Post your best story! The Buy that got away

[brian1961]

Originally Posted by Chris Counts

When I was a kid in the early 1970s, another kid who lived nearby me had some great cards. He showed them to me a couple times and tempted me with various deals, but he kept backing. After that, he would pass me on his bicycle and yell taunts to me about how he would never trade or sell me his cards. One day he particularly annoyed me with his comments, and I threw my baseball glove at him. My some random chance, the glove stuck in his gears, and his bike was immediately upended. He was literally launched over the handlebars face first onto the pavement. As a result, he got a little banged up, and I probably should have felt some remorse about it. His mom called my mom, but I didn't get in too much trouble. I never did get the cards, though.

Chris, that story was a scream! Nice going, my friend. Two sides to every story, and the jerk goes and bawls to his mommy about how this bad boy caused this horrible accident. "And I did'n do nuttin' to him!", I can just hear him whine.

You know, Chris, maybe it's just as well that you didn't get that bully's cards. I have found if I have a very bad memory associated with an object, I don't want the object anymore. Whatever you might have gotten from the boy, over time you probably would not have treasured them, all because it came from that jerk.

My wretched " the one that got away" was at the big 1974 Midwest Card Collectors Convention in Troy, Michigan. I saw a 1954 Wilson Franks Ted Williams at a dealer's table in EX-MT condition. He wanted twenty bucks. I asked him to save it for me while I went to my hotel room to get the twenty. Upon my return, he had just sold it to another collector. Classic example of why teens (I was 19) hate adults sometimes. The sad story with all its details became chapter 12 of my book on regionals, Never Cheaper By the Dozen. Yes, in the chapter I answer the obvious question, "WELL, STUPID, WHAT WERE YOU THINKING, GOING DOWN TO THE CONVENTION WITHOUT YOUR MONEY?*%@!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

As I recall, you love regionals, Chirs, so I thought you would appreciate and empathize with this succinct version of my yarn. I quoted you in my book, too!

----Brian Powell