In Memoriam

The end of life is such a melancholy and somber topic (for me)... that I usually don't talk or think about it unless I have to.  I'm not saying that I won't talk about it... I just prefer to talk and write about happier things like bacon, Game of Thrones, and baseball cards.

However last weekend I was surrounded by it.  My parents were in town to attend the memorial services for a family friend.  And with it being the 15th Anniversary of the September 11th attacks, I couldn't help but think about the thousands of lives lost on that tragic day.

Plus there's the stress of me destroying my work laptop and quite possibly losing nine years worth of lesson plans, presentations, activities, and handouts with the understanding that all of this could have been prevented had I just backed up my computer.

In short... the weekend was pretty depressing and frustrating.

Thankfully I made time to sit down and catch up on a week's worth of card blog reading... which helped take my mind off of things.  I wrapped up the weekend by opening two care packages on Sunday evening.  One of them inspired today's post.  The other I'll share another day.

There's the saying "good things come in small packages" and that's exactly what I received from Angus over at Dawg Day Cards.  He built me a super generous birthday care package that included a card from my Top 10 Most Wanted List... but before we look at that, let's check out the other items he sent:

1993 Humpty Dumpty #14 Rickey Henderson

Always excited to add a new Rickey Henderson oddball issue to the collection.  Food issues rule... especially when they're miniature.

2016 Topps National Trading Card Day #34 and #43

Another oddball issue!  Angus is on a roll!  I saw these over on Beckett last month and thought they looked pretty cool.  They kind of remind me of a Upper Deck set from a few years ago.

1983 Post Cereal Team Card

Okay... it's time to show off my favorite card of the package:

1985/86 O-Pee-Chee #110

As a teacher, I feel bad choosing favorites... especially since I appreciate all of the cards Angus sent.

But I've wanted this card for as long as I can remember.  I've seen plenty of copies over the years, but I held out hoping that one day I'd find one sitting in a dime box or something.

If you're not familiar with Pelle Lindbergh... he was a star goalie for the Philadelphia Flyers and Team Sweden in the mid 80's who tragically passed away at the age of twenty-five after crashing his Porsche into a school late one evening while intoxicated.  To be honest... I didn't follow hockey until the Sharks arrived in the early 90's... but I remember guys talking about the card when I worked at a card shop back in college.

I always thought it was cool that O-Pee-Chee took the time to add the tiny black strip at the bottom of the card to honor him.  I'm not sure how many times card companies have taken the time to do this, but I remember Topps honored Bart Giamatti back in 1990:

1990 Topps #396

Donruss and Score also produced tribute cards for Giamatti... but I'm not exactly sure if I own them or not.  However... thanks to COMC... here's what they look like:

COMC Images

I do own a Larry Fritsch "In Memoriam" trading card:

There are two other Fritsch tribute cards, which I think I have laying around somewhere.

COMC Image

His family obviously tried to mimic the 1964 Topps Ken Hubbs card, which has replaced the Lindbergh on my Top 10 Wantlist.

COMC Image

A quick Google search led me to this Jim Umbrict card from the same set.  At the bottom of the card it mentions his passing earlier in the year.

There's also a subset of "In Memoriam" cards in the 1994 Conlon baseball card set, but since they honored the players decades after their playing years, I left them out of this post.

In 2008... Topps honored Sean Taylor with a card posthumously in their Topps Progression set:

COMC Image

Finally there's the 1970-71 O-Pee-Chee hockey card of Terry Sawchuk:

COMC Image

I'm sure there are other "In Memoriam" trading cards floating around out there.  If you happen to know of any, feel free to leave them in the comment section below.

Thank you Angus for this awesome birthday care package!

Happy Friday and sayonara!

The Good, the Really Bad, and the Pirate

Today sucked.  Sucked real bad.  But let's kick this post off on a positive note.


The Good:

The NFL season has arrived and both of my teams are projected to be contenders by most people.  Obviously an injury or two could change that in a heartbeat, but for now the Hawks and Packers provide much more hope than the Athletics or Padres.

During the offseason, I picked up autographed rookie cards of my two favorite wide receivers from childhood.  I've actually picked up a few other signed and slabbed rookie cards, but these are the only two football players.

The Bad:

This morning I threw my laptop into my trunk, along with a big bottle of water.  When I arrived at work, I discovered the container had a leak.  A few notebooks and a jacket soaked up most of the water, but I noticed that my work laptop was slightly wet.

At first I didn't think it was that big of a deal, because it looked like someone poured water into their hand and splashed the outside of my computer.  The keyboard and screen were completely dry.  I wiped off my laptop and started it up.  Everything was fine for about ten minutes.  Then I received an error message regarding one of my USB ports.  A minute later... the computer shut down.

