A special Wednesday Vintage-Only Sports Card Show is slated from 4 to 8 p.m. Wednesday, January 14, 2026, in the Game Room at the Salvation Army Community Center, 8853 S. Howell, Oak Creek, WI.

I am excited to report that Tom and Anita Daniels are setting up at this show. Tom and Anita are legendary sports card dealers having started their business in the 1970's. They have set up at every single National Sports Collectors Convention and ran a card shop in Madison, WI, for decades. They have some amazing stories.

Come visit Tom and Anita and all of our dealers at the Oak Creek Vintage Show!

There are also two great shows coming up this weekend. On Saturday, January 17, 2026, from 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. there is the show at Woodstock North High School, 3000 Raffel Road, Woodstock, IL. Then on Sunday, January 18, 2026, is the mighty Orland Show at the Civic Center, 14750 S. Ravinia Ave., Orland Park, IL.

I think I am going to bring out display cases for the vintage show. I'll have binders in Woodstock and Orland.

Pictured below is Tommy at the September Orland show. You can also see big Tim in the background.

Saturday, September 6, 2025, Salvation Army Community Center, 8853 S. Howell, Oak Creek, WI.

​The September 2025 Oak Creek show marked my 11-year anniversary of running the show. My pal Mark Smith and I started the show in September of 2014 at the old Clarion Hotel, further up Howell by the airport.

In January of 2019, I moved the show to the Salvation Army because the Marriot Corp. purchased the Clarion and essentially ruined the hotel. I was so lucky to the find the Salvation Army. While the Marriot Corp was absolutely horrible to work with, the Salvation Army could not have been more wonderful. Thank you Mark, Major Dana and everyone at the Salvation Army!! Love you guys!!!

The show is in such a good place. Seems like we just have to open the doors each month and a thousand or so customers come out. I really appreciate the support from the hobby community and all of the vendors -- usually around 130 each month.

Below are some photos from the September 2025 show:

Back when the show was at the Clarion, I used to give out free food like donuts and sandwiches. However, when the Marriot Corp. purchased the Clarion and changed the name to the Four Points Sheridan, they fired all the Clarion management and forbade me from bringing in food. As a result, I decided to give away free packs of cards instead of food, so I could still give something away without the Marriot being on my case. I carried the free-pack tradition with me to the Salvation Army. Seems like mostly kids take the free packs these days. At the September 2025 show, one of the kids pulled this Jake Woodford autograph card from one of my free packs. I still give out free packs at every Oak Creek show. Come find me and get your free pack!!

Pictured above is one of my longtime dealers Dan Musich. One of the nicest guys you will ever meet. I am so lucky to have dealers like Dan at my show!!

People stop by my table and show me stuff at every show. I can't remember who had these unopened basketball packs at the September show but they sure are cool.

Pictured above here is Vince and Frank's table. I met these guys years ago at the old Gonzaga show. You can see them top right. I have been so lucky to know them because they are two of the nicest guys you will ever meet, plus they have one of the most unique tables at the show.

Well, that's it from the September show. It is currently January 2026 and I am preparing to set up on January 10 at the Waukesha Expo Center. I'm hoping to have my 1963 Topps baseball binder reloaded before the show but I am not sure that I will get it done. 

I am continuing with my Oak Creek Vintage Show in 2026. It is not nearly as popular as my regular monthly Oak Creek show but I really feel like there is a need for it as card shows have changed over the years and outside of a few shows, there just is not a lot of vintage around. As you know, I only like vintage. So it is real fun for me to immerse myself at the monthly Oak Creek Vintage Show. This month I am running the show on a weekday because all of my Saturdays are filled with other shows. The next Vintage Show is slated for Wednesday, January 14, 2026, at the Salvation Army, in the Game Room. Tables are available for just $35. Send me an email if you want a table to [email protected]. 

The next regular monthly Oak Creek show is set from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, February 7, 2026. As usual, all 197 tables are sold out and my waiting list is just silly.

Hope to see you this weekend in Waukesha!!

Since August, I have been running a monthly vintage show in Oak Creek. It is not very big. I hope to grow it. Folks that attend seem to really like it. I could use more vendors. Tables are available for the next vintage show on Saturday, November 15, 2025. Send me an email at [email protected] to reserve an 8-foot table for $35.

Below are some photos from the August vintage show.

So now I am having a little brain rot. I was set up at one more show in August but I can't remember where. I am fricking losing my mind! Here is a photo, below. This is Rockford, right? Getting old sucks!

