Saving my collection from a burning building

I'm telling you, some of these Fuji posts are a godsend.

I'm absolutely drained during the Olympics. It's a lot of work for a little old sports editor like me. And there is no way I could come up with two post ideas a day without devolving into a series of pictures accompanied by grunts, if it wasn't for some ideas supplied by other bloggers.

So, thanks for the assistance.

And now, I'm supposed to tell you my three most prized possessions in my collection.

I call this one of those "what would you save if your house was burning" questions.

The actual answer to this question is:

WHAT ARE YOU NUTS???? I CAN'T JUST PICK THREE THINGS!!!!! I LIKE THEM ALL!!! I NEED THEM ALL!!!! I'M GOING DOWN WITH THEM, DAMMIT!!!! ME AND ALL MY 1980S TOPPS CARDS IN A GREAT BIG GIANT FIREBALL!!! DON'T MAKE ME CHOOSE!!!!

But there isn't any actual fire, so I'll handle things calmly and rationally.

The first item in my collection that I would save if my house was burning is an easy decision. In fact I've mentioned it several times already as the first item I'd rush to if there was fire (of course, all of the people are out of the building by this point. Don't get all accusatory).

It would be my binder housing my complete 1975 Topps set. It's the cornerstone, the Alpha and Omega, the cardboard that makes my collector heart go pitter-pat, however you want to quantify it.

The 1975 set defines me as a collector. It brings me the greatest joy and is the very foundation of who I am in this hobby.

So, yes, definitely a prized possession.

And don't worry, the minis will be in the binder with the rest of the set.

The second item I would save is an easy pick, too.

I would save my binder of Dodger autographed cards.

Lots of goodness in that binder. Signatures of Koufax, Erskine, Podres and Snider. Signatures of Garvey, Cey and Hooton. Signatures of Kemp, Kershaw and Ethier.

I wouldn't save this for any monetary reason. It's just exceedingly cool to have cards signed by your all-time favorite players and this must be preserved in my collection.

And, lastly, the third item I would save from my collection is also an easy pick.

It's my binder of beaten up, worn down, loved-to-shreds 1975 Topps cards. These are the cards that I collected that very first year of collecting in 1975. I've saved them for the last 37 years. They've been with me since I was 9 years old. There's no way they're going up in flames.

So, creases and all, they are valued items for sure.

So, there you are. My three most prized possessions. All cardboard.

(By the way, as you probably noted, all three of these items are in binders. This comes in very handy if there's a fire. Portability is very important. Don't throw your cards in a big, old box. You'll never be able to lug that thing down stairs with flames at your heels. You'll be a goner).

Of course, this means saying goodbye to some fabulous stuff.

All my Kellogg's cards. My Koufax rookie card. My completed sets from 1971 and '74 and '76 and '78, etc., etc., etc. My 1956s, my Lineage minnniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiissssssssssss, my groovy '72s and my underrated '88 Scores. My first Fleer and Donruss sets. My 1969 Bob Gibson. My '51 Duke Snider. My 90 or so other Ron Cey cards. My 1973 Luis Alvarado card. My relic cards and my Allen & Ginter and my crazy '90s inserts.

So, I'm begging you, please ...

Please.

Please.

Please.

Don't make me choose.