1982 at the North Carolina state fairgrounds in Raleigh's weekly "flea market" with my mom getting supplies for her macrame side job when Dad and I saw a booth called "Paper Heroes." We went in and it was like a time machine for my Dad who was born in '49. All of his cards were tossed but that day he bought 4 cards (pictured below). He eventually bought an album and 9 pocket pages so he trimmed the Ford and Collins so they would fit (despite Mom's advice not to do so!)
The card that got me hooked was this '58 Mick. It was on the back wall where the "good cards" were for weeks. It was labeled at $25. I was only 10 but after about 2 months of regular visits I got up the nerve to ask the man if he would take $20. He said yes! On the way home I was reading the back and Dad, from the front seat, asked
"Does it have a cartoon of Mickey swinging a bat with a crown on his head?" I said
"Yes, how could you possibly know that?" He replied,
"I had a stack of them."
This spurred us on a quest to "Buy Back Dad's Cards" which I even wrote a book about. Dad passed almost 20 years ago at the tender age of 53 but his memory lives on through these cards.
God Bless
