins during the 70's, but he also played for the San Francisco 49ers and New Orleans Saints. I hadn't heard of Joey "Flash" Dunmoodie, but apparently he's a professional boxer who last fought in 2015.
The centerpiece to Tom's care package was this awesome SR-71 handbook:
I've been fascinated with the SR-71 ever since my father told us he worked on the top secret aircraft back in the 60's.
I'll be shipping this him, so he can check it out. Normally, I'd visit him in August... but this he's not looking to have any visitors this summer. Just another change in this year's summer plans.
I'll wrap up this generous care package with this 1973 Topps Thurman Munson:
A few days ago, Dime Box Nick wrote about the 1973 Topps set on his blog and highlighted his ten favorite cards. All of his choices were solid picks, but I personally would have included the Vida Blue. And after more consideration, I think this Munson would make my Top 10 as well. Topps did a fantastic job of cropping the photo on this card. I like how Munson is nicely centered on the card.
Unfortunately, Topps struggled to cut the card correctly... which left the card a little off-centered. But that's okay, I enjoy miscut cards... especially when they vintage and feature guys I collect.
Thank you Tom for this awesome care package! It was an excellent way to kick off my summer break. I hope you and your family have a safe and fantastic summer.
What about the rest of you...
Any cool plans for this summer?
While you're thinking about your response, let's go back to the mid 80's and listen to some Don Henley:
Happy Saturday and sayonara!
Gonna be a weird summer for a lot of us. For me, cards is one of the things that will be helping me get through it. Good to have a community to share it with.
ReplyDeleteI bought a new computer that can play games so I shouldn't be bored!
ReplyDeleteI'm scheduled to donate blood on Tuesday. If it goes as planned, it will bring me to 5 gallons donated since I moved to San Diego. Should be more, but I missed a few years due to high blood pressure.
ReplyDeleteVoting for the Munson.
Thats a variety of cards in one package. Same ole same ole here for the summer.
ReplyDeleteNo big plans. We had a couple of music-related trips to Austin go by the wayside but they may get rescheduled for later dates. Other than that I'll just continue my house and hobby projects.
ReplyDeleteSuper jealous of your little extra freetime this summer.....hopefully your cutbacks won't curtail too much and you can get a ton of stuff organized. The SR-71 is one sexy airplane!
ReplyDeleteTrying to set simple goals, like spending more time outside. Could use a good card show though!
ReplyDeleteToday we just planned to head to the Worlds Longest Yard Sale in August. This might be as close as we get to a card show or flea market in IL this summer.
ReplyDeleteWhile we never came back from Spring Break at my elementary school in March, we did at least offer on-line teaching, although it wasn't mandatory for our students. The School District, in its infinite wisdom, continued to pay us until June 1, which was our last official day of school. Needless to say. I've had ample opportunity to go through and finally organize my cards.
ReplyDeleteSounds like you're going to have some good, productive time with your cards this summer! Not much planned for me, but I might try to play golf soon. There are a few public courses in this county, and I think most of them are open with certain guidelines in place.
ReplyDeleteI love that Munson. Such a great card. All off his cards, really.
ReplyDeleteThis summer is going to be a weird one. No big plans. We've already canceled a yearly vacation we take at the end of June. Plus all the kids camps have been canceled, and I'll continue to work from home. So it's going to be relatively unexciting.
Happy Summer break and I hope that you do get stuck into getting things more organized and writing about things that have been on the back burner. I can't say I have anything planned that is special except, maybe, going back to work.
ReplyDeleteIt's going to be trying to re-sort my cards according to categories I've come up with during the pandemic while trying to make decisions on dumping dated clutter from the past 20 years of my life.
ReplyDeleteCool SR 71 handbook. I spent a few years as a kid living on a US air force base and remember being fascinated by that plane too.
ReplyDeleteIts cool that you have a break over the summer, I'm still "remote teaching" until August. Like you I much MUCH prefer teaching in person.
Hahaha. All our usual summer plans got blown up. We ordered a basketball hoop for the driveway and, weather-permitting, will be outside shooting hoops, playing catch, or kicking a ball around. Not much else going on though.
ReplyDeleteYou couldn't have chosen a better song to close out this post!
ReplyDeleteI am going to do absolutely no serious work this summer. I am just hoping it can be everything that I imagine it to be.
ReplyDeleteYour dad worked on the Blackbird?! That's awesome!
ReplyDelete