Shortly after the August Oak Creek Show, I flew out to Colorado Springs with my folks and Lisa to attend my niece's wedding.

While I absolutely hate airports and airplanes, I do enjoy being a tourist, as I thoroughly enjoyed Colorado -- what a beautiful place.

I had been to Colorado Springs once before when I was 12 and I traveled there with my folks and my little brother. We had a wonderful trip.

I largely had a wonderful childhood. My folks loved to travel and as a kid they took me all over the U.S. and around the world. Highlights were regular trips to the Beau Rivage Resort in Miami in the late 1960's and early 1970's, Disney Land in 1973, maybe a dozen trips to Disney World in the 1970's, regular trips to Lakeside and Mackinac Island in Michigan, Six Flags in St. Louis, Aspen, Vail, Hilton Head, SC; Washington, DC; Maine, Niagra Falls, Cooperstown, Vermont, Tucson, Grand Canyon, Wisconsin Dells, Las Vegas, Montreal, Hong Kong, China, Switzerland, and England, to name a few.

After a lifetime of travel with my folks, I figured the trip to Colorado Springs would be the last one as my parents are slowing down at age 88, so I took time to savor this one.

We arrived in Colorado Springs in the evening and found a Waffle House near our hotel. I love Waffle House and don't understand why we don't have them here in Illinois.

The wedding was at a beautiful country club in the town of Castle Rock. It was nice to spend some time with my sister, who lives in Colorado Springs and I have not seen her in three years. I can't even remember the last time I saw my niece, maybe 10 years ago. My nephew flew in from Houston. I absolutely love that guy. A total character with a great sense of humor. Luckily, I get to see him every so often as he travels for work and has to be in the Chicago area on occasion.

The trip was too short. I promised my sister that Lisa and I would be back soon. I've got to find time to get back to Colorado!

Pictured above, left to right, is my sister Lori, brother-in-law Hal, niece Tory and her husband Alex. It was my first time meeting Alex. I found him warm and charming and his family was kind and welcoming.

Loved watching my sister and her daughter dance at the wedding. So lucky to be related to these ladies. 

Saturday, August 9, 2025, Salvation Army Community Center, Oak Creek, WI

You guys have been letting me know that I haven't blogged since the National. I appreciate the concern expressed about my health. I'm still battling some things, especially fatigue, but I am in a much better place than I was at this time two years ago.

The real reason I have not been blogging is that I have been crazy busy along with, honestly, losing my motivation to blog. I have been doing this here little blog now since 2011 and, frankly, I am a little bored with it. There is only so much I can say about a card show.

Fear not, dear readers, I am not discontinuing the blog but I would like to change it up on occasion to make it a little more interesting to me. As you know, I worked as a newspaper reporter in another life and one of the things I miss from those days are writing feature stories. I would like to add a new wrinkle to this blog and pen some feature stories on vintage sports collectors -- which means YOU, the follower of this blog. I want to learn about you, your collection and share it with all my followers.

Anybody who is interested to share their story and collection, send me an email at [email protected]. I'll send you some questions and you send me your responses and some photos and hopefully we can put together some interesting profiles.

So while I was not blogging, I was still attending shows just about every weekend. I don't have many tales to tell but I do have photos to share.

First up, after the National, was the August Oak Creek show. Admittedly, I was exhausted after the National but had no time to rest as the Oak Creek show was on the following Saturday.

On the Monday after the National, I was on the horn contacting my Oak Creek vendors to confirm that the regulars were setting up. Problem -- a large number of vendors were unable to set up at the show because I moved it back one week so it would not conflict with the National. Many vendors told me they were available at the normal first Saturday, but not the second Saturday, the day the show was scheduled.

So in addition to contacting all the regular vendors, I had to work the waiting list which is a complete pain in the ass because I always have to contact three or four guys off the list before I can get one to commit. The result was an exhausted me working the list all week to fill up all the vendor spots for the August 9 Oak Creek show. I was also trying to price some cards to sell at the show. It was a crazy week.

In the end, the show went off without a hitch. We had an excellent crowd considering Oak Creek is just 73 miles north of Rosemont, the location of the prior week's National convention that drew 150,000 people.

I don't remember a whole lot from the August Oak Creek show. One thing that sticks out was that I was flush with cash from the National and looking to restock. I ended up buying a nice pile of 1950's and 1960's star cards and a near set of 1964 Topps Giants from my pal Larry Larsen. Thanks Larry! 

