Hamlet, Part II

If you have read my post yesterday, you know that Commishbob sent me a really cool 2011 rip card of Yovani Gallardo, serial numbered to 99.  Everyone who weighed in said "rip that Gallardo open!"

I mean, even though Hamlet didn't die at his own hands -- after all, Shakespeare had to make it a complete tragedy and kill off nearly everyone in one large, poisonous, bloody scene -- he still was "not to be".

So, it's only appropriate that I ripped open the Gallardo.  Curiosity killed the cat, and it got the best of me here.

I wish I could say that Bob and I will be splitting the proceeds of a Babe Ruth DNA relic of some sort, but that was not...to be...or in the card...or, come up with your own pun.

All we got inside of the rip card was freaking Tim Lincecum:

So, yeah, that was a bit of a let down. I was hoping that I'd at least get a limited edition mini of a Milwaukee Brewers player in the rip. 

But, that said, I guess this is good trade bait for you Giants collectors. Like you guys don't have enough to enjoy already with being the World Series champions!

Anyway, have a Happy Halloween. I'm off to Jacksonville.

Last year's way-too-close final score thanks to Todd Grantham's patented "Third-and-Grantham" style defense making sure that no third down is too long of a yardage to convert. Ask Louisville about that after the FSU game last night.

The sunset two years ago, with coloration provided by a combination of the south end of Hurricane Sandy's clouds and the general haze that inhabits Jacksonville.

Hamlet Visits

I know. It's not original to borrow from Hamlet to ask questions about making choices. And yet, it's often the most concise way of posing the question:

"To be, or not to be?"

Hamlet had deeper issues -- I mean, he was contemplating whether he should take his own life -- but the economy of words there is poignant.

So, why is Hamlet on my mind?

Because Commishbob sent me a 2011 Allen & Ginter Rip Card of Yovani Gallardo that has not yet been ripped.

As this card sat on my desk in my office where I do most of my card-collecting activities, I was of two minds. Of course, I could rip open the card -- carefully -- and probably keep the rest of the card intact and still include it in my collection. Then, I could probably either sell the card that came inside, send it back to Bob as a thank you, or maybe I'd really get lucky and get a special card inside of a Brewer, as unlikely as that might be.

On at least three or four occasions, I thought about ripping it open.

I even looked at Duane's blog, Democratic Roadkill, to see how he had tried to be as careful as possible in ripping open the rip cards he had received.

And then, I put the card into the Yovani Gallardo collection -- unripped -- and walked away.

But the question remains:

"To rip, or not to rip?"

Thoughts?

And before I progress any further, thank you very much, Bob, for this great dilemma!