Saturday, May 21, 2022, KI Convention Center, Green Bay, WI & Sunday, May 22, Root River, Franklin, WI

Man, was I looking forward to the Green Bay show. It has been years since I last set up in Green Bay. I had planned to bring all of my baseball and football binders. I really wanted to head up to Green Bay Friday after work but I was just too tired.

So, I woke up at 4 a.m. Saturday morning, showered, loaded the car and was on the road by 5 a.m. Then around 6 a.m. all the dashboard lights came on in my car and the engine shut down. I rolled off the highway at the Elm Road exit in Oak Creek.

I figured maybe I just needed a jump and I could be back on the road to Green Bay fairly quickly. I called AAA. I had just renewed my membership in March. I told the lady at AAA where I was located and that I needed a jump. She sent me a link to the technician stating time off arrival -- 8:12 a.m. Ugh! Well, Green Bay was out of the question, I was still a good two hours away.

I messaged Matt, the promoter, to let him know my situation then laid back in my car and tried to fall asleep. I was so disappointed and was unable to relax. I really wanted to do the Green Bay show. I was in my car, filled with cards, ready!

I thought maybe my engine needed some oil, which I keep a bottle  in the car. I put some oil in. The car almost started, it just wouldn't kick in. The battery seemed okay so I called AAA again to let them know that I no longer needed a jump, I needed to be towed to a mechanic. The AAA lady said she put an order in with a tow company nearby and they would tow my car to their shop.

I hoped that I could get to the shop soon and they could fix my car so I could drive home. A little while later the technician, who AAA first contacted at 6 a.m., called me. I told him what had happened to my car. He said I needed a tow. I told him I agreed and already put the request in. He advised that I call AAA and make the request again.

I did not take his advice, figuring a tow was on its way. At 8 a.m., after two hours sitting in my car on the exit ramp, I figured no tow was on its way. I googled the tow company and saw that they were closed on Saturday. I now knew that the tow was not coming. I called AAA. The lady told me my tow request was cancelled. I responded that I never cancelled the request and I am still stuck on the side of the highway on the exit ramp. I also told her the tow company was closed and asked that she find me a tow that was actually open.

She found another tow company and put in the request. The link showed that this tow was not coming until 9 a.m. I kept checking on the link showing the time of arrival and realized the AAA lady ordered the tow company to take me to that mechanic that was closed. I googled nearby mechanics and saw that a Meineke was open and figured I could ask the tow guy to take me to Meineke.

At hour three on the side of the highway, seemed like the second tow guy was not coming. Then a county sheriff came by to check on me. The sheriff gave me a printout of tow companies. She told me AAA is bad and I should call one of the tow companies on the list.

I called the first tow company on the list and they wanted $180 to tow my car to Meineke, about 5 miles away. I said thanks but no thanks. I freakin' paid for AAA, they are supposed to show up and help!! I was not paying a $180 for a tow. I figured I would owe a few grand in repair costs.

I called back AAA. The AAA lady said the tow was on its way. I explained that I had been waiting three hours. She asked if I wanted to talk with her manager. I said only if that would guarantee that the tow would arrive. She did not have a response. I hung up.

At hour four along the side of the highway, the tow guy called and said he was on his way. He showed up around 11 a.m. and towed me to Meineke which turned out to be closed. Ugh! My wife showed up to take me home and we just dropped my key in the Meineke mail slot and left.  

I was starving and we stopped for some food then gas, because gas is 60-cents cheaper in Oak Creek than by my house in Illinois. I got home around 1 p.m. and wondered what I missed in Green Bay.

Can someone who attended the Green Bay show let me know how it was? Is Matt going to do another show up there? I promise to make the next one!

So, Monday morning rolled around and I called Meineke. They said they checked out my car and it is $%^& up. Ugh! They said they could put in a new engine at an astronomical figure but advised that I junk the car. They gave me the name of a local salvage company. So now I gotta track down the title, junk the car and buy a new one. Ugh!

What really gets me is that I just spent $3K in repairs only a month or two ago. I got hustled by that mechanic -- About Automotive, Inc., in Arlington Heights, Illinois. Avoid this company at all costs!

Oh well. Such is life. Time to look for a new car. In the meantime, I'll be driving my wife's car so I should not have any issues making it out to any upcoming shows.

I used her car to get to Root River on Sunday. Not much to report on Root River because the show was like all of my shows so far in May, attendance was way down. This was actually my worst show of the year. When it rains, it pours!

Something is up. I don't understand why attendance is down at every show. Attendance was fine in April. Is it the weather? Is the great COVID Card Boom finally over? Maybe there are just too many shows right now. There seems to be multiple shows on every Saturday and Sunday. It looks like the hobby cannot support all of these shows.

Another thought is that maybe we are heading back to pre-COVID times in the hobby. Prior to COVID, I always saw a slow down in June but not May. Maybe the pre-COVID June slow-down has come a month earlier. 

Next Root River show is July 17. I plan on setting up at that one and hope attendance picks up. I brought out a lot of good stuff out this past Sunday. Where were you guys?

Now I am a little concerned. I am setting up this weekend in Madison on Saturday and the new show in Janesville on Sunday. I hope I have a much better weekend! I may rent a car this week because my wife's car is gas-guzzler and I don't want to leave her without a car all weekend. Maybe my good buddy Dave McDonald can come pick me up Saturday morning? Come on Dave!

Sunday, May 15, 2022, Civic Center, Orland Park, IL

Man, do I hate the I294 Tollway. I am so sick of the perpetual road construction. Regardless, I did have an easy, albeit bumpy, drive down to Orland. Also, load in was easy as that garage sale group was noticeably absent. Though it is still tight when you walk into the room. I don't know how the dealers hack it in the first row because there is no aisle space.

Like Rockford, the day before, I brought out all of the baseball binders and four display cases but added one bin of football binders. I have a little more space in Orland than I do in Rockford and misjudged my Orland space because I had room for more football binders. 

I changed up the cards in the display cases for Orland and placed all of my hockey and basketball cards out along with 1970's baseball and football from 1964 to 1981.

Once again, all of the vintage customers lined up at Steve's table early on. Things were slow in my neck of the woods in the morning. Will showed up early with coffee and Mickey D's. He brought along my favorite Blue Jays' fan, his grandson Charlie. Thanks for the coffee and breakfast Will!

Our pal Tony Schaefer drove up from Central Illinois. It is always great to see Tony, who bought some cards. Thanks Tony!  My guy who is working on 1973 Topps baseball, after completing his '72 set recently at my tables, found a nice stack. I forget this guy's name but he is always so happy and enthusiastic. He normally shows up with his son but said he could not get him out of bed on this morning. I can relate. My kids were sound asleep when I left the house.

Mark bought his usual stack. Rick just about cleaned me out of 1970's basketball while Eddie purchased all of my 1948 Bowman basketball. Things started to cook! Duke purchased a nice pile of cards out of my display cases. Thanks guys!

Mike D. was there with his son and they purchased some hockey cards. An old customer purchased a pile of cards. Will purchased a pile of 1969 Topps football. Thank Will! The big winner today was Pat who purchased all of my 1961 Fleer Greats, all of my 1964 Topps Giants, and a pile of hockey and basketball star cards. Thanks Pat!

After a slow start, this turned into another solid Orland show. I just love the Orland show. My sales are almost always excellent in Orland.

