On the near-North Side of Chicago, there is a road called Division Street. It runs west from Lake Michigan through neighborhood after neighborhood until it stops just before the Des Plaines River and the Cook County Forest Preserve all the way out to the near west suburbs.

​On its eastern end, Division Street is home to some of Chicago's most famous, and now very touristy, bars and nightclubs. If you follow the road west, you will pass through the area that formerly held the Cabrini Green Housing Project and now contains trendy condominiums.

​Further west, over the Chicago River, Division Street runs through a stream of Chicago neighborhoods. A large chunk of Division runs through an area called West Town which is made up of many smaller neighborhoods. For much of the past 150 years or so, West Town has been home of wave after wave of immigrants.

​My great grandparents on my father's side, came over from Eastern Europe and settled in West Town in the late 1800s. My great grandfather was from Minsk in Belarus. In Europe, he fell in love with a girl from Krinki, a small village in Poland. They eloped and came to America, specifically, Division Street in Chicago.

​My great grandfather Jake opened up an electrical supply shop at 1925 W. Division St., more than 100 years ago. The building is still there. He was very successful and spent a great deal of money bringing my great grandmother Minnie's family from Krinki, Poland, to Division Street. Jake bought up many buildings on the street to house family. At one time, much of the village of Krinki was living on Division Street and I was related to most of them.

​In the 1920s and 1930s, my family's story on Division Street took a notorious turn. It all began in the teens when Jake brought Minnie's sister and her family from Krinki, including 7 year-old Clarence. Adjusting to life on Division Street was difficult for Clarence as he learned English and American culture. Luckily, Clarence became fast friends with a neighborhood tough named Lester Gillis.

​Lester was a small kid but mean and crazy. Anybody who messed with Clarence had to deal with Lester. The neighborhood kids were afraid of Lester.

​Clarence soon came to be known as Clarey. As Clarey and Lester grew older, they shared an interest in automobiles. So much so that they would construct their own cars. They would take the cars out to race tracks in Michigan, an hour or so drive away. Lester drove the cars, Clarey was the mechanic.

​Lester, however, was always a young man in trouble. He spent time in juvenile detention centers. When out, he'd find Clarey. Eventually, Lester was sent to jail where me met seasoned hoods and bank robbers. Once out of jail, Lester started to go by the name George Nelson, also known as "Babyface" Nelson. Lester began robbing banks with buddies from jail. Clarey supplied the cars for Nelson's gang. Some accounts report that Clarey supplied the guns. Nelson then hooked up with Public Enemy Number One, John Dillinger. Clarey supplied Nelson and Dillinger with their cars and guns.

​While Nelson and Dillinger were out robbing banks and shooting up small towns all over the Midwest, Clarey opened up an automotive repair shop on Division Street, near Oakley -- all the while meeting up with Nelson and Dillinger to supply them with whatever they needed.

​To avoid the law that was always searching for them, Nelson and Dillinger hid in safe houses all over Chicago. One of those safe houses was Clarey's auto shop on Division Street, just down the road from grandpa Jake's shop. Dillinger and fellow gang member Homer Van Meter spent extended periods hiding out in Clarey's shop. 

​According to my older family members, Dillinger was handy with a wrench and knew his way around an engine. Clarey put the famous bank robber to work fixing cars. Dillinger did not like hiding out and grew tired of Clarey's shop. He left the shop for a date with the famous "Lady in Red" who tipped off the feds. Dillinger was gunned him down a few miles from Division Street in an alley next to the Biograph Theater on Lincoln Avenue. Oddly enough, I used to hang out in that same alley drinking beer, as a teen.

​Anyway, the feds wouldn't get ole Lester the same way they got Dillinger. Lester went out in a blaze of fury in an epic gun battle with the feds outside of Chicago. Some accounts that I read state that Clarey drove out and picked up his wounded friend after the gun battle. Lester died. His body was found in a ditch in Chicago. I'm assuming it was Clarey who left him there. 

​Shortly afterwards, the feds picked up Clarey and shipped him to San Francisco where all the remaining members of the Nelson and Dillinger gangs were prosecuted. To defend Clarey, Grandpa Jake hired a young Chicago lawyer named Abraham Lincoln Marovitz, who later became a famous federal judge. There was not much Marovitz could do for Clarey. The evidence against him was strong. Clarey was sent to prison for harboring Dillinger and Van Meter.

​I find it odd that in all the books and websites devoted to Babyface Nelson and John Dillinger, they say that Clarey returned to Chicago after serving time in a federal penitentiary then disappeared. Well, Clarey did not disappear. While his auto repair shop was defunct, he still owned the building at Division and Oakley which he converted into a public storage facility. As far as I know, he ran a legitimate storage business for the remainder of his life. He died in 1969 when I was a toddler. I met him at family gatherings but I was too young to remember him. My father said Clarey was the leader of my family up until his death. All important family and business decisions were run through Clarey.

​My dad said that when Clarey spoke of Dillinger, he would say Dillinger was a country boy from Indiana who was a good auto mechanic. Apparently, Clarey did not speak much of Babyface Nelson.

​On a number of occasions I tried to ask my grandmother about Clarey and his escapades. She always refused to talk about him. My grandmother was very proper, vain, and said Clarey was a black mark on the family and we don't talk about him. I've always been fascinated with my cousin Clarey. There seems to be a steady flow of books about Nelson and Dillinger. I read them all, they always mention Clarey. I also scan the internet for tidbits and regularly find new things. I benefit from the public's never-ending fascination with those bank robbers from the 1930s, which I share as well. There seems to be regular information about Clarey popping up out there.

