Fathers Day came early

I received an early fathers day "gift" and wanted to share with everyone my newest addition. Before I continue I must say that this "present" was given to me by . . . drum roll please . . . well to be honest, I bought it myself. That's right, I bought myself an early fathers day "present"; why, just because.

Here it is . . . weighing in at 6.2 pounds, 1848 pages worth of baseball cards; The 2008 Standard Catalog of Baseball Cards, 17th edition, edited by Don Fluckinger.

I have never bought a book that was this heavy nor had as many pages - except maybe my daughters huge SAT practice test book. My book will get opened much more.

This book boasts "the hobby's biggest and best price guide". However, I did not buy this volume for the price guide but for the vast collection of cards, over 140 years worth. This book catalogs sets, individual cards, errors, reprints, coins, stamps, rookie cards, short prints, double prints among its many different designations.

A 6 pound history lesson and for me an early fathers day "gift". Happy early Fathers Day to all you Dad's out there - may you be as nice to yourself as I have been for me. Thank you to me !

Shock and Reality

The death of Nick Adenhart was a shock but it is also today's reality. My heart goes out to his family, and the Angels organization; I feel sad for so many of his friends and fans. I never knew anything about Adenhart, do not own his cards nor even knew of him before Thursday, but that does not change anything.

I want mention right here that no one should forget the other three persons in this car; two of whom perished and one who is in serious condition. Their situations are no less important or tragic than what we are all focused on. This accident is affecting so many families and so many people inside and outside of baseball.

And maybe that is what bothers me most; outside of baseball circles you hear very little if nothing of this accident. That is the reality of such an accident - we as a society have become very hardened and this sort of accident happens all too often. We are all too willing to accept bad behavior and give second chances. The driver of the minivan was n his second chance.

Maybe it is time for Major League Baseball to take a stand across our nation. What better way to make a long lasting memory for the Adenharts, Angels and the other families than for MLB to send a message to the over 60 million fans who attend games every year and the hundreds of millions who watch and/or listen to games on tv and radio.

Make a stand Major League Baseball - send the message ! It is time we change this reality !