On the buying front, a couple of dealers offered me some cards but were just a tad too high on their prices. A longtime customer offered me a shoe box filled with baseball common cards from 1958 through 1973 for just $200. I couldn't get the money out of my pocket fast enough. I also bought a stack of cards from Walt, a dealer who drives up regularly to Orland from Central Indiana. There were a bunch of 1961 Golden Press in Walt's stack. Then Junior cornered me in the parking lot while I was loading in and I purchased some Zorro cards from the 1950's along with a Richard Nixon campaign button. Junior finds all sorts of stuff and is a great source.

The great Bobby Hull was at the show once again, signing autos. Young Charlie got a hockey puck signed by Bobby.

My pal Paul Ponce was also at the show. It is always great hanging out with Paul. We need to meet for lunch, buddy!

So all of the shows I have attended so far this month have seen a reduction in attendance. I think it may be the weather. It is always tough competing against nice weather. Though I am pleased that even with the lower turn out, sales have been excellent, especially in Orland which is just a dynamite show.

Next Orland show is June 12. I hope to have some binders reloaded before that one!

In the meantime, I'm heading up to Green Bay for a good-sized show this Saturday, May 21. Then I'm setting up at the Root River show in Franklin, WI, on Sunday, May 22. 

I feel bad for my Wisconsin friends. It is too bad the Bucks lost to the Celtics. I thought they had the team to repeat. I think the Bucks get by the Celtics if they have Khris Middleton healthy. I watched the Heat beat up the Celtics in the first game of the conference finals last night where PJ Tucker was able to put the screws down on Jayson Tatum in the second half. I never understood why the Bucks did not resign Tucker after he was a beast for their championship run last season.

Speaking of beasts, Jimmy Butler is a beast! As a Bulls fan it has been painful to watch him excel elsewhere, after starting is career in Chicago. I love Zack LaVine, who the Bulls received for Butler from Minnesota, but LaVine's no Jimmy Butler and it looks like we're going to lose him to free agency this offseason. Regardless, it looks like that Heat-Celtics series is going to be pretty good.

I switched back and forth between the Heat-Celtics and Blues-Avalanche games last night. What a great hockey game. I haven't had much interest in watching the hockey playoffs in a while since my Blackhawks have been so bad these past several years. But I grew up with Avalanche winger J.T. Compher's mother, so I have been following his career and am rooting for the Avalanche to win it all this year.

Lot's of good sports to watch right now. Come on out to the shows this weekend and let's talk NBA and NHL playoffs! 

It would be tough to find a better group of guys than these folks pictured above -- Joe, Charlie, Bobby and Will.

Saturday, May 14, 2022, Rock Church, Rockford, IL

I always try to change my set up for each show in an effort to keep my tables fresh. In my experience, customers want to see new items on my tables at each show so that is what I try to do.

Last month in Rockford I brought out all of my binders. At the May 14th show, I brought out all of my baseball binders and four display cases that I filled with 1970's baseball and football from 1948 to 1963.

I knew from the get-go that this was going to be a nice day as I was set up by friends Dave McDonald, Skip Carroll. Tom Mularz. and Scott and Jim Ziegert. Dave brought me a chicken sandwich which was much appreciated since I was starving. I did not wake up early enough to stop for breakfast.

All those guys had some great cards on their tables. Tom showed me a bunch of Warren Spahn cards including a 1948 Leaf. Dave showed me two Al Kaline rookies he recently picked up. Scott had complete sets of 1969-70 and 1970-71 Topps basketball. Cool stuff! 

Slow arriving crowd. I was a little worried early on as it took a while to get my first sale. Once the ice was broken, sales were steady all day. I love it when customers show up at my tables with a plan to spend a certain dollar amount with me. One of my regular customers at Rockford and Woodstock showed up with a $100 dollar bill that he planned to spend at my table. He pulled a bunch of 1960 Topps baseball until we came to that $100. Thank you!

Another customer that I see all over the place purchased a nice pile of 1955 Bowman baseball. He told me he grew up in Berwyn, Illinois. I spent a lot of time in Berwyn when I was in high school because my best bud joined a band and they rehearsed in the guitar player's garage in Berwyn. I usually went to the practices, hung out and looked cool. 

Another Rockford regular purchased a nice pile of 1973 Topps. A father and daughter team purchased my 1963 Topps Mike Ditka. The guy who works for Gizmo purchased a bunch of my 1964 Philadelphia football. What a nice guy! I always enjoy chatting cards. Kevin and the big guy purchased a bunch of cards. Thanks guys! Terry purchased some 1972 Topps high numbers. After a slow start, sales started to pile up and I hit my average for the Rockford show.

I saw that Dave was having a slow morning as well, but things equaled out when he sold his Bob Gibson rookie.

If you are a regular reader of this blog, you know that Dave and I partner for a lot of shows. At Rockford, I was telling him about my plans for the May 28 Madison show and the May 29 Janesville show. Beau, who is the Madison promoter, recently posted about a Bratwurst Festival coinciding with his May 28th show and located across the street. Well, I had been debating whether to spend the night in either Madison or Janesville that weekend. The Bratfest was a deal breaker for me, Madison for the night. I think the Bratfest was a dealbreaker for Dave as well.

Luckily, Beau was set up in Rockford and I pointed him out to Dave who was able to secure a table for May 28th Madison show which is held at the Sheraton, a very nice hotel. We decided to get a room at the Sheraton so we could just walk over to the Bratfest after the show. I think there is a casino nearby as well. Dave wants to hit the casino. Okay, twist my arm. Should be a fun night!

Back to the Rockford show. I was disappointed that there was no food truck like last month. Mike told me that he had one lined up but they cancelled right before the show. Bummer! He said he is going to try again for next month. I love the food trucks!

On the buying front, I had a few things offered but the prices were a tad high. I need to be able to make a profit off my purchases. So whenever someone offers me some cards, my first thought is how much can I make at that purchase price? More often then not, the price is too high. ln addition to some cards, I was offered some publications but they were from the 1990's. I buy publications but they generally have to be from the 1960's and older.

All in all a very fun day in Rockford. Seemed to be more dealers that I knew than at any previous Rockford show. It is always great to be set up in a room where I consider most of the dealers friends.

A lot of the modern card dealers ask for my help in determining whether vintage cards they acquire are legit. Nelson brought over a binder of Johnston Cookies cards. I love the Johnston Cookies which were issued in the mid-1950's in Wisconsin depicting the Milwaukee Braves. The cards looked legit to me and included a Hank Aaron rookie. I sent Nelson over to Scott and Jim to confirm my findings. I am pretty sure that Jim bought some of those cards when they came out in the 1950's. Jim and Scott thought the cards were real. Now if Nelson would just bring them back to me with a ridiculously low price, I would be very happy to purchase them!

Purchases aside, I have some scheduling issues coming up. John and Mike, who run the Rock Church show, scheduled a two-day show for July 16 and 17 at the Indoor Sports Center, 8800 E. Riverside Blvd, Loves Park, IL. There will be no show at the Rock Church in July. 

Unfortunately, I had assumed there would be a Rock Church show on July 9 so I kept that date open. The church has another event on July 9th, so the guys are unable to have the show and scheduled the two-day show in Loves Park instead. Problem for me is I already scheduled shows for that weekend and will be unable to attend the Loves Park shows. I am bummed out because I hate to miss a month in Rockford which has been a steady show for me. Oh well, I will be set up at the Rock Church in June and August.

In the meantime, I have an interesting weekend of shows coming up with Green Bay on Saturday and Root River in Franklin, WI, on Sunday. I haven't decided yet how I am going to work Green Bay. I should probably head up Friday night and get a hotel but I am not sure how my week of work is going to go. I have to be in court all freakin' day on Friday and will probably be too tired to drive up to Green Bay after work. 

