The Other World... Card Love

The fine folks over at The Other World are having an interesting contest for St. Valentine's Day, you can read all about it here. It takes a little bit of work to enter, but it should prove very interesting. You need to compose a blog entry about those little pieces of cardboard that we covet so much. Here's my entry:

Being very new to the hobby of collecting baseball cards, it would be so easy to pick out one card from my collection that takes me instantly to a happy place, let's say the Fleer Ultra Derek Jeter Faces of the Game relic card. Pulled from a $1.59 discount pack picked up at my local Target, this card is special to me for many reasons, chief among them is the fact that it is the first relic I've ever pulled out of a pack. It proved extra special that Mr. Jeter plays for my favorite American League team, the New York Yankees.

It contains a piece of uniform, gray in color, obviously from a road jersey, that I can imagine may have came from an inter-league game played with my Phillies. (Hey, it could happen)


That would be a very simple, nice neat package that would qualify me for an entry into the Card Love contest.

Or I could choose another card, say the John Elway card I picked up in Arizona on my vacation last year. 
Anybody that has read my blog knows I do not follow football at all. I love every football movie that has ever been made, but do not like watching the actual sport at all. The reason I added this card to my collection is Mr. Elway is pictured in a New York Yankees uniform. Apparently, John spent one season in the minors before being drafted by the NFL, where you all know the end result way better than I. This card reminds me of being on vacation, surrounded by my family and my dogs, having a good time, without many cares to worry me. Once again, a nice story that would tie in very nicely with the intents and wishes of the Card Love contest.

Let's say I choose the oldest card in my collection. It reminds me of a new friend, met through the fruits of the blog-o-scape labor. Back at Christmas, we spent several weeks, on a daily basis, entering the Grandbaby Troll, guess the time, date and name contest. Long story short, I was a runner-up and was rewarded for my efforts with a 1960 Robin Roberts Phillies card. This card will always remind me of the new friends that I have made through the magical portal of my laptop. And the card is in GReat shape considering it is about 8 years older than the author of this blog!! Thanks Troll, I still love this card.

Speaking of contests, I attempted to enter another contest late last year, over at My Cardboard Mistress. I did not win, but spied several cards on his blog that I just thought were neat. Spankee and I struck up an email conversation that proved most interesting, seeing as how we both grew up in the same hometown (where I still live) and he now lives in the city where I now work. I pulled off my very first surprise trade, sending him a package without his knowledge, thanks to a little help from Mike, over at BA Benny's. Spankee soon retaliated, adding several relics (and the first ones) from my beloved Phillies, as well as the one card first spied during his contest.
This card normally takes me to a happy place, remembering the friendship I've made with a long lost neighbor. The other place it can take me is happy most of the time, but sometimes it can be sad. The person pictured is obviously Mickey Mantle, one of my PC subjects, and probably the most famous player to have ever worn the number 7 jersey. The sometimes happy/sometimes sad part is the cute pup perched on Mr. Mantle's knee. The first dog that came into my life was a very beautiful German Shepherd - Golden Retriever mix that we chose to name Seven. She looked almost identical to the pup pictured on the card. Sadly, we lost her to cancer shortly after her 7th birthday. There are days when I really miss her, despite having four other dogs in my life currently. Looking at this card reminds me of that crazy little puppy that entered my life for such a short time, but left a permanent  love for dogs in my heart. This is definitely one of my favorite cards and such a great addition to my collection. Seven is the reason that I collect players wearing the #7 jersey. Thanks for adding it to my collection Spankee.


I could very easily pull card after card out of my collection, each and every one taking me on a very enjoyable journey. Each card that is added to my collection, whether it is from purchased packs, or especially the cards that my new-found friends in the Blog-o-Sphere have chosen from their own collections to send to me (Cam @ the Bullpen Cardboard, Big D @ Hey, That's Mine, Tim @ Tim's Baseball Cards, Sam @ The Daily Dimwit, Colby @ Cardboard Collections, and even loyal readers without blogs, B. Matts just to name a few), is loved for one reason or another. I love all the cards that I've managed to add to my meager collection, and even the ones that I've managed to trade away, cause in trading them away, I've acquired more cards to love, and made some awesome new friends in the process. Thanks to every body that has made this journey very successful, I look forward to reading the blogs every day, and sometimes twice on Sunday.

Happy Valentine's Day everyone and thanks for every bit of Card Love that you guys have sent my way.
Thanks for reading,
Have a GReat day,
Dawgbones