I took a few days off to visit my daughter and check out her latest living quarters. She's moving up in the world -- literally -- she's got a second floor.
The first thing we did after checking into the hotel and getting some food is take in the Ringo Starr concert. Yes, Ringo, who just turned 86, is still touring and drumming and singing and holding up pretty well, at least as far as I could determine from my distant seats.
There he is front-and-center singing with Steve Lukather, the guitarist for Toto, during Ringo Starr and His All-Star Band's final concert of their 2026 fall tour. At far right is Colin Hay, the lead singer for Men At Work, and second from right, in the front, is Hamish Stuart, one of the singers in the Average White Band. Greg Bissonette, a yeoman drummer for Ringo's band, is playing the trumpet I believe at top right. I think this might be "With A Little Help From My Friends" if I've got the order right on my camera roll.
The Dodgers-Braves game was happening at the same time so I made sure to check the result during the concert. 4-1 Dodgers, the phone told me! (I don't remember what song was playing).
Anyway, I liked seeing all those old guys from my '80s high school days play those familiar hits, along with the Ringo Beatles songs.
The next day, with my daughter working during the day, I drove to the card shop that is near one of her old apartments. I've mentioned it in a past post. It's a great place -- Finnigan's Sports Cards (they have a big ebay presence, too).
I was there early Thursday afternoon and there were a handful of shoppers, along with the owner and a very knowledgeable high schoolish kid manning the counter. A replay of the previous night's Game 3 of the Rays-Yankees ALDS (hahahahahahaha!) was airing on a TV. The store, I would say, was organized chaos. The counter area is quite organized and there are lots of displays. In the rest of the area are scattered binders and boxes and random stuff like magazines and sticker albums and yearbooks in no particular order lying here and there. Also there are shelves on the far wall with all your supply needs.
But none of this was my concern because I spotted nickel boxes immediately. 20 cards for a buck. My wife was there, but I knew right then I would be a long time and she left. I didn't even check all of the rows and I could have spent far more time there than I did.
I found stuff for myself and others. The above cards are for my collection. The Tom Candiotti, 1994 Electric Diamond parallel was the first card I saw. It was one of 4 Dodgers I needed to finish that parallel set. Cards like that, as well as the 1999 Pacific Invincible Kevin Brown (one of two final Dodgers I needed for that set) don't show up every day. So, that's an A-plus shop there.
Getting 1970s football cards for a nickel is crazy. 1975 Billy Joe DuPree has a healthy crease but that's expected.
Above and behind the nickel boxes were just as many quarter boxes. Again, I didn't go through all of them -- for some reason I felt like I needed to keep moving because if I stayed in one place they'd eventually close the shop before I got to everything.
Continuing from the nickel cards, the Duke Snider and Shawn Green cards are from early 2000s sets that just don't show up much and I am happy to check off those boxes.
I finally pulled myself away from the discount boxes, wondering what I was leaving behind, to move closer to the counter and check out some random dollar binders on a table across from the counter. I pulled each of these Dodger needs while I listened to the owner talking with a guy who had come in looking to unload some of his cards (the owner was very cordial and the cards weren't junk either).
I started nosing around the items on the counter and near the TV was a bin with some discount vintage on display. It was the only vintage I saw, though I'm sure there was a bunch of vintage in the graded area that I glanced at quickly.
I added this 1968 Topps Jerry Grote.
And I added these 1965 Topps needs, too. RIP, Sudden Sam. As you can see the cards are pretty sharp with only the slightest of flaws (a slightly dented corner or somewhat off-center).
Why not? Let's add these two key 1976 Topps football cards, too. Very pleased to get a playing days Staubach card for a discount.
After checking that bin I moseyed around the rest of the counter looking at this box and that and realizing I didn't want any of it no matter what the price was. I paid up and everything -- keep in mind I'm not showing everything here -- came to $35.
I paid with the money I had set aside for the card show last week. But as I mentioned in that post the other day, I didn't end up buying anything at that show and left a little annoyed. So this card shop experience made up for that.
It was nice to be at a card shop that wants to be a card shop and not just an online presence. I certainly got that vibe. The shop has been around for more than 25 years so they obviously have a good spot in the community (the shop is in a typical strip mall).
Once again it's amazing what you get to do when you're in civilization. It's a little different where I live, therefore the journeys I must take for my hobby ... and other things.
As Ringo would say, "it don't come easy."
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