I have taken close to a two year hiatus from going to the card show. The past few times, I simply didn’t have any luck finding some good lots to wheel & deal, so I didn’t feel much of a pull to go. When Tri-Star rolled into town this past weekend, I decided on a whim to take the hike up there with my man-child in tow. Things are different now:
My son is 2 feet taller
I wasn’t in line before they opened
I only went one day, instead of three
I didn’t have a rolling suitcase to carry my treasures in
This was quite the opposite of my usual trip. Normally, my excursions to the show are characterized by the number of trips I take to and from the cardboard-mobile (my minivan) with the dolly I borrowed from whatever dealer I did something with.
I felt no urgency…it was like I was a regular attendee, just going there to have fun. (Well that, and to find some new Canseco cards I didn’t have yet!) The last time we went proved to be virtually fruitless, but with the rate of production of new cards over the past 2-3 years, I figured there should be at least SOME I didn’t have.
I was wrong.
Out of ALL of the countless tables of baseball cards ….
ONLY ONE had a Canseco … and I had it already.
No problem, though. My son was delighted to find that the selection of Star Wars cards and memorabilia was more prevalent this year than all of the other years we had ever gone to, combined.
This picture right here means more to me than anything else that happened at the show. I really had fun with him. In keeping with tradition, we also had a nice $25 lunch of junk that consisted of chili cheese hot dogs, nachos, coke and a slab of fudge on our way out.
Between all of the moustache / Rollie Finger conversations that were struck up (a handful of people ALWAYS say something if I do up the ‘stache), I was able to meet some of the members on the forums for the first time: Keyzer Soze, Johnburris, Batottu, Redsmitty03, Jewcer2k5, Tiki4MVP and David R. (Sorry, David – I don’t recall your username.) it was nice meeting you folks!
When we got home, my son had fun sorting his new Star Wars cards –
I thought hey, why not make a Custom Cuts card (shameless plug) out of the occasion? Here is the wrapper
and the card …
I didn’t go home COMPLETELY empty-handed though. I did get some one touch holders. A few singles, and a few booklet holders. Why? Because I made a few cards.
The first one fits in quite nicely with the Star Wars theme.
STAR WARS: THE LAST JEDI BOOKLET
First, the outside of the booklet:
The outside features all holo-foil print and graphics, with two boxes to house the authenticity stickers.
Now, for the inside:
I LOVE how it came out. (We won’t mention that I had to redo the Mark Hamill portion due to a last name spelling error … Hammil or is it Hammill or …) Even the inner binding’s pattern is holo-foil.
I can’t wait to see this signed!
The next one is of a fellow who made quite a splash back in the 70s. Have you heard? Bird is the word!
The one and only Mark Fidrych! How fitting that I’m chopping up a Tri Star card after having come back from a Tri Star show, right? Shockingly enough, out of all the 1/1, patch, auto, etc. cards, this one was quite possibly the easiest for me to chop up emotionally 🙂
Here it is: Cut auto / Jumbo patch!
With as much as I love this card, I must admit, the final product doesn’t have Big Bird. Here is the what the final looks like:
While I think the Big Bird card pops much more, I do love the Detroit patch card as well!
The back just might be my favorite back to a card I’ve done, though:
A holo-foil back to match the holo-foil front 🙂
It just goes to show you that this hobby has changed – for me, at least. It used to be ONLY about buying and selling. Accumulating. Now, it is more about creating cards and enjoying the feedback that comes from them. Hunting the Canseco cards I don’t yet have. Instead of finding my enjoyment in the hobby by virtually spending the night at the card shows and being all business, I truly enjoyed just being at the show with my son, and watching him look through cards. There are so many dimensions to this hobby to me now, and for that I am grateful.
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