One Piece at a Time

While growing up, you could say that my musical influences were varied.  I did most of my "growing up" musically in the 80's, so my tastes are strong into the bands/acts that were popular at that time.

But before I branched out towards my own musical tastes, my father was a big influence on what me and my sisters listened to around the house.  His love of country music kind of grated at my nerves, but in the end I probably wound up with more of an appreciation for that style of music than most of the other kids in my neighborhood.

Now most of the artists that my dad listened to, such as Charley Pride, Tom T. Hall and Stonewall Jackson were not my cup of tea.  But one singer that left an indelible impression on me was Johnny Cash.  His clean cut and good looks reminded me of my dad, and it didn't hurt that I was able to sing along to his music as well.

I received an envelope today from blog reader Steve D., a PWE that featured two cards.  One of the cards was another addition to the SNI project.

Serial # 1105

Ted Lilly becomes the 41st Dodger card in the SNI set, and the 13th card that Steve has sent my way.  The set now stands at 1270 cards total out of the 1500 needed for completion. 

The Ted Lilly card for some reason made me think of the Johnny Cash song that is featured on the video below.  As the set moves towards its completion, I imagine that I'm going to see more envelopes with just one card in them.  One Piece at a Time you might say.

Not only was that card in the envelope, but so was this....

Another great looking Adam Lind autograph card, this one from the 2012 Topps Golden Moments insert set.


Every card, every envelope, and every thought that another blogger or collector has sent my way is truly appreciated.   Each of those items gets me one step closer to a set that I thought I may never complete at one point.

It struck me as ironic that one of the most articulate and well spoken singers of my lifetime has a video of one of his most popular songs that contains just the lyrics.  I'm sure that everyone out there who listens to this song will be able to understand the words....

Steve, thank you so much for the cards!!  They really are appreciated.

thanks for reading, Robert

Eyes of a stranger

It's funny what will inspire a post.  I haven't written anything in the past 4 days.   I haven't even looked at my blog, that's how far removed I've been since last Thursday.

I've written 28 posts (including this one) since the beginning of November.  For someone that took pride in producing a post a day for the longest time, the past 6 weeks have been different.

I've taken time away from the blog.   I've had to.  I don't know if it's the stress of work that is getting to me, but for some reason this "peak" season is the worst for me of the 15 that I've endured in my career.  Evenings have been spent relaxing at home.  This past weekend I started my Xmas shopping, and again the blog was pushed to the side.  Even though I had received some great envelopes from fellow bloggers in the past week, I just wasn't motivated to get them posted for the world to see.

Then out of the blue, a song came on the satellite radio while at work today.  A song I probably haven't heard in over 20 years.  The song is also the title of this post...Eyes of a Stranger by the Payola$.  You'll see the music video (if you so desire) at the end of this post.  This is a song that I grew up with in the 80's, and unless you're a true 80's music buff, you probably never heard it south of the 49th parallel...

Naturally, with my personality, I've been obsessed with the damn song all day. I've bought it on iTunes and played it a couple of times already.  It also made sense to tie it into this post.

I've been so disengaged lately that I feel like I'm out of tune with the card collecting blogosphere.  Outside of a few comments I left last week on blogs, for most of the past 6 weeks I feel like I'm looking at your blogs with the eyes of a stranger. 

For some reason, hearing that song today has got my juices flowing again, as you can plainly see with this drivel that I've produced for you. 

I can even write about one card that I've received in the past week....

"Toronto starter outstanding again in losing effort".  Why in the hell then is there a picture of Alex Rios on the card?  The description on the back is about Dustin McGowan striking out 9 batters in 7 innings, only to have the Mariners win in the 9th inning 2-1.  I'm guessing the word "fail" would be appropriate here?

Anyhow, that's enough of my insanity.  Hopefully this will be the start of my return to being heard in the blogosphere, both here and on your blogs as well.  Eyes of a stranger no more...

Enjoy the video..

Thanks for reading, Robert

I can't explain

I can't explain why I am surrounded by 2 dozen piles of cards on my desk.  I have absolutely no desire to move any of them. 

I can't explain why I have several titles for posts in my head, but can't write about any of them.  I have no idea right now how to expand on the ideas that I have.

I can't explain why I couldn't capitalize on a statement my wife made to me a week ago Friday.  When you come home from work and your better half says to you "I haven't seen any packages for you this week, what happened?"  A good blogger should be able to pounce on that little piece of humor.    Nothing.

I can't explain why millionaires and billionaires are fighting over money that can never be recovered.  That must be the explanation for the depression that I'm feeling, because I just don't understand anymore.

I can't explain why for some reason my interest in the World Series this year is far less than last year.  I watched about 5 innings of last night's game, and that was the most I've watched this entire postseason.

I can't explain why an idea I have for a series of posts called "before lockouts and strikes" (BLAS) is the only thing that I am really interested in posting right now.  Is it the malaise that this time of year creates?  I have 3 piles of Blue Jays cards nearby that I've received this week, plus another gigantic stack that I need to sort through.  Not feeling it.

Maybe it's the sudden rush that I've encountered for vintage cards.  My slow gravitation away from the modern sets towards older cards.  Towards cards that remind me of my childhood, or some that are even older than I am, but still bring back a longing for the past.

When I sit down and think about it, I'm so immersed in today's athletes, and we are so inundated with information about the modern sports world, that you begin to feel a sense of overload.   Too much information. 

When I see a card like the Al Hamilton above, or the Wally Moon below, my interest is piqued.  I don't have the information about players from that era that I do from this generation.  What made these guys want to play back then?  Obviously the love of the sport they played was a big part of it, because a lot of the players that played in the 60's and 70's certainly didn't become rich from their contracts. 

The semi annual sport card Expo in Toronto is coming up in 11 days.  I will be attending, and I'm curious to see what ends up grabbing my interest this time.  I'll be bringing my want lists, mostly for more modern sets, but that doesn't mean I have to pull them out of my pocket when I walk up to a table.

Who knows, maybe there will be somebody there that can explain what's happening to me.

Only time will tell.

thanks for reading, Robert