Collecting raw

[JollyElm]

I absolutely abhor the word 'raw,' but that's all I collect unless there's little or no way around it. As time moves on, though, I do realize that grading is the way of the future, so I'm certain some time soon I'll begin having my cards graded.

But to me, baseball cards are such a direct connection to the carefree beauty of youth. When I look at my 1972 set in its binder, for example, I can remember right back to that summer, trading with my friends, flipping with my brothers and on and on. It is a great feeling to relive those wonderful lost days of yesterday in my mind, and touching those cards and smelling the waxy, gummy remnants on the cardboard is priceless. Now, if I'm looking at or holding a graded slab in my hands...I feel nothing.