​The rest of my family led fairly boring lives. No other criminals, gun runners, bank robbers. Great grandpa Gordon owned a tavern. On my mother's side, my great-grandfather worked as a barber in Chicago and later as a farmer out in Michigan. My grandparents' generation worked in factories and the trades in Chicago. My parents generation all went to college and became professionals. My generation followed in their footsteps. The youngest generation is finding its way. Most of my family is still in the Chicago area. Jake's electrical supply shop lasted for 100 years or so until my cousin David shut it down in 1990. I lived above the shop for a couple of years in the 1980s.

​Pictured above is a photo I found online, I think it is Clarey's mugshot from when he was arrested for harboring Dillinger. Kind of odd that an auto mechanic wore such a fancy suit, don't ya think?

Henry "Corky" Siers, age 66, of Lake in the Hills, Illinois, died on March 7, 2018, after a courageous battle with cancer. He grew up in Carpentersville, Illinois, and graduated from Irving Crown High School in 1969.

​I had the pleasure of meeting  Corky decades ago at one of the Fred Copp shows. Corky and I regularly set up at Fred's Schaumburg and Bloomingdale shows. Before I met Corky, he was a card shop owner and a show promoter. The shop was in Lake in the Hills and he promoted card shows in malls all over the Chicago metro area. Recently, he began promoting shows again, this time in Elgin, Illinois. Corky was also very fond of flea markets and was a regular vendor at the Kane County Flea Market in St. Charles, Illinois.

​I always loved Corky's set up at the card shows. He had one display case that was for show -- it contained the same vintage cards for 30 years or so. Corky never really said the cards were for show but judging by the prices and the longevity of the cards in his display case, these cards were for show. The cards he actually sold were of the dime-box variety.

​Corky always greeted me with a sturdy handshake, usually crushing my digits. He liked to dig through my hockey and football binders for Blackhawks and Bears. Every so often, he'd appear at a random show as a customer when I was set up as a dealer and  he would sell me a box of vintage cards. 

​There was one box in particular that received a bit of notoriety. The box had a bunch of Bowman and Topps cards from the 1950s including some stars. Unfortunately, most of the cards had some sort of mold on them. Of course, I bought the moldy cards from Corky and eventually sold them all. 
​
​I could never convince Corky to come up and do my Milwaukee show even though I set up quite a few times at his show at the Elgin Holiday Inn.  He moved that Elgin show last year and I never made it to the new location. I thought the Holiday Inn show had great potential. I observed that he had a really terrific crowd when he advertised the show in the Daily Herald Newspaper. 

​At the Elgin show, I appreciated that he really watched out for his dealers. He didn't leave the building until all the dealers had safely loaded out. There was one elderly dealer that Corky went out of his way to help cart the man and his cards in and out of the show.

​In addition to his own shows, the flea market, and Fred's show, Corky loved to set up at shopping mall shows. For years, he was a regular dealer at the St. Charles Mall show. He always talked about that St. Charles Mall show. I visited the show a few times and did not see much customer traffic. Corky had his ways and he could make certain shows really work. He was also a regular vendor at a mall show in Matoon, Illinois. He swore by that show. 

​Corky was a vibrant, energetic guy. From what I know, he was struck with cancer in the fall and went down quickly. I last saw him at the National in Chicago over the summer. As usual, he sold me a really great box of cards. I just can't fathom not seeing Corky around. He is just one of those friendly faces that is a card show fixture.

​One of these days I am going to create a Baseball Card Collector and Vendor Hall of Fame. Corky is a sure Hall of Famer. I am going to miss old Corky. Rest in Peace my friend.

"Da" Region Sports Cards and Collectibles Expo, Sunday, March 25, Villa Cesare Hall, Schererville, Indiana

After skipping the Sun-Times show, I was itching to set up somewhere. Originally, I had planned to set up in Bloomingdale, Illinois, on March 25 but I kept seeing Facebook postings for this new show in Schererville, Indiana. Once Baseball Card Exchange posted the show on their Facebook page, I was sold. I cancelled Bloomingdale. Sorry Fred! 

Leading up to the show, there was a tremendous amount of chatter on Facebook regarding this Indiana show. There even was an article in the local Northwest Indiana newspaper about the show and promoter Mitch LaRock.

When I spoke to Mitch on the phone I really appreciated his enthusiasm for the hobby and his new show. Usually, I am reluctant to set up at a new show but Mitch did an outstanding job promoting his event.

I have done quite a few Indiana shows over the years but never one is Schererville. I had never been to Schererville before even though, one of these days, I want to go to Baseball Card Exchange, which is located in this quaint Indiana town that sits just over the border from Illinois.

That morning my GPS took me to a familiar exit from I94, the Indiana Route 41 exit. This is where I exit for the Highland, Indiana, show. Lo and behold, Schererville is just down the road from Highland. My first thought was I hope Mark Smith is setting up so we can hit our Highland spot for steak after the show. Unfortunately, no Mark Smith at this show. However, I was happy to see Jim from the Orland show had set  up. I also saw Juan, who is a dealer from Indiana that I have known for years. I recognized a few other dealers from the Highland show.

The room at Villa Cesare Hall is huge and there were a ton of tables and a ton of dealers. Most of the dealers I did not know. I was lucky to be set up next to Luke "Skywalker," who was setting up at his first show ever. Luke is a super nice guy with an incredible collection of cards. Luke brought out just two display cases of cards. One had cards for sale, the other was just for show, and wow, he had some stuff to show including a 1933 Goudey Babe Ruth and a 1948 Leaf Satchell Paige.

Mitch said about 300 people attended the show. I had a steady flow of customers at my table all day long. It was great to see old buddy Dave F., who has been very busy with work and family. I haven't seen Dave in over a year or so. He spent a long time going through my newly reloaded 1972-73 Topps basketball. I think he purchased most of the cards. Thanks Dave!

