I share Leon's views about staying with Ted. And with what everyone has said about him sharing his knowledge with those who were willing to take time to listen. Ted had a knack of knowing who was looking for what among the odd varieties of ball cards; and he sometimes would contact me to see if I was ready to let go of a 1949 Bowman PCL of Harvey Storey that I had. I think that was the only card he knew I had that I didn't let go of for him to get moved on to a fellow collector.
I deem my lengthy telephone conversations and long emails as time well spent.
Ted knew a right smart about cards from the 40's and 50's; as well as the 19teens. I stayed with them a couple of days a few years ago, I was getting a card that neither he nor I trusted to FedEX, UPS, USPS (although I sold him most of my 512 accumulation of T206s and sent them stacked together in a small box, no hard holders nor even sleeves, trusting those to the USPS). So off I went to Philadelphia, Ted had sent a Limo to fetch me from the airport, On the ride to Ted and Charlotte's home I stopped to buy an Orchid for indoors and an outdoor plant for outside (thank you Leon for that sage suggestion). The two of them were great hosts who truly made me feel genuinely welcome. I learned a right smart about cards, Ted's family, how he and Charlotte met, Charlotte's time at Princeton and her knowledge about Einstein's presence there, the Revolutionary War, and a great dinner overlooking where Washington crossed the Delaware River. We talked about Lionel trains, Ted's time in the Air Force and his training in Radar, and his work in the early days of acoustic coupling to allow computers to interact in over telephone lines back when he worked for AT&T. He and I had both studied electrical engineering in college. And we shared our fond memories of tennis. And Ted had lined up a limo that timely arrived at his home that got me to the Philly airport punctually and safely (me with that card I went to reclaim).
Ted was all that you've said. And he was a gentleman. He remains with me, in a corner of my mind.
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