Better in my mind

 

For about 90 percent of the life of this blog, I've known around 2-3 card shows a year. Each of those shows were at least an hour away, so I've equated card shows for the past 15 years with excursions. Better make it a day, because it's going to be awhile!

Because of this the "monthly card show in town" sounded so nice. I wondered what that was like. I'd be envious of bloggers who "just got back from the monthly card show." -- the monthly card show, because it had been there for awhile, maybe it's always been there. Must be nice.

 

I remember what I'd think reading those posts about monthly shows. "If I had a monthly show, I'd be there every month, what a wonderful world."

 

So in the last year or so, my town has set up its own monthly card show. I've written about it. But 2008-22 night owl would be very disappointed. I haven't kept up with the schedule very well. And I actually skipped a show last month, something that I thought I would never do.

 

But "a monthly show" is one of those things that sounds better in my mind. Like "dessert after every dinner" when I was a kid. It sounds great. But in practice, it doesn't live up to the fantasy.

 

Don't get me wrong. I loved having a show to go to Saturday. I loved being able to roll out of bed, take a quick shower (there's a tip, show-goers), grab a bite and drive three miles down the road to the show. It's wild. Almost dream-like still.

 

And it's great to still be able to find cards at this show. The room is small (I think they're expanding next month) and I know, stepping in, there will be maybe four tables where I can find things suited to me. I'm used to larger shows where I can blow some cash. I bring much less to this show.

 

This time they had someone stationed at the front to take your admission fee. I mentioned the last time I went that there was no one there to take my money. Not coincidentally, I'm sure, the show reported one of their raffle-prize cards was stolen from the front table.

 

The best cards I found in the hour I was there were the first two purchases I made. I added these two very flat 1970 Kellogg's cards. I didn't realize it for awhile but these came from John of Sports Card Nation Podcast, where I made a guest appearance a couple years ago.

 

 

The second purchase, this semi-high number 1967 Topps Red Schoendienst and the most "expensive" buy of the day at 5 bucks. This came from the dealer next to John (their tables merged together so you didn't know where one ended and one started). I'd come back to this table at the end.

 

 

My next buys were at a table I went to the last time I was there. He has a modest line-up of discount boxes. Since I didn't get there until around 12:30, I'm sure a lot of it was picked over, it seemed like a bunch of football and basketball. But then I found some 2023 Stadium Club.

This is just how I want to buy Stadium Club this year. Since it's a delayed product, I have no patience for a rash of rookies, boring inserts and players in old uniforms just so I can find 3 or 4 cool photos per pack. Better to pick them up at 20-cents-per.

I would've liked the Devers studio shot to be the regular picture, but it wasn't there.

 

More randoms from the cheapy binz. By now I knew there would be nowhere else I'd find anything I could want/afford. It's really a small show, you guys, 20 tables at the most.

 

That's the entirety of the Dodgers that I added. (I'll take a neat-looking '74 Sutton for a buck any day, this must be my 5th or 6th one). I could have added several cheap Kershaw cards but all of them were unappealing Panini things and that's not what I want from a show -- at least Chris Taylor was colorful.

 

Along the lines of the Sutton, I'll add 1970s cards that I have already if they're in good shape and cheap. There was actually a lot of '70s cards for sale, I had just about every one. But if I wanted to go on an upgrade spree, I bet I could have done it there.

Near the end I began to realize there would be nothing else for me, but the cards in the one discount bin were kind of nice so I searched for a few cards for others, paid up and was out the door.

I drove home and had a good chunk of the day left for whatever I wanted to do, which is often not the case for the excursion card shows.

Still, the finds are very casual and I can definitely see skipping more of these in the future (but also going to some), based on my schedule. So now I know why people were saying "I skipped the last one." Familiarity will do that.

But, hopefully, I will be saying THE monthly card show for a good long time.