Dave was the only customer I had that day that I knew previously. I thought it was awesome all the new customers that came to my table with their vintage card lists. One new customer bought a tremendous amount of vintage basketball cards. He came by twice. On the first run, he purchased a bunch of '69-70 and '70-71s. On the second run he purchased my entire late 1970's basketball binder. Thank you!

Another new customer found a bunch of cards for his '72 Topps baseball set. I had a guy find a bunch of '73 Topps baseball high numbers for his set. A young guy purchased my 1960 Fleer Ted Williams and my 1958 Topps Yogi Berra. A dealer, who was set up with his young son, purchased my 1950 and 1951 Bowman Frankie Frisch cards. The dealer said he attended Fordham University where Frisch starred close to 100 years ago.

Another new customer purchased my 1956 Topps Nellie Fox. I had quite a few other guys dink around my binders. I was pleased with my sales.

On the buying front, I struck out. I had a few guys offer me their grand collections of 1988 Topps. I politely declined. Nobody brought anything decent to my table and none of the dealers had any cards priced low enough for me to buy for resale. Instead, I went home with cash in my pocket, which is not such a bad thing.

I was very impressed with this show, it was amazing for a first effort. Mitch's next show is slated for May 6th. I am going to skip that one because I have my Four Points Sheraton show on May 5 and need the 6th to chill out before the busy work week begins on May 7th. Though, I definitely am going to set up there again down the road. Below are a bunch of photos of the show I swiped off Mitch's Facebook page. You can click on the photos for a larger view.

Don't forget to come out to my show on April 7th at the Four Points Sheraton, 5311 S. Howell, in Milwaukee!!

Sunday, March 11, 2018, Gonzaga Hall, Milwaukee

Thankfully, no snow! Turned out to be a really nice day. Though, I thought attendance was a little light for a Gonzaga show. That being said, my sales were excellent! Definitely an uptick in sales from the January show. I missed the February show due to the aforementioned snow.

It was nice to see Chuck who is always working on a new set. This month, Chuck chose 1963 Topps baseball and purchased quite a few cards. Thanks Chuck! A lot of my regulars made it out to the show and scoured my binders to fill their lists. New customer Ron found a bunch of stuff then came back later and sold me some stuff! Thanks Ron! See cards pictured below.

A shout out to regulars John, Jim, Terry, George, Barry and Matt, always great to see you guys! A new customer purchased my 1954 Bowman Red Schoendienst, PSA 6. One customer seemed a little miffed that I did not bring out my Braves binder. I only have so much room on my table and far too large an inventory so I have to rotate items in and out from show to show. It seemed like the Braves binder was not getting much action latelyl so I held it back this time. Figures the one time I don't bring it, someone wants it!

I brought out a new 1975 Topps Minis binder that, surprisingly, did not get much action. I have probably been doing a '75 Minis binder for the last five or six years and each time I put one out, someone buys the whole thing. I'm sure at some point, someone will buy this binder as well.

All and all I had a really terrific show with great sales and great buys. Unfortunately, I have to miss the April Gonzaga show because I am setting up at the Ohio Sports Collectors Convention. I will be back for the May show. In the meantime, come see me on Saturday, April 7, 2018, at the Four Points Sheraton, 5311 S. Howell, in Milwaukee, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Free admission! Two free packs of cards for everyone who attends the show!!

Saturday, March 3, 2018, Four Points Sheraton, Milwaukee

First observations as I pulled up to the Sheraton at 6:45 a.m.: (1) the seagulls are back, (2) there are a ton of cars in the parking lot, (3) the back door is locked, (4) there are literally mounds of cigarette butts in front of the doors to the hotel, and (5) one of Larry Larsen's customers is already at the hotel waiting for Larry.

We were in the larger Mitchell Room for this show. I invited Larry's customer to come in and wait. I don't mind if customers show up early but 6:45 a.m. is a new record. I had ordered 34 tables and chairs and received 34 tables and chairs. So often, I don't get what I ordered and have to scramble to find tables and chairs before the show opens. The crew set up the room in an unusual manner but I liked it and kept it.

This was a great day for a card show. I had a couple of dealers cancel and added one new dealer last minute, who had that pretty cool Frank Kaminsky autographed photo, pictured below.  By 9 a.m., all 34 tables were filled with dealers and cards. We had a steady flow of customers all day long.

We shared the hotel this morning with a large dart tournament. I remember the tournament from last year when people were hanging out in the parking lot drinking vodka at 7 a.m. I didn't see anyone drink in the parking lot this time around. Though, I did notice that the hotel had strategically placed a bar in front of the ball room where the tourney was being held. There were also many signs posted stating that outside alcohol was forbidden. The manager came by early on and introduced me to his extra security for the tourney. He told me he was stuck at the hotel with the tourney until 2 a.m. the night before and arrived back at 7 a.m. 

I know all too well that some folks can't handle their alcohol and can get out of hand after a few shots. This crowd, although loud a times, was pretty well behaved. I also appreciate a good party where people are having a great time. That dart tourney is a good party where people have a great time. A few tourney people stumbled into the card show as well. All are welcome at the Fat Daddy's Sports Card show. I have had some of my best sales at hotel shows where people stumbled in from the bar.

Attendance was up from February. I gave out almost all the packs of cards I brought, including a box of 2018 Topps baseball. My sales were exceptional. I had a customer purchase a large stack of 1969 Topps baseball. Jerome purchased a larger pile from my newly reloaded 1975 Topps baseball binder. Quite a few guys came up from Illinois, including Tim, who purchased my 1983 and 1984 Fleer baseball sets. Another Illinois customer purchased a large pile of 1961 Topps baseball. I was busy all day long. I sold a lot of cards out of my binders and my display cases. 

