[Chris Counts]

I went to Mark McRae's card show Saturday at Ryan O'Connell Hall in San Leandro (on the east side of the San Francisco Bay) and, as always, I had a great time. I drove up with a fellow board member, Adam Moniz, who lives nearby. I encourage vintage card collectors everywhere to check out the show when they're in the Bay Area. It happens twice a year. What I really like about the show is it reminds me of the "card club" shows I attended in Southern California in the 1970s. The atmosphere is very laid back, the hall is easy to find, there's more than enough parking, everybody is real friendly, and there are many good deals to be had. I met some wonderful folks, scored a nice assortment of stuff (Thanks to Andy for the Bell Brand football cards!) and made some good trades. Plus, you can buy hot dogs for just $3! Thanks again, Mark, for putting on a great event ...

Anyway, I got to thinking, wouldn't it be great if I could go to a link here on the forum and read reviews of shows from all over the country. I realize cards shops are an endangered species and the Internet is king, but I believe card shows, particularly those with an emphasis on vintage stuff, can still be a big part of our hobby's future. Plus they can be a whole lot of fun. What do you guys think? I figure anything we can do to promote card shows is good for the hobby.

By the way, here's a couple photos from Saturday's show: the first one is Mark, and the second is myself (on the left) with Ron Knecht of Carson City, Nevada. Ron and I spent half the morning trading cards like we were kids ...