I ran down to Safeway during my prep period and purchased some rice, which is supposed to absorb the moisture.  Hopefully it'll be okay.  Not exactly sure about our district policy, but I'm hoping that I don't need to reimburse them $1,500 for the computer.

The Ugly:

Here's the mug shot that's being used on my school ID card as well as my faculty yearbook photo.  It's not my best angle... but at least it'll help the students remember me.

Happy Thursday and sayonara!

Flea Market Finds #111: Buffet of Board Games, Bobbles, and Baseball Cards

Last weekend, my buddy Mike came into town for the San Jose Earthquakes game... so we decided to make the most of it and hang out at the De Anza Flea Market on Saturday and the Capitol Flea Market on Sunday.

Both of us were pretty impressed with the quality of stuff the vendors brought out on Saturday.  I ended up spending over $50 there and had to make a couple of trips to the car to drop stuff off.

Purchase #1:  Vintage Sports Board Games $3

I kicked things off with this purchase of three vintage board games:

None of them are complete, but for a buck a piece... I was willing to pick them up.  I'm planning on trying to flip them at either this month's card show or at a future flea market to help fund my hobby expenses.

Purchase #2:  1974 Ceramic Football Statue $3

I normally avoid making these kinds of purchases.  I don't really have a statue collection and prefer to spend my money on bobble heads.  However... this statue caught my eye.  I like the vintage vibe it gives off.  It may end up being a Flea Market Flip item... but for now it sits on my office bookshelf collecting dust.


Purchase #3:  Autographed Baseball Cards $10

Back in the 80's I had the opportunity to meet Will Clark, so I had him sign my 1986 Topps Traded card of him.  Since then... I have loved the look of these cards when they're signed.  I'm closing in on having twenty different signatures from this set.  I'll show them off sometime in a future post.

Purchase #4:  Riddell Mini Helmets $35

I've been wanting to pick up these two helmets for my office bookshelf, but the guy who carries these never has the Seahawks in stock.  He finally did, so I swooped in and grabbed the pair.


Purchase #5:  1998 Kenner SLU's $5

It's simple.  One dollar SLU's rule and will be added to my collection.

Purchase #6:  Refractors $1

Again.  It's simple.  Cheap refractors are really cool and will be added to my collection.


Purchase #7:  San Jose Earthquakes Bobble Heads $2

Let's try this one more time.  It's simple.  One dollar bobbleheads of San Jose Earthquakes are totally awesome and will always be added to my collection.

Well that's this week's flea market wrap up.  I'm not 100% sure I'll head out to the Capitol Flea Market next weekend. I might sleep in and watch the Packers' game.  If I change my mind, you'll be the first to know.

Happy Tuesday and sayonara!

Yes Dionne...

I surely do know the way to San Jose.  I have called it my home for almost my entire life and don't have plans to leave... at least in the near future.

Obviously... it's not perfect.  We have major traffic congestion, insane housing prices, and terrible air quality.  However the pro's easily outweigh the con's for me.  I have access to beautiful beaches, wine country, ski resorts, and redwood forests all within four hours of my doorstep.  It's never too cold in my neck of the woods... and it only reaches triple digits a handful of days each year.

But one of my favorite things about living in San Jose is the number of professional sports teams I have to support.  The San Jose Giants are one of those teams.

On Friday a few of my co-workers and I went to the game and watched them play the Visalia Rawhide, which are the Arizona Diamondback's Class A minor league team.  I didn't recognize any of the players from either team, but the game was entertaining nonetheless.

One of the great things about San Jose Municipal Stadium is that there isn't really a bad seat in the house.  We sat along the right field line, were only five rows away from the action, and had some amazing barbecue from Turkey Mike's.

Since the tickets were free and my friend bought dinner (for my birthday), I felt like I needed to spend money on something.  We checked out the team store before the game and I ended up grabbing the 2016 team set.  It'll go with the other San Jose Giants team sets I've purchased in the past.

Last night... I took in another San Jose sporting event and attended the San Jose Earthquakes' international friendly match against Liga MX champions, Pachuca.

My best friend hooked me up with a pair of her season tickets and I finally had the opportunity to checkout Avaya Stadium.  It was very impressive and boasts the largest outdoor bar in North America:

Across the grass were a bunch of food trucks with stuff ranging from fried pork bellies to bacon wrapped hot dogs.  Everything was perfect, except for the outcome of the game.  The Earthquakes lost by a goal, but they made things interesting the last ten minutes of the game.

Alright... it's your turn:

What's your hometown?  What are some of the best (and/or worst) things about your hometown?

I hope everyone is enjoying their three day weekend.  Thank you to everyone who left those thoughtful birthday comments last week.  It made my birthday that much more special.

Happy Sunday and sayonara!