Flush with cash, I went on a buying spree. I bought a stack of 1964 Topps baseball commons from a customer, a 1956 Topps Hank Aaron PSA 4, an autographed Bill Buckner baseball, some 1953 Bowman football, some 1936 Goudeys including Hank Greenberg and Kiki Cuyler, some 1941 Play Ball and a few T206s. A really nice haul!

This was a really great show. I love these sorts of shows where I sell and buy a ton of stuff. I had a great time. A big thank you to all the customers and dealers who attended the show. 

My next Four Points Sheraton show is on Saturday, April 7, 2018. I've picked up a box of Wacky Packages stickers to give away. I will get a bunch more stuff for giveaways before the show. See you April 7th!

January 14, 2018, Gonzaga Hall, Milwaukee

First show of the year and one of those butt-cold mid-January days in Milwaukee. Of course, there were guys at the show wearing shorts.

Absolutely tremendous crowd. I finally finished the 1973 Topps binder. Surprisingly, not a whole lot of action in that binder. Sales in general were a little slow but I did buy some nice stuff including a 1956 Topps Sandy Koufax, a '56 Topps Luis Aparicio Rookie and a 1961 Topps Ron Santo Rookie.

A funeral was held today in Tucson, Arizona, for Donald W. Carson, age 85, journalist, college professor, husband, father, curmudgeon, motivator, inspiration, and friend.

​My path to Professor Carson's Journalism 205 class at the University of Arizona was more like an obstacle course. I was a terrible student in high school. I was completely disinterested. I thought of dropping out many times but somehow saw it through and graduated in 1985. Instead of attending my high school graduation, I followed a punk rock band all across the country that summer. I had no plans to attend college. Instead, I thought I would drink 40-ouncers of Old English Malt Liquor among the other wayward youth who hung out at Aetna Park on the North Side of Chicago.

​In September of 1985, all of my high school friends had gone off to college. Buddies Tom and Karl went off to the University of Wisconsin. Mike road his motorcycle out west to CalArts. Tom B. went to the University of Alaska, Fairbanks. While I still had plenty of friends to drink with at the park, I felt real lonely when my oldest friends all went away to college and for the first time, I thought maybe I should go to college too.

​I enrolled at Columbia College in Chicago which did not start its fall semester until October -- leaving me with a whole month to sleep till 2 p.m., drink at Aetna, and hang out at an all-ages night club called Medusa's. Having never considered going to college before, I did not have a major. The folks at Columbia College labeled me "undecided." They made me take writing classes, along with history and social sciences. I avoided math like the plague. I hated math. I still hate math. 

​Columbia is an art school, so in addition to my required courses, I took all sorts of art and music classes which I really enjoyed. For the first time in my life, I actually liked school. After two years of being "undecided," I "decided" to pursue a degree in journalism. Of all the classes I took at Columbia, I enjoyed the writing classes the most. I figured I needed to find a career that I would enjoy. The only career that came to mind where I could write was journalism.

​I went from a "D" student in high school to an "A" student at Columbia College. After two years, I lost my interest in punk rock, malt liquor, Aetna Park, Medusa's, and felt I needed to leave Chicago and go to a real college campus to study journalism. I applied to schools all over the country. I went out to Philadelphia to look at Temple University. I thought Philadelphia was a real pit and lost my interest in Temple.

​My high school buddy Tom had transferred from University of Alaska to the University of Arizona in 1986 because his girlfriend was at Arizona. In February of 1987, when it was 12 below zero in Chicago, and in the 80s in Tucson, I flew out there to see Tom and check out the U of A. I wish I had some sort of anecdotal epiphany as to why I chose to attend the U of A, but embarrassingly, and truthfully, I ended up there because I saw girls in bikinis running around Tom's apartment complex. I wanted to spend my winters with girls in bikinis, not walking down Harrison Street in Downtown Chicago with the freezing wind blowing off Lake Michigan, forcefully hitting my bald head. So I picked up a copy of the course catalog and saw that Arizona offered a journalism major and enrolled that fall. I roomed with Tom and just outside our apartment was a pool filled with girls in bikinis -- all year long!

My courses that fall included Journalism 205, Algebra (ugh!), and a host of other required classes. One was called "Humanities" where we studied Greek philosophers, it was actually kind of cool.

​The campus at the University of Arizona is absolutely beautiful. The heart of the campus is a long grassy "mall," as they call it, surrounded by red-brick buildings that blend well with the surrounding Catalina mountains. Outside the mall is the Franklin Building -- the only dumpy, run-down structure on the campus. The journalism department, at the time, was located in the basement of the Franklin Building. It was there I met Professor Carson, a freakishly tall man, thin, and in shape for his age.

​Professor Carson's classroom was not very large and had a dozen or so 1960's-era desks each decorated with a crusty old manual typewriter. There were stacks of that gray recycled paper that seemingly crumpled by the touch. At the start of each class, the students grabbed a sheet of that crappy paper and stuffed them into the crappy typewriters. First thing, we had to type up our answers to Professor Carson's daily current affairs quiz which was based on the morning's news contained in the Arizona Daily Star.

​About the only thing I aced in Journalism 205 was the morning current affairs quizzes. I was a news junky long before I decided to pursue a career in journalism. In Tucson, I had my hometown Chicago Tribune delivered to my apartment along with the Arizona Daily Star and Tucson Citizen. I was up to speed on the workings of the world by the time I finished my morning grump.

