[todeen]

I started collecting in the early 90s as a 5 year old boy in Billings, MT. I bought my cards from Buttrey's Grocery Store....well actually, I smiled at my mom and had puppy dog eyes, and she bought me my cards. By about 1994, I discovered a real card shop, and it was the generic well organized, glass case, supplies. We've all been in these stores - it's almost like a Mr Clean card shop. For a 8 year old boy, that wasn't my thing. In 1996 I discovered a card shop that I liked much much more. It was a small house, perhaps even a double wide trailer. Its closeness made the shop feel very friendly - you were always within close distance of the owner, and that meant me, a 10 year old, got to talk to the owner about my growing interest. Because it was so small, not everything could be kept behind the glass cases. It felt like there was something to be discovered. 1996 was a fantastic year for baseball cards. While I didn't buy a lot of them, Topps Laser came out that year and it was exciting to see the die cuts. At this little shop I pulled a KGJ Powercuts. The pic isn't mine - it's borrowed off ebay. My card actually has foil separation at the very top of the card because I still wasn't a master at opening packs. Anyway, I was very excited to have that card after the 1995 season. The whole Laser set was fantastic.