When I was in college, I worked the hamburger grill at one of the on-campus restaurants my first semester or two. The cooking area was connected to the nearby cafeteria and one of the cooks who worked next to me was named Cliff. He was probably in his 50s or 60s, a cheerful Black man who enjoyed working around young college students and had a smile for everyone, even a couple of notoriously grumpy people who worked there with him. Cliff loved to play the lottery and everyone knew that. He would always respond to jokes about him throwing money away every week by saying, "You've got to be in it to win it!" I'm sure that wasn't the first time I heard that phrase, but it really stuck with me with Cliff uttering it so often. And it's what I think of now every baseball trade deadline or offseason. You've got to be in it to win it. Once I used to rag on the Yankees, like a lot of people did, because they "bought their championships." But that was a
I have mentioned before how it's difficult for me to get interested in cards that were issued 20-80 years before I was born. My main interest -- as selfish as it may seem -- is mostly the cards that were issued while I was alive. I do leave the light on for cards that came out immediately before I arrived on the earth, stuff from the '50s and early '60s. But even for the early '50s I just can't fully grasp the fascination. I do like early Bowman but there's still something missing for me. And those Topps sets from 1952-55, I'll never enjoy them as much as the stuff that came afterward. So while you're scratching off that 1933 Goudey or 1922 American Caramel Dodger card on your "send to night owl list" (really, I will take them gladly), here are some cards that I received from three different people that span just about my entire lifetime. You're going to see all manner of blog photo presentation here because I'm not happy with any o