​After the current affairs quiz, Professor Carson had some sort of newspaper related lecture, whether it be about writing a lead, the inverted pyramid, or checking facts and spelling. He had us engage in all sorts of exercises where we practiced leads, interviews and writing hard news stories. All was done on that crappy paper in those crappy typewriters. Professor Carson treated his Journalism 205 students as if they were his staff at the St. Louis Post Dispatch. I'm not sure what he did at the Dispatch but there was a photo in his office of him editing copy at the Dispatch. I spent a lot of time in that office.

​He was tough. If you failed to include the middle initial of a source in one of your stories or class exercises you received an automatic E grade, affectionately called an "Auto E." An Auto E was a failing grade. I was the Auto E King! I could never remember to include that stupid middle initial!! So after receiving great grades at Columbia College, I was back to my high school grades, at least in Journalism 205. What was so disheartening was, unlike high school, I really tried in Journalism 205. Nevertheless, I learned a lot but I hated Professor Carson for all those dang Auto E's.

​When the semester ended, he called me into his office and told me I should pursue another major. I became enraged and blasted him for being a poor teacher. I told him he should not give up on me so easily and actually try and teach me something. I hated that man.

​I avoided him the following semester as much as I could. The Franklin Building was small so I had to see him. I joined a gym and began lifting weights to get out my frustrations. One day Professor Carson asked if I was working out. I told him I joined a gym. He said I looked like Arnold Schwarzenegger.

​I had a much better experience with Professor Ford Burkhardt in Journalism 206. Professor Burkhardt was everything Professor Carson wasn't -- kind, supportive, empathetic. 

​In the fall of 1988, I was stuck with Professor Carson again, this time for the class titled Reporting Public Affairs. I avoided contact with him as much as I could. I was able to cut down on my Auto-E's but Professor Carson found other ways to criticize my work. The bulk of the grade was based on a feature story, assigned on day one and due at the end of the semester. I chose to write about the City of Tucson's long-range plan. I was amazed that city officials had come up with this detailed plan for every aspect of its government for five, ten, 15 years down the road. I drove the Tucson City Manager nuts. I was constantly in his office with questions. At the end of the semester, I felt I had a hell of a story. Professor Carson hated it. I had a real flowery lead that went something like, "Deep in the epicenter of Tucson City Hall, secured with graphs and assorted calculations, was the plan, the future, for Tucson, Arizona." I sat in Professor Carson's office and he read my lead back to me and looked at me like I was nuts.

​I took out my frustration in the weight room. I also dated some beautiful ladies, that helped cheer me up. I would not allow myself to get discouraged. At this point, there was no turning back, I thought. Journalism or bust. I certainly wasn't going back to Aetna Park. Screw Professor Carson.

​I thought I could be a foreign correspondent and signed up to study international journalism through the university's study abroad program in partnership with the University of London, in England. Hah! I thought, no Professor Carson in England!

​Then one day I was called to meet with a group of professors at the journalism department. I had no idea what the meeting was about. I showed up at the Franklin Building and met with Professor Carson and a group of his cronies. Turned out, I was the only journalism student at the university to sign up for the study abroad program. Professor Carson was to accompany me to London. I thought I had a black cloud following overhead.

​I was determined not to allow Professor Carson to get to me. I was going to London. He wasn't going to ruin this for me. 

​In January of 1990, I arrived at Heathrow Airport and met up with other American students from various universities across the U.S. We were herded onto a bus and received a quick tour of London before being dropped off at our "flat," which is Londonese for "apartment." It was more like a townhouse on the North Side of London. It had a kitchen and living room on the first floor and two bedrooms and a bathroom on the second floor. My bedroom was more like a closet. It contained a dresser and a bunk bed. The other room had a bunk bed and a small bed. There were five of us living in the flat. There was Jim, who also was from the U of A; Dave and Bill from the University of Iowa, and Todd from the University of Texas. We all got along great.

​The University of London was located a mile or so south from our flat. The easiest way to get there was the "tube," Londonese for "subway." Though, I figured out how to walk to the University of London and found it most enjoyable to hoof it each day and take in the sights, sounds, and scents of London. The tube was disgusting. It smelled like piss and vomit.

​I had all of these great classes lined up. The History of Parliament, the History of Britain, English Literature, and International Reporting. The professor who taught the History of Parliament reminded me of Mr. Bean. The other history professor was a rotund Irishman who enjoyed a pint with his students after class. He was awesome! My literature professor was an American ex pat, who moved to London with his wife, a native. Of course, teaching International Reporting was Professor Carson, bring on the Auto E's, I thought.

​Surprisingly, there were no Auto E's in Professor Carson's International Reporting course at the University of London. There was no critique of my work. I thought Professor Carson may have been ill but he brought a different philosophy to London. Concerned, I actually asked him why he wasn't giving out Auto E's. He said grades were not important in this course, instead, experiences were important. He advised that I did not worry about my grades in any of my courses at the University of London and he told me take advantage of being in London and in Europe and explore. Who was this man?

​Well, I always fancied myself as a sort of Huck Finn character, and I took Professor Carson's advice to heart. I explored London by going to a different pub every night. Man, that was fun. I drank a ton of bitter ale. Saw amazing bands. Ate terrible pub food. Got beaten up. Somehow randomly ran into people I knew from Chicago and met all sorts of crazy Londoners. As the weeks went on, I started taking train and bus trips all over the U.K. Then my pal Matt from Chicago came out to see me for spring break and we took trains all over Europe.

​Back at the University of London, I told Professor Carson of my adventures. He was doing the same with his wife and encouraged that I travel more. We actually hung out regularly. We both enjoyed the many types of chocolate candy bars available in London and not in the U.S. We met to review and discuss the many chocolate bars. We also went out for Chinese Food. At dinner, Professor Carson surprised me and recited the first paragraph of my Tucson City Plan feature story. Turns out, he didn't hate it, as I had thought, he loved it!

