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Mark TylickiAdam – First and foremost, I envy you for having a daughter and being a father. Now that is truly admirable! Perhaps someday you’re dream will come true and posh neighborhoods await you. I sincerely wish you and Abigail the best of luck.
You mention the beautiful home you live in. Cherish it with all your heart and value your grandparent’s hard work. I purchased mine with hard earned cash at the age of 23 without help of any kind. Approximately 30K worth of modern cards were sold to cover the down payment. Selling hundreds of ’92-‘97 Bowman rookie cards to do so was one of the best decisions I ever made. Go Vintage!
My parents came to the states as immigrants from Poland in 1972. My father was a hard working cabbie, painter, auto mechanic, and tool machinist (Not all at once like the Jamaicans in Living Color but at different times - ha, ha). My mother busted her tail keeping the kids in line while learning English, cleaning toilets, and taking stupid Polish jokes right and left. I was out of the house at 18, experiencing life and all it's altered forms in Boulder, Colorado. I was accepted as a pre-medicine student but studying unfortunately became a pastime. Mistakes were made then and together we still make them today. That’s OK. (Gosh, that sounds like Stewart Smalley). Eventually, I earned a minor in Chemistry, a double major in Anthropology and Chicano Studies, followed by a MBA in 2001. Today, I’m managing SAP software projects and having FUN (forgive me for the caps Will). Yes, I’m very proud but it’s not because of my collection. I value my place amongst peers. The moral of this drunken story – well, we all have one.
Study the marketplace, build friendships, and value education. Inherited wealth can easily be lost without book and/or street knowledge. In our world, spelling and proper grammar are more admirable skills than owning an autograph of Honus Wagner. We should not be less informed of our language than peoples abroad. It pisses me off when some foreigner knows more about our language/country than our own citizens. I’m proud to be an American – thank you Brian (warrior1978) and all who have served.
Bla, bla, bla – it’s time to return to the subject of the thread. Like some of the other collectors on this board, I love my GOOD Hartnett as much as my PSA 9 Larry Doby. I believe both would be accepted by any auction house and command interest. In addition, dozens of collectors would love to own a GOOD E107 George Davis, a PR-FR Honey Boy Roush, or a ’36 WWG DiMaggio rookie card. Sorry guys but the wrinkled Bottomley RC is not for sale. I love these cards that you “would never own”. Please respect our collections.
The stories behind a tattered collection of SGC 10s or complete NM-MT sets are equally passed on and shared by collectors. You might some day be fortunate enough to find an original Mayo Cut Plug hidden behind the walls of your vintage home (OK, not likely in Iowa but let’s pretend), partially eaten by a mouse but beautiful nonetheless. I acquired one of these from a construction worker in Maine. The Hugh Duffy was found while he was tearing down some walls. The story behind it was priceless. It was merely graded Authentic but any marketing guru could have made it the prize of a major auction with a carefully written story. Hugh was found amongst a mousetrap, an old penny, and dirt and grime with teeth marks and stains. I supplied a buyer with an incredible piece of American art in very poor condition that’s worthy of all the praise in the world. I’m positive it’s been the topic of plenty interesting conversations since. I now hope you understand how your posts were hurtful. Your apology is accepted and admired.
I enjoy this board for the intelligent posts-the breadth of knowledge outside the hobby and within, and the camaraderie. There was a time when my first few posts on Net54 were rewarded with ridicule. For Pete’s sake (American expression that Poles don’t understand – help?), RustyWilly is a microcosm of our hobby. It’s about having fun. A gain here or there is a symptom of our addiction. Enjoying a thread this much is a reward.
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MY COLLECTION: http://www.rustywilly.com/MYCOLLECTION.htm