Posted By:
Kenneth A. CohenI love the irrationality! How is it rational to spend substantial sums of money on a little piece of cardboard? Every time I'm about to do so, I have one of those cartoon moments with the "irrational" me standing over one shoulder urging reckless abandon and the "good sense" me standing over the other urging restraint. The former invariably wins out. A gentleman from whom I sometimes buy cards once opined, correctly in my view, that good sense has no role to play here.
I loved reading baseball history books as a kid. So I get goose bumps when I acquire a card of a player I remember reading about. I also love cards of players that evoke conversations I remember with my father - telling me about his childhood experiences of going to Griffith Stadium and seeing the likes of Ruth, Gehrig, Johnson, Goslin, et al.
Finally, I enjoy reacquiring the cards I had in the 50s, the ones that I flipped and put in my bike spokes. Yes, I'm one of the multitudes whose mom got rid of them - though she kept all of my old report cards. Go figure! I don't regret in any way the financial loss - there is none. They were all beat up. Does leave a big sentimental void though.
I have to echo previous posts as well - makes me feel young and I've met some really fine people through the hobby.
Ken