​Oddly enough, I looked forward to seeing Professor Carson each day. His International Reporting class was amazing. He told us that London contained the top foreign correspondents from every major newspaper in the world. He assigned us to seek out and meet a foreign correspondent and write a feature story on that person. I decided to seek out the foreign correspondent from the London Times. I called the Times relentlessly. Eventually got a name and phone number and badgered this fellow until he agreed to meet with me. I went to the Times and he gave me a tour of the newsroom. I was thrilled. Then we went across the street to a pub, one that was a little fancier than I had been accustomed to on my nightly adventures. We dined on meat pies and drank pint after pint of bitter beer. He opened up and told me about his experiences all over the world. I took notes and had a wonderful time. I wrote up my story, turned it into Professor Carson and received my first "A" from Professor Carson. I was on top of the world.

​When classes ended in May. I stuffed all of my belongings into a backpack, then along with my new friend Greg, who came to the University of London by way of the University of Iowa, took off for Scotland and Ireland. Five weeks later, sometime in July, we returned to the States, not realizing we picked up English accents.

​In the fall of 1990, I had my final semester at the University of Arizona. I did not have any more courses with Professor Carson but I stopped by his office to chat with regularity. We even went out to lunch a few times. The man I once thought of as an enemy was now my good friend.

​A few months after graduation, I was hired as a reporter by the Daily Herald in suburban Chicago. I put all those hard fought lessons learned from Professor Carson to good use. I went from the Daily Herald to the Des Plaines Times to the Northwest Side Press before starting my own newspaper called "Barfly." My paper was based on my experiences exploring pubs in London. I created a guide to the bars of Chicago. I published two free newspapers a month with a circulation of 48,000. I also published a soft-cover guidebook to the bars of Chicago. I received a lot of publicity and was even interviewed by Playboy.

​I married the love of my life, Lisa Gulotta, in 1996. I met Lisa at the U of A. She was a journalism major as well. In 2001, when Lisa was pregnant with our first child, I decided I could not raise a family being a Barfly. I shut down my publishing operation and applied to law schools. All the law school applications required a letter of recommendation. Professor Carson was happy to write a letter for me. His letter was so kind and so complimentary that I teared up when I first read it. Wow, I was a long way from Journalism 205.

​Today, I am a former journalist, a lawyer, husband and father. I can't believe what a shit I used to be. I still love to write but my only opportunities to do so these days are here in this blog. The blog allows me to engage in my passion for vintage sports memorabilia as well.  I regularly get compliments about this blog from readers all over the country. Honestly, I owe it all to Professor Carson and his damn Auto E's. I miss you Donald W. Carson. Rest in peace old friend and most of all, thank you.

​
 

Rare five-week gap between shows for Fat Daddy's Sports. The gap started with the December Orland show that I missed due to illness, as previously reported. I didn't schedule any shows during Christmas time because I needed the weekends to shop for gifts. My family had an excellent Christmas, thanks for asking.

At the end of December, we boarded the dog, packed up the car and drove to Florida. That was the week where the temperatures were below zero in the Chicago-Milwaukee areas. Unfortunately, we did not get very far on our first night because there was a snow storm and the roads were scary. The weather was clear the rest of the way and we made it to Orlando on New Year's Eve. We thought about hitting Universal Studios for New Year's Eve but we were a bit road wary and had a nice dinner at a Joe's Crab Shack then hung out in the hotel's game room for a while.

On New Year's Day, we went to Universal Studios. The weather was rainy and in the 50s but we didn't let that stop us. We had a great time, except when we were standing in long lines for rides. The park was packed.

I am a big fan of the Harry Potter books and movies, so the highlight of Universal Studios for me was Diagon Alley. It is a pretty incredible recreation. The only low light was the huge crowds and the enormous wait for the Gringots ride. I bought my son a wand and he had a great time casting spells.

Outside of Diagon Alley, The Men in Black ride was fun. We got to shoot aliens. The boy had the highest score. The Simpson's area was awesome. We hung out a Moe's Tavern and the Quickee Mart. The Simpson's ride was amazing. It is one of those virtual reality rides where you are flying around Springfield. The Transformers ride was fun, as well, though we waited forever to get on that thing.

On January 2nd, we went to Universal Studios Islands of Adventure theme park. It was terribly cold, in the 40s and rainy. We waited a long time to have our photo taken with a dinosaur in the Jurrasic Park Island. The Islands of Adventure has more Harry Potter stuff including an amazing recreation of Hogsmeade Village. Again, there were mass crowds. The boy brought his wand and was able to cast more spells. We waited two hours to go on the Hogwarts ride, which was awesome. If the ride would have been a little longer, it would have been worth the wait. I felt it ended too quickly. Again, it was one of those virtual reality rides and we were flying through the Quiddich Match and evading dementors.

The Cat in the Hat ride reminded me of Disney's "It's a Small World." The line was not to bad and the ride was geared towards little kids. Most of the rides had crazy long lines so we skipped them. With the cold and rain, there wasn't much of a line for the water ride. This was the best water ride, I have ever been on. It had a really steep drop where we got drenched. Unfortunately, we were really cold afterwards. 

After two days of theme parks, we had enough and drove south to West Palm Beach to hang out with my folks. The weather was still cold. We had a nice dinner on January 3rd at the newest restaurant at Lake Worth Beach. So I have been coming to this area for the last 40 years and it is my home away from home. The beach area hasn't changed much in that time. The only real difference is they reconfigured the beach-front road so that you have to drive through the parking lot. It used to be an actual road. Also, back in the 1970s, there was a rock n' roll radio station next to the beach that ran an ongoing beach party. I miss those days.

