The other day, much to my relief, the post office employee handed me my receipt and said, "it should get there by the 23rd."
I was shipping out my Secret Santa card package, doing something I vow never to do -- stand in a post office line a week before Christmas. But I had fallen behind and was making a last-ditch effort to get my Secret Santa package out in time for Christmas Day opening. So I queued up with some jollyish people -- including an old man loudly flirting with a woman 40 years younger than him (when he left, the woman said, "I'm going to punch him out.") -- and zipped out of there quicker than I thought I would.
And it was all worth it to hear that the cards would arrive by the 23rd. Whether they did or not, I may or may not find out. That's up to the recipient.
As for me, I don't know whether I've received my Secret Santa gift. None of the packages I've received have identified them as such. And most of the packages I've received recently I have expected. No big surprises.
There is one package though ...
This comment was left on a post earlier in the week:
Hmmmmmmm.
I don't remember Wes joining the Bob Walk The Plank Secret Santa project. But then I didn't really keep track of everyone participating.
Could it be? Could I have been lucky enough to have Jaybarkerfan's Junk draw my name in Secret Santa?
I guess it doesn't really matter because I received a big ol' package from Wes regardliess, it was chock full of stuff I love, and it's all mine. HO! HO! HO!
As you know, Wes will drop regular old cards on you. But he also likes to pile on parallels and inserts and, oh, just a few serial-numbered cards. I received so many serial-numbered cards that I'm going to count them as I go along here.
Here is a taste of what I received.
Starting with a vintage Fleer World Series sticker from 1968. I love these as much as any oddball set from this time period. There will be a time when I scoop these all up in one month-long flurry. Expect nothing but Laughlin love on this blog at that time.
Here is another card that I was able to erase from my cart. Panini's '82 Donruss style inserts are ... weird. But they're a lot better than the base cards, and I cannot get the image out of my head that Clayton Kershaw's left arm has come to life and he's trying to fend it off. ... Oh, and Panini, your freakin' fonts are way too small.
All right, guys, it's time to count some serial-numbered cards. Ready?
Weeeee! Wasn't that fun?
OK, I screwed up and the O'Koyea Dickson card is not really numbered. But it should be.
It is staggering how many airbrushed headshot cards there are of Fernando Valenzuela from the mid-1980s. I need to do a post on that. Expect it soon. Or never.
Ooh. It's a much coveted first-day issue card. Not by me, of course. I just see it as a card with a stamp on it. But, you know, '90s kids.
This is about my third or fourth different version of the 2003 Stadium Club Sean Pierce card. Who is Sean Pierce? Excellent question. Why does he have 3 or 4 different cards in 2003 Stadium Club? My answer is "it was 2003."
Time to count serial numbers!!!
Those 2004 Upper Deck Ultimate cards apparently were so exclusive that I don't even have them on my want list. That usually means I was scared away by their high-end airs.
Here are a couple of mini-parallels. The more legendary Adrian Beltre's career gets, the more I want to accumulate his Dodger cards. I have a good chunk already, but I know there is a mountain of ones I don't have. Probably at Wes' place.
Great card. And one of those cards that makes you re-evaluate what you have and don't have from the junk wax era. Totally thought I had this, but apparently I have a ways to go with the '93 Team Stadium Club Dodger set.
Yahoo! Another Dodger Beltre. (Foilboard always scans like crap!)
Serial numbers!
Yup, the two Beltres are the same card. But not the same serial number!
It's not often that you find two different cards of the same player, who barely had any cards or a career, that you need.
That's a Jaybarkerfan's package for you.
Needed 2016 GQ card of the Dodgers newly re-signed closer. Happy post-nuptial life to you, Kenley.
Stuff I need of players you've barely/never heard of.
Serials!!!
Love the red shinies and the uncirculated refractor (2004 Bowman calls those "silver parallels" because they're obsessed with foil, but that's a "white parallel" as far as I'm concerned because the base cards are black, duh).
Speaking of fun, colorful cards:
I really enjoy 2014 Finest and desperately need to become a 2014 Finest super-collector.
Serial numbers on the front aside (yuck), these are wonderful. The card on the left is a green refractor and the card on the right is a black refractor. Depending on your viewpoint, these are either stupid or wonderful. I'll be honest, I can go either way. But right now they're wonderful.
Foily.
Goldy.
Wish I had time to bust this out before scanning it. But you get the idea. It's diecut and phenomenal.
And speaking of phenomenal Mike Piazza items, there is this:
OK, the face is cracking me up here, but honestly this Pinnacle Metal Works "card" is the star of the package.
First of all, it's heavy and has already caused havoc with card stacks on my desk. Second of all, it's bronze-plated (there are silver- and gold-plated versions, too, because 1997). I doubt something like this will go in my Dodger binder because it's going to annihilate the cards next to it.
But this is pretty cool.
And if indeed Wes is my official Secret Santa, I think he went way over the spending limit.
A happy Christmas to the three folks who jammed up my mailbox on Tuesday and to all those other collectors out there. I'll be back on Christmas Eve, probably with another acquisition.
'Tis the season.
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