It has been quite a while since I was last set up in Green Bay, so I am looking forward to it. This is a new show so I do not know what to expect. Hopefully there are some vintage collectors!

Next Oak Creek show is on June 4. I have added five new dealers and plan to add a few more.

In addition to Rockford on Saturday, I was set up in Orland Park on Sunday. Orland blog coming soon.....

Pictured above are some of Tom's Warren Spahns that he has for sale. He should have the cards at my June 4th Oak Creek show. Be sure to stop at Tom's table in Oak Creek for some great vintage cards!

Pictured above is the scene in front of my tables at the Rock Church show in the morning. Things got much busier as the day went on.

Pictured above is the flyer of the new show John and Mike are running in Loves Park. The guys also operate the Rock Church show and the new show scheduled in Janesville on May 29.

Saturday, May 7, 2022, Salvation Army Community Center, Oak Creek, WI

The night before the show, I received a text from my friend Andy who volunteered to help me set up the show. I responded that I get there at 5:45 a.m. He said he would set his alarm.

On Saturday morning, I arrived as promised at 5:45 a.m. and there was Andy! Wow! What a huge help! Andy moved tables around for me while I figured out where to place all the dealers and taped name plates to each table.

Without Andy, I'm usually running around, sweating, moving those tables. Andy did all the grunt work and I did not break a sweat. It was just awesome! We finished by 7 a.m. and opened the doors to all the dealers.

Quick word to the dealers, don't expect to be let in regularly at 7 a.m. It usually takes much longer to organize the space and I usually don't open the doors until 8 a.m.

My problem for next month is that Andy will be back home in Florida for the June 4th show. So who wants to volunteer and help me at 5:45 a.m. on June 4th?

Thank you Andy!!!!

I brought out display cases for this show. Quite a few guys were disappointed I did not bring out the binders. Well, I like to reload a binder or two before I bring them out. I was unable to complete my reload of my 1975 Topps binder so I brought out the display cases. I haven't done an all-display-case set up since Strongsville in March so it was nice to do something a little different. I'll probably bring the binders out to the June 4th show.

The display case set up takes a little longer. I did not finish filling all the display cases until after 9 a.m. Business was brisk at my tables early on. One regular purchased a pile of 1954 Bowman baseball cards. Dave, who stopped by my office last week, purchased some 1954 Topps. Thanks Dave! I sold quite a few other star cards before my relief, Rachel and Jason, arrived.

The relief came while I was munching down a Sloppy Joe. The joyous scent of the sloppies wafted over my tables as early as 8:30 a.m. I finally got one around 10:30 a.m. Great batch this month!

With a satisfied tummy, I left Rachel and Jason at the tables and went out to collect table fee from 77 dealers. My first observation was a number of empty tables due to some dealers reserving the tables and not bothering to show up. After everyone showing up the past two months, it was real disappointing to have a bunch of no-shows. Only one of the no-shows bothered to contact me that morning. The others, not a peep. With a waiting list of 60 people, those no-shows won't be setting up at my show again. I'll add a bunch of new guys for the June 4th show. You book it, you gotta show up or don't plan on ever setting up again!

I was able to fill a couple of the tables that morning. Most of the n0-shows were guys that were required to bring their own tables, so their absences were not as noticeable, but still very disappointing.

I know many of my dealers read this blog and quite a few had notified me prior that they were unable to attend. So to those folks, your absence was excused and you are all good for the June 4th show. It is the guys who specifically reserved tables for the May show then did not inform me that they were not coming that have earned my ire.

In walking the building, I could see that attendance was down from the previous few months. We still had 430 people through the door which is nothing to sneeze at. Most dealers reported excellent sales.

Other than those lame asses who did not bother to show up, I have a pretty incredible roster of dealers. I can count on them for showing up and providing excellent inventory and customer service. 

I always enjoy chatting with all the dealers. Noticeably absent was Alex's partner Dave. In Dave's stead was Alex's lovely wife Jazmyn. She was a good sport filling in for Dave and is a pleasure to talk to. I also got to meet dealer Craig's wife today. 

Another dealer, Eric, told me he played hooky from the youth baseball team he coaches to attend the show today. Thanks Eric!

It was great to see dealer Brett Comincioli back after a two-month absence during which time Brett became a bit of a celebrity in the sports card world by pulling a 1/1 Wander Franco rookie. Check out this interview with Brett: (4) Underground Runaround Episode 13! Brett Pulled The 1/1 Wander Franco 1st Edition Platinum Parallel!! - YouTube

Brett normally sets up with his buddy Jake, who brought out his brother, a young attorney in the Chicago area. We talked a little shop.

I was real happy to have my long-time friend Chris Thill set up today in the gym. I normally see Chris at the Orland Park show. It was great to have him in Oak Creek and I think he sold a few cards.

I also enjoyed having Curtis Payne at the show. Curtis runs the Woodstock show. This was his first visit to the Oak Creek show where he was trying to sell some bobbleheads. I had him set up at one of the no-show dealer tables. I also got to meet his lovely wife Marta.

Other new dealers included Vicki and Frank Pemper, long-time Milwaukee dealers but this was their first time set up in Oak Creek. Thanks guys and welcome!

I was sad to learn that long-time wax dealer Mike Davis is dropping out. He got a new job at a car dealership in McHenry, Illinois, and has to work Saturdays for now on. Mike will be missed. He has been a real asset to the show. Good luck Mike!

I was set up next to new dealer Anthony Olivera this month. Anthony brought out his son, Anthony Jr. So if you walked up to my table and said "Hey Tony!" Three heads turned every time. Anthony also brought out his little girl who was as cute as can be.

My friend Carl was set up for the first time. I know Carl from the Orland Park show and was real happy to have him and his grandson at the show. They had a good time and are coming back in June.

I hope everyone got a chance to talk with Troy from Mears Online Auctions. He has been setting up with his son Troy Jr. and is accepting consignments at the show.

Did everyone get an autograph? We had former Packers Dorsey Levens, Craig Newsome and Shannon Clavelle signing autographs in the Chapel. My good friend John Gehring drew a portrait of all three players and had each one sign. John gave me a copy as well. Thanks John! I love that guy!!

Then I saw Greenie Sports from Ohio walking through the show with a video camera. I have been following Greenie on Facebook for years. His card business is located inside a former bank and regularly has a "vault" sale. One of these days I'm going to make it out to Ohio for his vault sale. Thanks Greenie for attending the show!

I had a really enjoyable day despite the no-show dealers, which is what it is all about. This is supposed to be fun! I had a really good time Saturday.

I bought a few things on Saturday. I picked up a 1954 Milwaukee Braves yearbook from my pal Jeremy. I also purchased a 1964 Topps AL Bombers with Mickey Mantle from Jeff. Thanks guys!

I turned down a few cards as well. One guy came around with some 1990's cards that I passed on. Another guy had some 1965 Topps baseball but was too high on his prices. While I was at Gary's table, a guy showed up with binders of 1971, 1972 and 1976 Topps football sets. He was just a tad bit too high on his prices, so both Gary and I passed.

My good friend Scott Ziegert told me about some really nice pick-ups at the most recent  Oconomowoc show. Scott was able to purchase complete sets of 1969-70 Topps basketball and 1970-71 Topps basketball. I have never been out to that show and need to check it out! Nice pick-ups Scott!

Next Oak Creek show is Saturday, June 4, 2022. Once again I will have 77 dealers and 122 tables. Expect a bunch of new blood at the June 4th show. Hope you can make it!

