I've been very busy with a freelance project but on the way back
from downtown I just decided to stop at the second-hand shop
near our favorite breakfast place. You never know when they'll have
something nifty.
At the front counter was a pleasant older woman, and nearby were
two shoeboxes filled with....baseball cards. "Mind if I look at
these?" I asked.
"Oh, certainly, dear, they just came in. I haven't priced them yet."
The boxes were filled with neatly stacked piles of these 1956 Topps
cards. Not reprints. I decided to count them. It took a while, but
gave me a chance to carefully assess every card. There were 340.
"Do you have any idea when these might be available?" I asked.
"I guess when I can find someone to help me get a sense of how
much they cost. What would you be willing to pay?"
few midair moments, plus the card didn't have many dinged
corners, and since this was a charity outfit and I didn't want to feel
guilty, I said, "Well, what are you asking?" Often, people accuse me
of being extravagant, but mainly I wanted to be fair.
The woman was clearly interested in a transaction. She had many
contributions to process, and perhaps wanted to get rid of these
two boxes of baseball cards that were kind of in her way.
"Baseball cards don't sell very well here. How about 10 cents per
card?
I bet some are worth a lot more. But my eight-year-old daughter
would like these. They're like little pieces of art. I'll take them."
boxes out to the car. "Oh no, I'm fine," I said.
This turned out to be a bad decision, because as I opened the back
the van, the two boxes fell to the ground, and just then, one of
those enormous gusts of New Mexico dust devil wind came along,
and the cards were carried aloft. I considered trying to find some of
them, but really had to get home.
Easy come, easy go, I guess. But even for those few minutes, I
enjoyed owning a complete set of 1956 Topps cards.
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