The cold and rain brought some crazy high waves and the surfers were out en masse. We had a nice time on January 4th watching all the surfers. We spent most of our time in West Palm Beach/Lake Worth hitting thrift stores. I found a 2006 Super Bowl T-shirt for a buck. I bought a bunch of used CDs and a Rolling Stones vinyl record.

We took to the road on January 5th and had an easy ride home. I was back at work on January 7th. Turns out the weather in West Palm Beach for the week of the 7th was 70s and 80s. Oh well, we still had a nice time.

I would have liked to hit some card shows on the trip but the wife and kids were against it. I also apologize for not visiting with the many people I know down in Florida. I was focused on my family this trip. Next time!

​As for local card shows, I'm setting up at Gonzaga tomorrow (February 11), weather permitting. I'll be in Orland on February 18 then back at the Four Points Sheraton in Milwaukee on March 3. I broke out the '74 baseball binder last weekend at the Four Points Sheraton. I'll have 1978 Topps football tomorrow. Come on out!

December 17, 2017, Civic Center, Orland Park, Illinois

I will title this latest chapter in my health saga as "Meds." My doc has put me on all sorts of meds that are wreaking havoc on my body. I take Lipitor at bedtime for hypertension which makes me speed. I take Levimir for diabetes at bedtime which makes me speed. I take Metformin at bedtime with gives me a terrible stomach ache and diarrhea. The result is a recipe for disaster which came to fruition on the night before the December 17th Orland Park Show.

I was suffering all night due to these meds and did not sleep a wink. I texted Rich at 5 a.m. to let him know I could not make the show. I ended up sleeping all day. I know I was supposed to bring cards for a lot of guys and feel terrible that I could not make the show. Rich was awfully kind. He doesn't seem to want me to pay for my tables but I would still like to do it. I scheduled the show and feel I have a responsibility to be there or at the very least, pay for my tables when I cancelled that morning. As dealers, we have a certain responsibility to promoters, other dealers and our customers. In order for a show to be successful, we must show up when we schedule a show. When things happen, because they do, we must notify the promoter and pay for our tables. Rich lost money because I did not show up. He probably could have sold my tables to someone else if I would have been able to give him more time before cancelling. It is not Rich's fault I cancelled. He still has to pay the same amount to rent the hall. Thus, I hope to be able to make things right and pay for my tables.

So I haven't been to Orland since October. I plan on setting up at the February 18th show. I am going to skip all my meds the night before the show so I don't have the same issues... don't tell my doc!

As I write this blog here on January 24th, I am still having these issues with the meds. I did not sleep much last night and went into work very late. Though, I took the Levimir in the morning which I think I will continue to do. I think I am going to start taking the Lipitor in the morning as well. I think the Lipitor kept me up last night. I have greatly reduced the Metformin even though it is effective in lowering my blood sugar but the side effects are just too much to handle. I am scheduled to see my doc soon and hopefully we can iron these things out.

Anyway, I apologize to all those who were looking for me on December 17th and I am sorry I have been away from Orland for so long. As you know, I added the Orland show last year after a three-year absence. Other than being sick from my meds in December, I am having quite a few scheduling conflicts with the Orland show. My first priorities are my show at the Four Points Sheraton in Milwaukee and the Gonzaga show. The Orland show is scheduled on the same date as Gonzaga in March, so I can't make Orland in March. I might have a conflict in April because I just got into the Ohio Sports Collectors Convention which is one of the best shows in the country. I may have another long Orland absence after February. I'll keep you posted.

I have been working on my 1974 Topps baseball binder. Like the '73 binder, this one is taking a lot of time. I am not setting up at any shows this weekend and hope to make some headway on the binder.

My next show is from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, February 3, 2018, at the Four Points Sheraton (formerly Clarion), 5311 S. Howell, in Milwaukee. As always, I will be giving out two free packs of Sports Cards. Attendees at this show will have their choice between 2016 Panini Donruss Baseball, 2016/17 Panini Donruss Basketball, 2016/16 Panini Donruss Basketball, and 2016 Panini Absolute Football. See you February 3rd!

December 10, 2017, Gonzaga Hall, Milwaukee, WI

There is a simple formula to dealer success at a show when setting up regularly at a show -- just bring out new items for each show. Unfortunately for me, work, family and my health make it difficult to spend the time needed to price new stuff each week. I tried to designate the Saturday before the Gonzaga show to sit in the card bunker and work on my 1973 Topps baseball binder but, as they say in the old country, the best laid plans of mice and men often go awry.

Complicating matters are the new medications my doc prescribed for my diabetes and newly diagnosed high blood pressure. The new meds are difficult to deal with. As a result, I am not sure if it is my ailments or the meds making me feel ill these days. So Friday night, I did not feel good. I slept deep into the morning on Saturday and got a late, groggy start on the '73 binder. Once work began, the daughter interrupted stating she wanted me to take her to a comic book shop. That kid melts my heart and I'm just putty around her. I wanted to tell her I needed to work on the '73 binder but I just couldn't pass an opportunity to hang out with the girl, especially when she wanted to hang out with me!

So after just a few hours of pricing cards, the work came to a screeching halt. I'm building a '73 binder from scratch because I sold the last one. It is going to take a while to finish the new one.