In the meantime, I have a busy weekend coming up with the Rockford show on Saturday and Orland Park on Sunday. I'm hoping to get that 1975 Topps baseball binder reloaded by Saturday.

Have a great week everybody and thanks again to everyone that came out to Oak Creek on Saturday. 

Below are some more photos from the May 7th Oak Creek show:

These amazing cards were on dealer Mike Slinkman's table. Hope you got a chance to see them! Mike is taking the summer off and we won't get to see his great collection until the fall. Thanks for coming out Mike!

Sunday, May 1, 2022, Ramada Inn, Cedar Rapids, Iowa

My journey to Cedar Rapids began at the close of the Madison show, the day before. I got absolutely soaked from a downpour while loading out of the Madison show. While sitting in my car sopping wet, I plugged in the address of the Avid Hotel in Cedar Rapids where I was planning to bunk for the night.

The GPS took me through some back roads and through some towns that I have never been to like Verona and Mineral Point. Those town were beautiful along with the scenery along the road with limestone hills and beautiful sprawling farms.

While the hills were nice, the sky was ugly during the drive and I had hoped that I was through the worst of the storm. Once I made it into Iowa, the sky turned yellow and angry clouds roared above. The rain started light then eventually came down in a gusher. Luckily I was on a back road and it was easy to pull over and wait out the rain. It was raining much too hard to see out my windshield and I felt it was too dangerous to drive.

After about 15 minutes, I was able to see the road, even though it was still raining but not as hard. I crept along slowly, waiting for the next downpour. About a half hour later it hit and I pulled over once again. Once back on the road, the rain remained much lighter and I was able to drive straight to Cedar Rapids without a hitch. However, the sky looked nasty the whole way and I was concerned that I would get caught in a tornado -- which got me wondering, what are you supposed to do if you see a tornado while driving? Drive the other way? 

At one point, I thought I saw a funnel cloud but could not focus on it as a pick-up truck was bearing down on my behind. Once at the Avid Hotel, I could barely open my car door because the wind was whipping so hard. I sort of blew into the hotel.

I have never stayed at an Avid Hotel before. I found it on Priceline. My search began with a Motel 6 but the reviews of the hotel were horrible. I read reviews on six or seven hotels before I settled on the Avid. The reviews on the other hotels discussed bugs, filth and sketchy characters. The Avid reviews had stupid complaints like not enough towels in the bathroom. I can deal with lack of towels but I like to avoid bugs, filth and sketchy characters. 

The Avid is a real nice hotel. Looks brand new. The room was small but clean and there were plenty of towels. One thing that the Avid and most other hotels fail to have is a freezer portion in their mini-fridge. I carry insulin with me in a freezer pack and need to refreeze the pack at night. The insulin is less effective if it warms up.

Once settled in, I needed some grub and braved the wind to get back into my car and drive around a bit. Well, I learned that I picked a hotel located on the far western end of Cedar Rapids and there was pretty much nothing nearby. I ended up at an Arby's which I brought back to the hotel, took my insulin and ate then watched TV until I fell asleep.

The Cedar Rapids show did not open until 10 a.m. I received a text from Jesse, the promoter, that load in would begin at 8:30 a.m. through the doors on the south side of the hotel.

I woke up around 7 a.m., showered, then went to the lobby for some breakfast. Unfortunately, it was that typical free hotel breakfast which is just gross. I battled through a large family to grab an egg-white omelet wrapped in paper. Upon unwrapping the paper and viewing the omelet, I realized it looked like a pile of rubber puke then tossed it straight into the garbage. I grabbed some coffee and checked out of the hotel.

The wind seemed worse in the morning than it was at night. I had trouble opening my car door because of the force of the wind and ended up spilling my coffee. I plugged the address for the Ramada into the GPS and saw first hand that I had stayed quite far from civilization. From the highway, inner city Cedar Rapids looks like an industrial town.

Siri directed me to pull off into an area with a dozen or so hotels along with many restaurants. I guess this is where I probably should have gone for dinner the previous night. While heading to the Ramada, I eyed a Perkins and pulled into the parking lot. Man, it was cold out and I only had on a light jacket. 

Once inside Perkins, I was greeted by two very pretty ladies. One directed me to my table while the other served as my waitress. I ate some eggs, bacon and sausage that were a huge improvement on the hotel breakfast.

You ever sit in a restaurant across from a couple who are seated together on the same side of the table, side by side? I always sit across from my wife when we go out to eat. There is just something weird about sitting right next to her at a restaurant unless we are dining with other people.

Anyway, I ate with my head down and as quickly as I could because I was being stared at the whole time by this weird couple.

Before I left the restaurant, I pulled out my phone and opened up the compass app. I could see the Ramada from the Perkins and was trying to figure out which side of the Ramada was south. Just then Jesse texted me again, stating load in was moved to the west side of the building. My trusty compass app directed me to the west side of the Ramada.

Problem was that the south side parking lot was well kept while the west side parking lot was one big pothole. I almost fell a few times trying to load my bins of cards onto my cart. I watched other dealers stumble as well. 

There was a battered cement ramp leading up into the hotel. It looked like trouble. I watched a couple dealers spill their carts on the ramp. I tried my best but spilled my cart as well. That sucked.

Once inside the hotel ballroom, I observed that each table had a name plate. I looked for my name. I went through the room two or three times before I realized my name was not on any of the tables. I prepaid for the space, so I should have had a table. Plus, Jesse had just texted me!

I found Jesse who is a bearded young man, looks about 28 to 30 years old. I asked where he placed me then watched him look at all the name plates and realize he forgot to give me some tables. He then rearranged some tables to make some space then went into a back room and grabbed more tables. I patiently waited until my tables were ready. Can't say I have never done the same thing. You try to be thorough as a promoter but it doesn't always work out.

Set up was easy, although there were a few guys trying to check out my stuff before I could get it all out. I tried to block them from the table so I could continue to lay everything out. Once set up, I walked around the lobby trying to find some coffee. While taking in the environment, I observed that I was in a place straight out of Austin Powers. This hotel must have been built in the early 1960's. It was clean but you could see the age and the groovy 1960's layout and decor.

No coffee. I was directed to a pop machine near the pool. Some diet Mountain Due did the trick along with a pack of M&Ms.

Back at my tables, I lost my ability to think as my brain waves were drowned out by some very loud, off-key, singing in a foreign language coming from the neighboring ball room. My PTSD was triggered and suddenly I was back at the old Fred Copp show in Schaumburg that regularly had a very loud church band in the ballroom next door.

This particular church service went on for hours and gave me a huge headache. Interestingly, though, members of the church walked through the show later and I learned they were from Togo in West Africa and spoke French. How funky is that?! How did these people end up in BumbleF&^% Iowa?

So with a background of off-key singing, some drumming, a little piano and later some bass guitar, drinking diet Mountain due and munching on M&Ms, I began the show by scanning the room from behind my tables. I suddenly became aware that I was in a sea of University of Iowa T-shirts, sweatshirts and hoodies. A few guys had some Kansas City Chiefs gear on. I also saw a bit of Cubs and Twins gear.

"Hello Tony," I heard while checking out all the team sports wear in the room. 

People freakin' know me wherever I go!

It was Adam, who I met several months ago at the Madison show. He also drove up from Iowa to my Oak Creek show. Adam was decked out in Kansas City Royals gear which prompted me to look at Google Maps to see how far away Kansas City was from Cedar Rapids. It is not close. Why so many Kansas City fans?

Anyway, it was nice to see Adam, who is a real friendly guy.

I was then approached by a couple of middle-aged guys who started to flip through my binders.

"You're not from Iowa," one of them said to me.

