Garvey Cey Russell Lopes posed a question on Friday about cards that he used to own that he traded away or sold that he wished he still had. I commented originally that I could not think of any cards that I regretted getting rid of at this point.
Then I read Night Owl's post about the cards that "disappeared when I was collecting as a child." It reminded me of a card that I have not seen since the mid-1980s that I know I had.
It was beat up -- badly beat up, in fact -- with rounded corners and a few creases. As a result, I didn't give it the proper care and attention it deserved. My thought process then, skewed as it was, was that I didn't need that old, beat-up card. Plus, it was too big for my plastic sheets, so over time it just sort of disappeared.
What card was it?
Yes, that one.
Seriously, I don't know if I just didn't appreciate the card because of its condition, or if I was embarrassed that I had a "poor" condition card, or thought some baseball card bullies (or just some older guy at a show with the social skills usually reserved for the Comic Book Guy on the Simpsons) would make fun of me for thinking that a card in such bad shape would have value.
For whatever reason, I lost track of this card. It has yet to resurface in all of my trips back to my mom's house to look through my old stuff there. So, I'm resigned to the fact that I'll probably have to pony up and buy one of these to complete the 1954 Bowman Braves team set at some point in the future.
Come back, Hank. I promise to treat you better this time.