I was hoping that the daughter and I could make a quick trip the nearest comic book store, about a 10- or 15-minute drive. The daughter had scoped out a shop in Palatine, Illinois, closer to a 25-minute drive and one we had never visited. Our destination was a place called Beyond Tomorrow Comics. I plugged the address, 327 N. Northwest Hwy., into my GPS. When Siri told me I had arrived at my destination, I did not see the shop. We ended up driving around until the daughter plugged the address into some App on her phone that only teenagers know about. We drove up and down a small radius of Northwest Highway until I spotted the shop. 

The problem was that every other business in the strip mall, where the shop is located, had a large sign above their entrance. Beyond Tomorrow Comics just has a small sign in the window.

Upon entering the shop, I was hit with the sensation of being on an episode of "Hoarders" because this little shop is packed to the gills, floor to ceiling, with stuff. There is so much stuff that walking through the space is really difficult, especially when there are other customers in the place.

So, upon entry, we were hit with this massive amount of stuff and serenaded with the sound of the owner and a customer discussing the profitability of certain new comic books. I couldn't really see the owner. I am also assuming he was the owner. He was sitting behind a tall counter surrounded with comic books and related items stacked in front, in back and on top of the counter. I had to peer down a slight opening between a $1 box of comics and some figurines to see the guy. 

My daughter and I attempted to maneuver around the store. A lot of the displays were blocked off with unopened cases of comics. This place is really a sight to see. I saw quite a few Batman, Spiderman and Superman comics along with all sorts of stuff I had never heard of. While perusing, I could not help but hear the conversation between the owner and the customer. The owner was pretty straight-laced and seemed to be trying to figure out what the customer was looking for and if he was looking for comics that had not yet been released or were soon to be released. The customer was a little off. At one point he started talking about how he was recently married to a stripper and she ran off with his comic collection. 

Now I have never personally known a stripper. I actually had a classmate in college that worked as a stripper but I did not know her that well. But I sort of feel like it is safe to assume that strippers are not interested in comic books and I found the veracity of the guy's story lacking. But I was stuck listening to the guy because I was in this comic book hoarder hell and could not escape the conversation. There was no place to hide, just boxes and boxes and shelves and shelves of comic books. I kept hoping the guy would shut up. 

At one point, he purchased a few comic books and left. Relief! But as I plodded from one end of the shop, more like a closet, to the other, he came back in! I couldn't take it anymore, I tried to get the daughter to move along. 

She finally picked out a few comic books and I attempted to pay for them. The owner started to tell me about some holiday sales at the store and some sort of subscription where purchases would count toward a free comic. I started to feel my blood sugar drop and the owner's voice sounded like the adults on Charlie Brown, "Wa, wa, wah waaaa." I looked around the crowded counter to see if there were any sugary items I could purchase. None. But I did notice new packs of Wacky Packages stickers. Those things came with bubble gum when I was a kid but now, like sports cards, they are collectibles and gum ruins collectibles so the manufacturers no longer insert sticks of gum. 

I did not comprehend the sales spiel nor the subscription deal. I needed sugar. I did seem to understand that we were getting a bunch of free comics to go with our purchases.  I could not see his hands through all the boxes of stuff that engulfed the counter but the owner was seemingly pulling comic books from space and placing them in a bag for us. I love free stuff! Even with the annoying guy, I would come back to this shop. Free stuff trumps annoying guy in overly cluttered shop.

Luckily for me, the shop was next to a place called Fotos Hot Dogs. I figured the carbs in the hot dog bun would raise my sugar up to a comfortable level. Did not work. I quickly sucked down my diet Coke and replaced it with a sugary regular Coke. Didn't work, my sugar was still low. I then started to drink the daughter's Oreo Milk Shake which tasted amazing, by the way. Sugar started to rise and the place came into focus. I saw a sign that said free ice cream. I got a free ice cream cone. Low sugar problem resolved.

I then realized I was sitting inside a crummy camera graveyard. The place had shelves and shelves of old crappy cameras from the 1950s through the 1970s. I love kitchy stuff. It was kind of cool. I saw many crappy cameras that I had back in the day. Anyway, by the time I got back to the card bunker, I had lost three hours or so. I worked a little while on the '73 binder then decided to price some cards for my display cases. I was unable to finish the '73 binder. I did have some new stuff for the display cases, but not enough to have a good show at Gonzaga.

There was a really nice crowd on Sunday, even with a noon Packers game looming. My sales stunk up the place. Not Sun-Times show bad but unusually bad for a Gonzaga show. My fault, I probably would have had a lot more sales if I had the '73 binder out and some other stuff.

On the buying front, I blew it. Flat out blew it. It normally doesn't happen. I can't remember it ever happening but I just blew it. A guy came by with his childhood collection of 1951 Bowman baseball and football. Some of the cards were minty while others were creased and dinged up. My problem was that I undervalued the football. I thought they were worth much less than they are actually worth. I made an offer on the cards which was too low. The seller said he wanted to shop them around a little and he might be back. I said okay, thinking my offers are usually the highest in the room. The guy never came back. I learned that he sold the cards to another dealer who initially offered a few hundred dollars less than I offered. The seller allowed that dealer to bring his offer up to mine. The seller then told him he had to beat my offer. The buyer got the cards for a measly $100 more than I offered. I was not given a chance to increase my offer. The buyer immediately sold the football cards to another dealer for double what he paid for both the football and the baseball. I screwed up.

However, when one deal flies away another flies in. After the show, I met with another seller looking to move several baseball sets from the 1950s. I looked over the cards. The stars are off-grade. Some of the commons are nice. I just need to raise some funds and I hope to have these sets shortly.

On the diabetes front, I felt fine which was a huge relief after dealing with low sugar at the comic shop the day before. Upward and onward!

In regards to my Clarion show, the hotel changed its name to the Four Points Sheraton. Next show is scheduled on February 3. I hope to have a new blog out before then. - Tony