"No, I am not," I responded.

"We don't see this kind of stuff in Iowa," he said.

Well, that isn't true because I know many excellent Iowa vintage dealers. Maybe those vintage dealers do not regularly attend shows in Cedar Rapids. There was another show occurring at the same time in Des Moines that I knew had quite a few vintage dealers. There was also a mall show going on in Ames.

"Your're from Chicago, aren't you?" he said.

How did he know? I wasn't wearing any team gear. After the show I told this story to my wife and asked her how this random guy knew I was from Chicago. 

"You look like Chicago," said my wife, who is from a small town in Massachusetts.

Really? How does one look like Chicago?

I know I have a Chicago accent but it is not as pronounced as other members of my family.

I think I told this next story before about the time I first learned I had an accent. I was on vacation with my family in Aspen, Colorado, in the late 1970's. It was summer time and there was a park with a bunch of baseball fields in the center of town. I was 12 years old and, of course, brought my baseball glove on the trip.

To my delight, there was a steady round of pick-up baseball games at the park. I jumped in and played my heart out. After a few games, I walked over to a nearby store to get something to drink. The girl working the cash register must have been about 16 years old. She flipped out when I asked for a pop.

"Where are you from?" she asked in shock.

"Chicago," I said then asked why she wanted to know.

"Your accent!" she screamed.

"My accent? I don't have an accent!" I responded, then later realized I do, indeed, have an accent.

Anyway, I am getting off topic. I still find it weird that the guy pegged me as being from Chicago.

The same guy asked me if I buy cards. I said, "Of course, what do you got?"

He had eight 1948 Leaf baseball commons. I wanted the cards but he gave me a crazy price. When I took a pass, he dropped his price by half. With each pass, the price dropped further. I probably should have continued to pass on the cards until he gave them to me for free. I ended up overpaying for the cards as I learned by looking up recent eBay sales. I drove all the way to Cedar Rapids, Iowa, only to get hustled. Oh well. Se la vie.

The Leafs were my only purchase at the show. I did see some potential purchases at one dealer's table across the room who had a bevvy of pre-War cards. He wasn't cheap but the cards were cool! He later came over and purchased a pile of 1959 Topps baseball.

I had some other customers purchase cards as well. One customer, who told me he is a Minnesota Vikings fan, spent quite a while at my table. He purchased a 1964 Philadelphia Fran Tarkenton then went through my football binders and pulled all of the Vikings.

Another customer was working on some baseball sets. He pulled some 1954 Bowmans then complained about my prices. I knocked off a few bucks but I am well aware that my prices are fair.

I had one guy, who looked like Chipper Jones, stop by my tables four or five times but did not purchase anything. A couple of other guys bought some cards and my day was done. Sales suffered a huge drop when compared to the Madison show. 

However, I did like the Cedar Rapids show. The room was filled with dealers. All were very friendly. There was a nice crowd but most seemed to be looking for Ja Morant, not the Hank Aarons on my tables.

Promoter Jesse seems like a real good guy. I overheard him say something that really struck me. He only recently began promoting card shows and said this was the first time that he ever received a compliment in his life. People at the shows tell him that he is doing a nice job. He said nobody has ever told him that he is doing a nice job prior to the card shows. Wow. People suck. We all gotta be much nicer and much more supportive!!

I would do Jesse's show again. I would need to pair it up with something else on a Saturday nearby. I can't drive out to Cedar Rapids for just this show. It worked being in Madison on Saturday then doing Cedar Rapids on Sunday. It was a fun and interesting weekend.

I've got more of the same this weekend with my Oak Creek show on Saturday, May 7. I just learned the signing times for the autograph guests: Levens 11-12:00, Newsome 12:30-1:30, Clavelle 2:00-3:00.

Hope to see you Saturday!

​Here are some photos from Cedar Rapids....

The following photo's I swiped from Jesse's post on the Iowa Card Shows Facebook Page.

Saturday, April 30, 2022, Sheraton Hotel, Madison, WI

I saw the tornado warnings prior to the show and was concerned. Luckily, I just dealt with some light sprinkles during my easy drive up to Madison. I think I just missed a downpour as John, from the Rockford show, told me he got stuck in it and could not see the road.

Load in was easy. I brought out three display cases, all of my baseball binders and half of my football binders. It was nice to be back after missing the March show due to the Sun-Spectacular. 

The show was busy as usual, and my sales were excellent. My good friend Andy from Orlando surprised me while I was setting up. It is always great to see Andy. I was also surprised to see Rich, who drove up from the Chicago area and purchased some 1968 Topps baseball. Thanks Rich!

A customer, who said he regularly attends my Oak Creek show, purchased all of my Eddie Mathews cards. A younger collector spent most of the day at my tables pulling 1973 Topps baseball. Then an older collector purchased a nice stack of 1957 Topps baseball.

A regular customer purchased a bunch of Cubs photos from my Cubs binder. A new customer purchased a nice pile of football cards. I had brought out my 1964 Philadelphia Football stars for a customer who communicated with me through Facebook but never showed up.

I've got a regular customer who I met years ago at one of Darren's old Madison shows who purchased his usual pile of a mix between football and baseball. My guy who drove down to the Root River show last weekend pulled some more cards at this show.

I met a few customers who had to catch flights out of town after the show. One customer was heading to Los Angeles and pulled a nice pile from many different binders. Another customer was heading to Atlanta and he pulled some 1972 and 1973 Topps baseball.

An older customer purchased my 1960 Topps Nellie Fox along with a nice pile of '60 commons from my binder. A new customer purchased some 1971 Topps baseball. I had many more sales but my memory is fading. I love the Madison show. It is one of my best shows.

I had a great day on the buying front. Last month I talked with a collector named Jeff who wanted to trade some cards for some complete sets. He brought his cards to the show and, as you know, I hate to trade so I ended up purchasing two binders. One binder was filled with Philadelphia football cards and included some stars. The second binder was filled with baseball commons from 1964 to 1966, including some high numbers. Thanks Jeff!

Later, Andy advised that I go over to Tim's table and purchase his T206 Hughie Jennings. I took Andy's advice and purchased the Jennings at the end of the show.

Big crowd and the room got hot after a while. At some point the air came on and cooled things off. I was too busy to check out the second room downstairs but was told it was awfully hot in there as well. Card collectors emit quite a bit of heat. Seems like most card collectors have bad backs as well. I don't know how many times I saw guys grabbing their lower back while looking through my binders.

Rant time! Beau, the promoter, told me he had eight last-minute cancellations and one no-show. I know from experience that there is nothing worse for a card show promoter than last-minute cancellations and no-shows. Not only for the obvious reason that you lose money, but Beau could have easily filled those tables from his waiting list if he was given more time. Then you have to deal with all the angry people on your waiting list who see the empty tables and don't understand that the tables are empty from last-minute cancellations and no shows. 

If you book the show, you gotta show up and set up -- period! I know life happens and sometimes cancellations are unavoidable. In those cases you have a duty to either find someone to take your spot or at the very least pay the promoter for the tables!

As I told Beau, I have resolved my cancellation and no-show issues by overbooking my show and banning repeat offenders. I think Beau is going to clamp down after this past show.

Then I got into a stupid discussion with another dealer who feels that promoters should not make any profit on their show? What? So myself and other promoters should just work our tails off on our shows and not get paid? I have no idea where this guy is coming from.

