[junkwaxjunkie]

Hi all - I am a new member to the forums as of today, so I wanted to give a quick intro before I get involved. I think the overall outline of my story is pretty common, but I'd like to share anyway. It's a bit long and might seem like I'm rambling, but it comes back to make sense at the end, and accurately describes the collector I am today.

I started collecting as a kid, probably around 1987 (there seems to be a big difference in the amount of 1986 cards and 1987 cards in my collection, so that's my deduction). I grew up in Texas and Ruben Sierra was my favorite player as a kid. One of my first cards is the 1987 Topps Ruben Sierra record breaker, which I thought was AWESOME and it even has my birthday on the back of the card (the date he hit 2 HRs in one game - one from the left and one from the right). I still have this card, in a top loader. It's not in great shape, but I really couldn't care less. My favorite player changed a few times over the next several years, as I learned more about the sport and the hobby. Jose Canseco, then Rickey Henderson, then Kirby Puckett, Frank Thomas, and eventually Ken Griffey Jr. That one stuck.

My first real best friend - his name was Matt - was also into collecting cards. I have many amazing memories with Matt, lots of them having to do with collecting. We would look for loose change in couch cushions and outside in the streets, do random chores for our parents and neighbors - anything we could to get a couple of dollars and run down to the nearest gas station to spend our hard-earned money on a pack of cards. Upper Deck came out with their first set that year, and there was of course the great chase for the 89 Fleer Billy Ripken f*ckface card. Those were such fun times. Now we look back on that era and we call it "junk" (as my screen name indicates), but I absolutely loved collecting during that time.

One story that sticks out to me had to do with Ken Griffey Jr's 89 Donruss Rated Rookie. Matt had been lucky enough to pull one from a pack... I REALLY wanted it. We made a trade. I gave him FIVE Jose Cansecos from my prized Canseco binder for that one card. It was a blockbuster trade. A few days later, he had some remorse about it. He wanted his Griffey Jr RR back... but I didn't want to give it up. It was my new favorite card. He got pretty upset about it - to the point where we stopped talking for a little while. It felt like forever to a 10 year old. I remember the phone ringing one day and my mom telling me Matt was calling for me... I raced to the phone, excited this was behind us and ready to come over to his house to play sock-wars, throw the ball, and trade some cards. However, his tone was not the one I expected.. he was still upset, and offered the Cansecos back PLUS a McGwire to sweeten the deal. I told him I still wanted the card but I'd think about it. Several more days passed. Eventually, I couldn't take it anymore, and I called Matt to tell him I'd trade the Griffey back - just wanted to be friends again. We made the swap and went back to our friendship like it never happened.

I moved away from Matt a little later, and without email and facebook, it was hard to stay in touch. I visited a few times, but we became teenagers and got interested in girls and cars and other things, and eventually grew apart. I packed up my collection into boxes and moved on. College came and went, got married, had kids, the whole thing. Then, when facebook did come around, I found my old friend Matt. We reconnected on Facebook and sent a few messages back and forth. He was also married and had 2 kids of his own. I never reached out to Matt. I really wish I had.

About a year later after reconnecting, I heard from a mutual friend that Matt had passed away. Sadly, he had taken his own life. I had no idea he was troubled. It shocked me. I had so many questions, and regrets. Why didn't I make more effort to reach out? Could it have made a difference? I hated that I'd never know. His dead reached out to me. We exchanged a few emails. More time passed, and while I never understood what had happened, I let his memory fade (again) - this time out of necessity.

Last year, back in the summer, I started thinking about Matt again. I don't know what prompted it, but he was on my mind. I reached out to his mom and dad again, and had some very meaningful conversations with each of them. I felt sad that he was gone, but I was glad to reconnect with his family. I pulled out my collection from the attic, decided to go through it and let the nostalgia take me down memory lane. I found an 89 Donruss Rafael Palmeiro - Matt had given me that card when I fed his dogs and cats while they were out on vacation one week. I put it in a penny sleeve and top-loader. Then I started organizing more and more. Going through my thousands of cards, sorting them by set and number, loading some into binders and some into boxes. I found all of my Griffey's and was happy to see those again. I noticed one card that was not in my collection... the 89 Donruss Rated Rookie - the one I had traded back to Matt to restore our friendship. I wanted it. I had to have it. Being out of the hobby for 23 years meant I had no idea the best place to get it. I looked up card shops in my area, only to find that they've basically all closed down. I did find one (now my absolute favorite place to go), and rushed down there to look for one. He did have 1... it was part of a cello rack pack (on the top). I bought it and rushed back home. This started the rebirth of the hobby for me.

I found some more online. And at a card show. I started buying them whenever I saw them. It's my tribute to Matt, and a way of keeping his memory fresh in my mind. It might be too late to grab a beer and talk baseball, but he won't fade from my memory again. I now have 35 of the Griffey Rated Rookies, including one PSA 10.

So it's been about 8 months since I got back into the hobby, and I absolutely am just as addicted as I was back in 1989. As my name indicates, I love junk wax. I won't ever stop loving junk wax - it's what got me started. I don't care too much about value (I don't sell any cards), so it's just what I like as a collector. I have recently started to get into vintage as well, which is what drew me to this page. I've seen it mentioned a few times in a FB group that I'm in, so I decided to check it out. I love the discussions in here, and I'm excited get involved with this group. I have a LONG way to go to catch up with most of you guys here when it comes to vintage... just getting started. I recently picked up a handful of Banks, Aaron, Mays, and Mantle cards from the 50s and 60s. I'm in love with them all over again.

I'll wrap this up now.. honestly I could keep going on and on but I'll save some of it for other posts. Thanks for welcoming me into the group!