OT: A reminder that card collector's are not the only passionate collectors out there

[Brian Van Horn]

A respite from our everyday love/obsession:

http://www.kare11.com/news/local/lan...house/88817062

[Jobu]

Thank you for posting this - I will show it to my wife the next time she gives me that look where I know she is wondering if she would be better off with someone who doesn't collect vintage baseball cards - at least they don't overrun our house.

[ooo-ribay]

There used to be a great TV show, "The Incurable Collector." " Collection Intervention" was good, too. People collect anything and everything.

[shernan30]

Crazy!!!!!!


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[4815162342]

That was a great read, Brian. Thanks for sharing.

[brian1961]

Thanks for posting this. A happy and a sad story, all in one. I feel sad for Dennis that he did not have a wife and family. No doubt his home would have looked much different if he had. Obviously, his fulfillment in life came from his faith in Jesus, and his model car collection. While it won't be easy to sell that massive collection, the proceeds will truly be put to good use.

Model cars got under my skin before collecting baseball cards. However, much as I liked my toy cars, the companies rarely produced models of the cars I really admired and wanted, as seen in the pages of the three sports car magazines my family subscribed to: Road & Track, Sports Cars Illustrated (which became Car & Driver), and Sports Car Graphic.

Many years later, there were enough enthusiasts like me that made our desires known, and were rewarded by, 1/43rd models of the highest caliber that became most fulfilling to this once frustrated boy. My model car collection means a lot more to me than my baseball and hockey cards.

Anyway, thank you kindly once again for sharing Dennis's story and legacy with us. --Brian Powell

[Stampsfan]

Why would anyone buy that many toy cars?

[Tripredacus]

I met a book collect last weekend. He said he build shelves for 12 rooms and has over 90,000 books. So I am sure there are hardcore collectors of all sorts of things out there, but mostly the topic doesn't come up or you don't get to talk to those kinds of people that often.

[Jeffrompa]

lol

[ALR-bishop]

The Week featured an article on cereal box collectors ( not sports). Pretty interesting

[ValKehl]

I wonder what % of the population avidly collects something.

[curch]

Many passionate collectors of many different things. Here is an article that was done on me and my starting lineup collection. I am a huge toy collector and dabble in cards

http://www.mademan.com/obsessed-joe-...arting-lineup/

[LuckyLarry]

I enjoyed watching the video, what a collection! But another thought was how his church was surprised to find it? I read through the comments section, and someone else had the same thought:
"Apparently, few if any of his fellow church members bothered to visit him, and get to know him"
Maybe there is a message board out there where Dennis was able to share his collection. Sharing cards and stories is one of the things I like about Net54 and OBC, but in person I've only shared my collection once or twice.
Larry

[vintagesportscollector]

My family and I volunteer regularly at a local charity that provides home goods to needy families. The items range from furniture, clothes, kitchen items, toys…just about anything a family may need. These could be refugee families, families in financial need, or those that have lost much from a disaster.

We provide many toys to children. The families are referred by a service agency and arrange a visit to the charity location where they select the items they need. Recently an older couple came in to receive items. Apparently the man was passionate about Moose. It turns out within the toys section we had many stuffed Moose animals (plush toys, not the real thing). The older man walked out with a pile of stuffed Moose toys and a smile on his face. I later learned his house is full of Moose. To each his own…I was glad to see him be happy.

[bnorth]

Originally Posted by curch

Many passionate collectors of many different things. Here is an article that was done on me and my starting lineup collection. I am a huge toy collector and dabble in cards

http://www.mademan.com/obsessed-joe-...arting-lineup/

Thank you for posting, your posts always bring a huge smile to my face! Ice cream and toys if that is not living the dream I don't know what is. Good luck on finding the McMahon.

[rjackson44]

I collect vintage toys ,love the look of them ,,

[curch]

Originally Posted by bnorth

Thank you for posting, your posts always bring a huge smile to my face! Ice cream and toys if that is not living the dream I don't know what is. Good luck on finding the McMahon.

Thank you! I am glad you enjoy!

[grainsley]

GREAT story......and still on the cars theme, how about this guy? Restore bumper cars and can't part with most of them..

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7VUl4Pil7rM

[bmattioli]

Nice story.. A true collector gets it, others do not.. For the true collector it's a life long passion and journey to collect. I like the way he had everyting displayed to view..

[brian1961]

[QUOTE=LuckyLarry;1518562]I enjoyed watching the video, what a collection! But another thought was how his church was surprised to find it? I read through the comments section, and someone else had the same thought:
"Apparently, few if any of his fellow church members bothered to visit him, and get to know him"

You know, Lucky Larry, have you ever thought about how private Dennis might have been about his collection? He very well may have discouraged his pastor or people at his church from coming to see him. Or, he may have told them, "Let's meet somewhere for coffee and donuts." We will never know.

Dennis, in all likelihood, knew he would tend to be misunderstood, or even judged as a crazy eccentric, by the very people he saw and worshiped Jesus with each week. Most of the time, we are more concerned and nervous that people will like us, accept us, and enjoy our company.

Let's bring this close to "our home", here. I'm an old school dinosaur, though I love to email and obviously use the internet. However, when I have wanted to have a phone conversation with any of you chaps, in essence, the response has been, "OH NO, I CAN'T DO THAT!!! NO, NEVER!!!!!!!!! ARE YOU WANTING TO SPY ON ME? YOU MIGHT BE A CON MAN! GET AWAY FROM ME! I'M GONNA CLAM UP LIKE AN OYSTER! LEAVE ME ALONE! AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!

Is it written in the Net54.com rules that members are discouraged, or outright forbidden, to phone one another, as in the 90s? This emailing takes a long time, and too often I perceive it as superficial, or even shallow.

A familiar saying of today ends this not so much rant, but regret: It is what it is.

For what it's worth, I too hope Dennis found a rousing chat forum on model cars. I know they're out there. I for one would have loved to have been taken on a tour by Dennis to see his collection, to ask him,

How did you get started collecting model cars?

Did you select a particular scale, for your collection to be consistent?

Why that scale?

What's your favorite model, Dennis, and why?

Was there a piece you were hunting for for years and years, that you never thought you'd come across, and finally got? Could I see that one? Tell me about it, please.

What is your favorite make of car to collect? Why?

What's your favorite era? Why?

Doesn't this sound like some of our threads? Guess the difference with me is that I prefer having a personal conversation. You see, I was born in 1954.


Dennis, I wish we couldda been friends, brother. Some day, we will be.

---Brian Powell

[mark evans]

For those into stereo headphones, check out www.head-fi.org -- a remarkable website devoted to the hobby of collecting, discussing, b/s/t headphones. Serious listeners hold 'meets.' I saw some pix on the website of a recent meet in Annandale, Va. Looked like the same group of nerds who attend card shows. In fact, I'll probably be at the next meet.