First of all, I could really care less about other promoters' profits from their shows. Why should I care? It is really none of my business and does not effect me in any way. Why is this guy concerned? My only concern when setting up at a show is whether there will be vintage collectors at the show. Funny thing is that this guy sets up at the Sun-Times-Spectacular shows. Doesn't he realize that the Spectacular promoter earns well into the six-figure profit margin for those shows? Those damn promoters who want to get paid for their work!! How dare they?

To make matters worse, this numbnut then went on to complain about certain customer's ethnicity. I have a big F U for that one. You gotta be pretty stupid to think that a customer's ethnicity has any relationship to their spending habits. We're all the same. We're huge sports fans and we are all geeks who collect sports cards. Ethnicity has got nothing to do with nothing, unless you're a racist A-Hole. This guy just sucks. Where is the mute button?

Anyway, numbnut aside, the Madison show was great as usual. I got to chat with many folks who are kind and compassionate people who make this world a better place. To those folks, I appreciate you greatly! A big thank you to everybody who purchased cards from me at the Madison show. Next Madison show is Saturday, May 28. Beau is planning on 150 tables. I can't wait!!!

In the meantime, I have a monster show planned for this Saturday, May 7, 2022, at the Salvation Army Community Center, 8853 S. Howell, in Oak Creek, WI. Not only will I have 77 dealers and 122 tables but former Packers Dorsey Levens, Craig Newsome and Shannon Clevelle will be signing autos. This is going to be fun!

I owe you another blog from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, where I was set up on Sunday. Iowa blog coming soon.

​Below are some photos from the Madison show.

Next is a sampling of my Madison pick-ups.
​

Sunday, April 24, 2022, Civic Center, Orland Park, IL

Back after missing the last March show which conflicted with Strongsville. Easy drive down to Orland on this overcast morning. I think I made it there in about 35 minutes, which might be a new record. I also beat the rain which came down hard shortly after I loaded in.

I was able to snag one of the large green carts for load in but was unable to get one after the show for load out. That large cart makes a huge difference. Unfortunately, there are always one or two dealers that hoard those carts after the show. Kind of a scumbag thing to do.

The group that caused an obstacle loading in a few months ago was back. They were down to just one table this time and placed boxes of worthless junk in front of their table. Of course, they were all standing in front of the boxes that were already out in the aisle, so navigating around them was difficult once again.

I really have to wonder if they sell anything. They have nothing but worthless memorabilia on their table like Starting Line-ups and bobble heads not even in the boxes. At the end of the show, I did not see any empty space on their table as they continued to clog the aisle while I tried to load out. It did not look like they sold a thing. With such a large group hovering around one table, it appears to be more of a social event than a sales event for these folks. I wish they would move to the side hallway. Better yet, why don't they skip the show altogether and hold a garage sale? 

Anyway, I owed Terry some money from that last Lake Station show. Unfortunately, I spent all my cash the day before at Root River. I brought my checkbook and was able to pay Rich table fee with a check but Terry wanted cash. Then he sold me some more cards, digging an even deeper hole. I really did not want to run to an ATM and was hopeful that Orland would work its magic and bring me some cash!

Set up across from Terry was my good friend Carl, who offered to loan me some cash to pay Terry. You guys know Carl? He sells modern cards and sets up with his grandson. Extremely nice folks. Any day that I get to hang out with Carl is a great day!

Though, Carl, Terry and I had hoped to sell some cards on this great day but our prospects did not look so good as I observed rain through the window and empty aisles throughout the room. Slow arriving crowd. I am not sure if it was the rain or what. The few folks that did enter the show around 9 a.m. hovered around Record-Store Steve's table. Terry noted that the vintage crowd always starts out with Steve.

Terry was next to me at this show and he expanded to two tables and had a large selection. On the other side were two young guys selling modern cards. One guy had asked for one of my chairs. Normally, I would have handed him a chair but at this show, unlike any other show, I have a crowd sitting behind my tables, so I could not part with any of my chairs.

There seemed to be a chair shortage at this particular show. I saw a guy lift one of Terry's chairs while he was away from his table. I dubbed the chair thief Happy Quacky, because he is always so freaking happy, like overly happy, bordering on creepy and maniacal. He had just one table but placed five chairs behind it. Why did he need so many chairs behind his table? 

Back at my tables, I brought out all of the binders again. I also put out the dime box and the two 50-cent boxes. Yesterday at Root River, I realized I could have used a second display case so I brought out an extra case to Orland.

Nothing in front of my tables to start the show but the wind. Pat Quinn soon filled the void. He seems to be the first guy at my tables at most every Orland show. I always enjoy chatting with Mr. Quinn, who is one of the godfathers of sports collecting in the Chicago area. I am pretty sure his card shop was the very first in Chicago and may be one of the very first in the country. I think I mentioned many times how I begged my dad to take me there as a kid in the 1970's. I always enjoy talking with Mr. Quinn and am glad to see him in good health.

Other than Mr. Quinn, I spent most of the early part of the show watching the clock turn and staring at the door waiting for my pal Will to walk through with some coffee. Sitting there, waiting for Will, my mind started to wander. I thought about Orland shows of old. What ever happened to Tom Ward? Anyone know? I haven't seen that guy in a good 10 years. How about Larry Weiss? I haven't seen Larry since the pandemic hit. Anyone talk with Larry Weiss? Like Will, Larry used to bring me a nice warm cup of coffee. I miss those guys!

I was a bit tired this morning and my mind started to play some tricks. These lyrics popped into my head:

Waiting for the break of day
Searching for something to say
Dancing lights against the sky
Giving up I close my eyes
Sitting cross-legged on the floor
Twenty five or six to four
Staring blindly into space
Getting up to splash my face
Wanting just to stay awake
Wondering how much I can take
Should I try to do some more?
Twenty five or six to four
Feeling like I ought to sleep
Spinning room is sinking deep
Searching for something to say
Waiting for the break of day
Twenty five or six to four
Twenty five or six to four

Then like clockwork, Mr. Will walked through the door with Chicago as his soundtrack! What a sight for sore eyes and for a gullet desperate for some warm flowing coffee. Joe had the coffee this morning. Will had the sausage mcmuffins. I love those guys!!!

The party started with Will and Joe! Thanks guys! Customers finally made it to my tables and eyes were down, binder pages were flipped and stacks of cards started to form. Yes, there is magic at the Orland show!

While sales started out slow, by 10 a.m., sales were steady for the next several hours. I ended up having a really nice day and was able to pay Terry that cash I owed him.

Let's see, what the heck did I sell? Mark, who is a big fan of this blog, was one of my first customers. Thanks for the kind words Mark and thanks for the purchases! My guy, who has been slowly building a 1975 Topps baseball set at my tables, brought a pile of lists this time around and pulled out a pile of cards from many different years.

Rick purchased some 1960 Topps and some 1972 Topps baseball. Thanks Rick! My guys who recently finished a 1972 Topps set at my tables started on a 1973 set. Thanks guys! My one guy who only buys out of the cheapy boxes found some cards in my 10-cent box. Thanks for the three crumpled up dollar bills! Phil, who purchased a pile of 50-centers at the Woodstock show purchased another pile at the Orland show. Thanks Phil! I was also able to give Phil his cards that he left with Gene at the Woodstock show.

One of my regulars pulled out a nice pile of cards then had to race out to an ATM to pay me. He took quite a while. I almost put the cards back but got distracted and he finally made it back to pay me. Another regular purchased my 1959 Topps Norm Cash rookie. Terry purchased my 1966 Topps Jim Palmer rookie.

Duke, who I met at this past Fanatics show, purchased a 1966 Topps Pete Rose. He was disappointed that I did not have more display cases out, like at Fanatics. As I was telling Terry, my buyers at the Orland show are set builders and they want to see the binders, so that is what I bring out. I did have two display cases out. Maybe I'll add a third next month.

