Best Memory of Opening Wax Packs

[Chris-Counts]

In the spring of 1970, when I was nine, my mom sent me to the grocery store to buy some vegetables. As I walked into the grocery store, I was awestruck by a box of baseball cards. At the time, I knew little about baseball, although I collected other stuff, like bugs, Hot Wheels and Odd Rod stickers.

For reasons I can't explain, I spent the money my mom gave me on several packs of Topps baseball cards. I can remember getting a poster of Ollie Brown in the first pack and one of Willie Davis in the next pack. As I was walking home, my father passed by in his car and offered me a ride home. I explained to him what happened and he was surprisingly sympathetic. He drove us back to the grocery store, where he bought my mom the vegetables she wanted — and he bought me several more packs of baseball cards ...

From that day on, I lost all interest in bugs, Hot Wheels and Odd Rods ...