Night Owl Cards

Recently, I hopped online and purchased a few key items with some of my magazine-writing money and they're starting to arrive at my home now. I'll probably lump the other purchases in together, but I wanted to reserve this one for a post of its own because of how much it means to me. The 1977 Renata Galasso 45-card set -- what would become a full 270-card set and issued all the way into the mid-1980s -- may not look like much on its face. The cards aren't valuable. The design takes its inspiration from 1960 Leaf, a rather unpopular set. All of the photos are black and white. And it wasn't issued by Topps or any other major card company. None of this mattered to me when I first saw them advertised in the pages of Baseball Digest in 1978 (a subscription to Baseball Digest first started coming to our home in 1977 but I don't believe the ads started appearing until 1978 Topps hit the streets). My only thought was "my goodness, these are cool. I NEED TH...

The life of this blog has coincided with a period in my own life in which I've felt both the time and money crunch. This is a running theme probably in most people's lives from the time they get out of high school. But when you have children and a demanding job, it seems particularly acute. And I've whined about my lack of both more than once right here. When I happen to stumble across either extra time or extra money, I feel bouyant, like nothing can stop me. When I stumble across both at the same time -- well, we're entering seldom-ventured territory. I am weightless. I entered that unfamiliar space yesterday. Right before Sunday's card show I received a reimbursement check in the mail, plenty enough to fund a card show. Then, I managed to leave for the show early, something I often have trouble doing because I work Saturday nights. And I walked into the show with three-to-four hours to do what I wished. I used it all. Well almost all, we'll get t...