Gil pulled a nice stack from the 50-cent box. Mike found some hockey cards. A new customer, that Carl sent over, found some 1960 Topps cards for his set. Then I saw a guy who was a regular customer years ago. Of course, I can't remember his name but I do remember that he was a principal at a local grade school. He remembered me and said he was working on his 11th 1970 Topps baseball set! He needed a Bench and a Ryan to complete the set. I did not have the cards. He later came back and showed me some that he purchased elsewhere.

Will purchased a pile of 1956 Topps stars. He also started a 1969 Topps football set. Thanks Will! It is a rare show when Will is not my best customer. Somehow he got outflanked by another customer, who I have not seen in months. Of course I do not remember his name but I do remember that he is a Chicago firefighter. He purchased a ton of cards! Mostly basketball and hockey.

Another customer, who reminded me that we met at one of Fred Copp's shows years back, found a pile of cards as well.

I saw a guy wearing a T-shirt advertising Lottie's Pub, one of my old hangouts in Chicago. We got to talking about Lottie's and another popular Chicago bar called the Lodge, where he used to work. Somehow we got on the subject about how the neighborhood around Wrigley Field has changed since the 1970's. Another customer chimed in and said he grew up in the neighborhood back then and said that the Cubs hired him as a kid to clean uniforms after the games. Some pretty cool stories.

Speaking of stories, one of the best story tellers around, Paul P., graced us with his presence and treated us to a bevvy of old neighborhood stories. Paul needs to write a book. You guys ever read anything by James Farrell? He wrote the Studs Lonigan trilogy in the 1920's or 1930's. Paul was a Studs Lonigan-type character growing up on Chicago's South Side and has many similar stories.

Great sales, great company, and great stories equals a great day in Orland, despite the rain and slow start. Will, Joe and I capped off the day at the sub shop. Now I am looking forward to the next Orland show on May 15.

In the meantime, come visit me in Madison on Saturday or Cedar Rapids, Iowa, on Sunday. Next Oak Creek show is May 7th. Be there or be square!

As I stated in my Root River blog, I forgot my phone at work on Friday so was without a camera. No photos from the April Orland show. Below are some photos of my Orland purchases.

Saturday, April 23, 2022, Root River, Franklin, WI

As I started to unload my car in the Root River parking lot, PJ pulled up with a bag of Mickey D's. I tried to load in and set up as quick as I could to follow PJ's lead and go get myself a bag of Mickey D's. McDonald's is less than a block away from the show. I was able to get an Egg McMuffin and some much needed coffee before the masses entered the show.

Shortly thereafter, I was busy and stayed busy most of the day. I brought out all of the binders, one display case, the 10-cent box and two 50-cent boxes. As you all know, I am really bad with names. Quite a few guys, who I regularly see, purchased some cards and, of course, I can't remember anyone's name. One of my regulars purchased my 1959 Topps Mays/Snider card. Another regular, who I know from the Oak Creek show, purchased some football cards. He said this was his first time at the Root River show. I'm glad he came out!

A couple of my Madison regulars made the trip to beautiful Franklin, Wisconsin, and one guy purchased some 1959 Topps baseball while the other guy found a bunch of stuff in a number of books. Thanks guys!

Another customer, who I met at this show back in February, found some 1952 Topps cards. Kevin and Rich purchased a pile of cards. Thanks guys! Jim pulled a bunch of cards out of my Braves binder. Thanks Jim! Eric found some cards. Bruce about cleaned me out of 1965 Topps star cards. Thanks Bruce! Robin found a bunch of cards.

Sales were pretty good, not quite like the February show, but good enough where I went on a buying spree. I was really surprised at the availability of cards to purchase. I don't think I bought anything at the February show. I was able to purchase a stack of Philadelphia football and some 1977 Topps Cloth Stickers from Jeff. Robin brought me a stack of 1960's football, both Topps and Philadelphia. Not much price negotiation on these cards because the prices were good.

One customer offered me a small pile of 1959 Canadian Football cards. He wanted an offer but I have never seen so many of these cards at once and was unsure what to offer. We decided he was going to research the value then offer me a price at the next show.

One of my Madison guys offered me a box of 400 cards largely filled with 1959 Topps and 1968 Topps. There was a handful of stars and high numbers. He wanted $400, which would have been a buck a card. I looked over the cards and did not think I could sell a large number of the cards for at least a dollar. I'm trying to buy for resale where I can make a few bucks on the deal. I countered at $300. We settled on $325. I appreciate the deal!

I rounded out my purchases with a nice stack of 1971 Topps baseball from Eric that included a Dave Concepcion Rookie PSA 5. Thanks Eric!

So I ended up spending just about every penny I made at the show on these purchases. After buying Eric's cards, I had just one dollar left. Eric came over and spent $20, so I was able to go home with 21 bucks. Woot! Thank Eric!

Once home, my wife promptly took the 20, I was left with one dollar... but I had a good time and am very happy with my purchases!

The next Root River show is on May 22. PJ and I are debating on whether to set up at the June Sports Spectacular. I think I have mentioned this before but traditionally the June Spectacular is a lousy show. I'm only considering setting up because the March show was really great and we are in some crazy times for the hobby, so there is a chance the June show could be alright. I also have that weekend open, so it could work. I am still a little hesitant because table fee is $400 and I have had shows where I dropped $400 on the table only to earn $400. I'm not sitting in Rosemont for three days to only make table fee! I don't know, this is a tough call!

​So I forgot my phone at work on Friday and could not take any photos at the Root River show. Instead, I've got some images of my purchases.

I have a crazy weekend coming up with the Madison Show on Saturday, April 30, 2022, and a show in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, for Sunday, May 1, 2022. So Madison is a two-hour drive then after the show in Madison, I'm heading to Cedar Rapids which I think is close to a three-hour drive from Madison. Then after the Cedar Rapids show I have a nearly five-hour drive home! What was I thinking?!!!

Well, here's some of my reasoning: I have been having a tough time trying to pair the Madison show with something else so I have been checking on Iowa shows because I figure Madison is about an hour drive to the Iowa border.

So I saw this Cedar Rapids show pop up on Facebook and booked it without really thinking it through. Besides the long drive, another problem is there is a bigger show in Des Moines that same day. I think that Des Moines show might kill the Cedar Rapids show. I probably should have booked the Des Moines show but that would have added an additional hour to the drive. Gawd, I hope there are some vintage buyers at that Cedar Rapids show. If not, I may be on the road home by noon!

Reminder, my Oak Creek show is coming up soon on May 7. I've got Dorsey Levens, Craig Newsome and Shannon Clevelle signing autographs along with 77 dealers and 122 tables -- it should be an extravaganza!

Do I have any blog readers in Iowa? If so, please come out to Cedar Rapids on Sunday!!!! It has been about 10 years or so since I last did a show in Iowa. I am sort of looking forward to it. Should be different!

This was a double bill weekend. Orland blog coming soon.

More photos of my Root River pick ups:

Saturday, April 16, 2022, St. John's Church, Woodstock, IL

Aahh, no Lowball Lonnie, no Mopey Mitchell, no Mr. I Got, just a pleasant day in beautiful Woodstock, Illinois. I have to give out props to all the dealers at this show (well, except for Gene).

The dealer to my right offered to move both of his tables down so I could have more room. Much appreciated. The dealer to my left was set up for the first time and was a happy camper. I think he took Gene's harassment in stride. If you ever set up at a show with Gene, expect some harassment. I first met him at Corky's old Elgin show and dubbed him the "Snarky Guy." He is as old as dirt and just as snarky as ever.

My sales were better than last week at Lake Station but not quite as good as Rockford or even my last show in Woodstock in February where I sold a 1973 Topps complete set. I did not bring out any complete sets this time around. I had one table plus a card table for space and was able to get out most of my baseball binders and most of my cheapy boxes.

​The cheapy boxes were quite a hit. Phil, who I know from the Orland show, pulled out a nice stack from my dollar box. Then Gene came over and gave me a couple of cards Phil left over there. Hopefully, I remember to bring them to Orland next week and give them to Phil.

Kevin purchased a pile of 1964 Topps baseball. Thanks Kevin! A new customer purchased some 1967 Topps baseball. Another new customer about cleaned out my 1977 Topps baseball binder. Lots of set builders at this show which was really nice. Another new customer found a bunch of 1975 Topps baseball in my nearly depleted binder. He said he is just 11 cards away from completing the set.

The cheapy boxes got quite a work out. I think it will be awhile before I bring them out again. I need to reload them. Speaking of fans of the cheapy boxes, has anyone seen Larry and Carol? I don't think I've seen them anywhere this year. Hope they are alright!!

One dealer jokingly asked if I had any vintage cards.

I enjoyed chatting with Mike from the Rockford show, young Nick who sets up at my Oak Creek show, and my pals Lou and Donny. Great seeing everybody.

I did not purchase anything. The only card I was offered was a 1952 Bowman Mickey Mantle PSA 6 for $11,000. See photo below. I really enjoyed looking at the card but did not have 11 grand in my pocket. Cool card! In purchase related matters, I was able to pay off Larry for some cards I bought from him at the last Schaumburg show. It is always nice to catch up on my baseball card debts.

Curtis, the promoter, gave me a set of rules for the show. Good idea. He said he is tired of dealing with dead-beat dealers. I can relate! What a pleasant guy that Curtis is and he runs a real pleasant show. I enjoyed myself Saturday. I really appreciate everyone who purchased cards from me in Woodstock.

Unfortunately, I can't make it back to Woodstock until July. I have conflicts the next two months including a show in Green Bay in May and the Sports Spectacular in June. A shout out to Tom Mularz who gave me his table for the April show. Thanks Tom! I do not have a regular spot at the Woodstock show and am never certain I can get in. Though, Curtis always seems to find me a spot. Thanks Curtis!

Up next for me is Root River in Franklin, WI, on Saturday, April 23, then Orland on Sunday, April 24. I'm bringing out binders again. I should have my 1960 Topps baseball binder reloaded and ready to go by Saturday.

Have a great week everybody!

Sunday, April 12, 2022, Lake Station VFW, Lake Station, IN

As I previously stated, this is a weird show because two guys, Bob and Darren, run two different shows at the same venue. Now I have done Bob's shows but this was my first Darren show. While the room was filled with dealers, I found it interesting that there was only one other dealer that I recognized from Bob's show. As far as the crowd, seemed pretty much the same as Bob's show.

Like Bob's show, I was plagued by Lowball Lonnie most of the day. This guy is such a drag. As usual, he pulled out a bunch of cards from my binders and asked for them at less than half of my sticker price. Um, no thank you. I would rather keep them. Then he placed some back and still fought me on the price.

He was much more talkative on Sunday than at past shows. While he was trying to get a huge discount, he told me he lost his job but then his story changed three or four times. I doubt he lost his job. He was playing the sympathy card in an effort to get me to give my cards away. He told me he has no one. He lives alone. He doesn't have a wife or kids. Sad, sad, sad. Well, this guy is just a sad hustler. I need customers like Lowball Lonnie like I need a hole in my head. I wish he would just go away.

I had a total of four sales and made just a hundred bucks on Sunday. I was the one having a sad day, not Lowball Lonnie! One of the other sales was from another regular I have dubbed Mopey Mitchell. The other two sales were from good customers. One of the other guys is working on vintage football sets and I know him from the Orland show. He also came out to my pop-up shops in Palatine last year.

The last customer was a younger guy who drove up from Indianapolis and purchased a nice stack of 1968 Topps baseball. One of the reasons I like setting up in Lake Station, Indiana, is that I usually get some customers who drive up from southern Indiana or from Michigan. I don't get these customers at any other show. So I am probably not done with Lake Station and will set up again at either Bob or Darren's shows when one fits my schedule. Both Bob and Darren are really great guys. I also like meeting these people from Indy and from Michigan. If I could just get more of them to attend the show!

Not just the southern Indiana and Michigan collectors, I really need to figure out a way to get any vintage collectors to attend the Lake Station shows. There were at least four vintage dealers at the show on Sunday. We had an excellent selection of vintage cards! Jim and Terry were set up across the way from me. There was also one other vintage dealer, who I have never seen before but he had a really nice inventory. Jim has become the Mantle Man with a number of beautiful Mantles in his display case. Terry had deals galore on his tables. Such a waste that there was such a great selection of vintage in the room but few customers for our wares.

Actually, when I saw Jim and Terry when I arrived in the morning, I thought that maybe Darren's show drew more vintage customers than Bob's show -- Not! I did purchase a pile of cards from Jim and Terry, making the trip worthwhile. Thanks for working with me guys!

I am not sure when I'll next be in Lake Station. I have conflicts for both May shows and the guys have not listed any shows for June yet. I only have one open date in June which is on the 5th. If either Lake Station promoter schedules a show on June 5th, I'll probably be there. I just need to figure out how to lure in more vintage buyers!

Food report: I enjoyed a $3 hot dog with chips from the bar. The bartender called me "honey." I love that!

Not much else to report. Card shows are very Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Some shows are filled with vintage buyers while others hardly have any. There is a new show in Wisconsin, around Milwaukee, that fits some dates in my schedule but I am worried that there won't be any vintage buyers at the show. I have to think about that one.

Next up for me is the Woodstock show on Saturday, April 16th at the St. John's Church, 401 St. John's Road. The Woodstock show is the smallest one I do but I have had some really nice shows and some not, so very nice Mr. Hyde shows. My last one there was excellent. Quite a few of my blog readers and Facebook followers came out for me. I really appreciated the support and hope to see you guys again on Saturday!

What do you want me to bring out to Woodstock? Right now I am planning to bring out all of my baseball binders. I also have several autograph binders that I pulled out of circulation a few years ago because sales were very slow. I am thinking about reintroducing one of my autograph binders. The auto binders are freakin' cool. I've got some really neat stuff in there, including dozens of signed old Sport Magazine pages.

On the other hand, I might pull an audible and bring out the cheapy boxes, instead of the binders. I'm not exactly sure yet. The Woodstock show gets a lot of the same customers I saw last week in Rockford, who just went through all of my binders. I might want to change it up for Woodstock.

There are a lot of things I like about the Woodstock show. Curtis, the promoter, is awesome. Such a nice guy. He usually provides doughnuts or muffins for the dealers. The other dealers that regularly set up at this show have real nice inventories, mostly modern cards. Nice folks, all of them. There is just a pleasant vibe in the room.

​Speaking of vibes, more along the frenetic variety, don't forget that my next Oak Creek show is coming up on May 7 and will feature autograph guests Dorsey Levens, Craig Newsome and Shannon Clevelle. This will also be my largest show to date with 77 dealers and 122 tables! It is going to be a mad house! I invite everyone to attend except Lowball Lonnie! Does Lake Station have a Lonely Hearts Club where we can send Lonnie?

Anyway, see you Saturday in Woodstock!