I already had a nice back stash of '64 Giants and just placed a near set into a binder for next week's group of shows: Saturday, October 18, 2025, at Woodstock North High School; and Sunday, October 19, 2025, at Downers Grove North High School. Both of these shows are in Illinois.

Next Oak Creek show is November 1, 2025. As usual I am sold out and overbooked. Next Oak Creek Vintage Show is November 15. I have plenty of tables available for the Vintage Show. 8-foot tables cost just $35. Send me an email to register at [email protected].

Below are some photos from the August 9 Oak Creek Show:

I don't remember who, but somebody had an unopened pack of 1934 Goudey baseball cards.

Sunday, August 3, 2025, National Sports Collectors Convention, Rosemont, IL

Man, was I tired Sunday morning. See photo below. I did not hire any help because Sunday is usually dead at the National. I only had a few sales on Sunday last year in Cleveland. A few years ago in Atlantic City, I did not have a single sale until late in the afternoon. I was not expecting much today.

First order of business was to devise an exit plan. The show went until 4 p.m. and the folks who run the National would not allow dealers to drive their cars into the building until 5 p.m. My plan was to stay set up all day and slowly pack up at four, then drive my car to the booth at 5.

Not as many empty holes in my display cases on Sunday morning as Saturday sales were the slowest of the week so far. I wondered if I should even bother filling the holes since Sundays are usually so horrible. I just didn't like the look of the empty spots in my display cases so I ended up filling them the best I could, as back stock was now non-existent.

I had Scott watch my stuff while I went to the lobby for some crappy coffee and more avocado toast. Once I downed the coffee and had eaten the toast, I went back to the lobby for some better coffee at Starbucks where the line was the shortest it had been all week.

Good thing I was heavily caffeinated because I was busy! Totally unexpected. I was busy all day long and needed help! Wow! Probably my best Sunday ever at the National. 

Because I was so busy, the day went by fast. Before I knew it, it was 4 p.m. I was selling cards right up to the final bell. Crazy. What a crazy week!

It took me a long time to pull all the cards from my display cases and take down the four tables I brought along. All my cards fit into one bin which I brought with me as I made that long walk to the parking garage.

I pulled up to the garage by the autograph pavilion and had to wait awhile before I was let in. Scott was already gone.

I was able to park near my booth. It took a while to cart everything to the car and fill it up. I had the car filled floor to ceiling. Then I slowly exited the building. Another National in the books!

Once home, I decided to treat Lisa and Tabitha to a nice dinner at Benihana Japanese Steak House in Wheeling, Illinois. Benihana is one of those places where the chef cooks on the table and puts on a show. A fitting way to end a great week!

Before dinner, I pulled my cards out of the car but kept the display cases and tables in there for days before I had enough energy to empty it out.

A huge thank you to everyone who visited me at the National. Special thank you to my friend Larry who brought me an amazing pastrami sandwich on Saturday from Al & Joe's in nearby Franklin Park, IL. I also appreciate everyone who purchased cards and sold me cards. What a great week! 

So, I did not get a chance to walk the show because I was so busy. I have been enjoying all the YouTube videos. None have shown my booth but I did get interviewed on camera by some guys. I just can't find the video. Oh, well. From my booth, the show was amazing. Looking at all those videos, the show looked amazing except for the area upstairs where the dealers were jammed in. So many people complained about it all week. I was happy the air conditioning worked.

Looking forward to next year. Come find me in the same spot near the autograph pavilion.

Sunday morning selfie. I was tired!

Now for my purchases. All this stuff walked up to my booth during the National.

I still owe some blogs. Hope to get them done soon!

It is now September and I have a crazy busy month. The monthly Oak Creek show is Saturday, September 6. Then I have my Oak Creek Vintage Show on September 13. Then there is my 450-table MegaShow on September 20. The Milwaukee area is the place to be in September!!!

Saturday, August 2, 2025, National Sports Collectors Convention, Rosemont, IL

Saturday at the National is dealer booth-lottery day for purchasing a booth for next year. Dealers are given a number based on the number of Nationals they have done under their own name. I’ve set up at 12 or so Nationals but have only done six in my name. As a result, I am near the bottom of the barrel for the booth lottery.

However, being at the bottom of the barrel does not bother me. I just want to set up. Any booth works fine for me. This was my second year at my current booth. After such a great show, I want to get the exact same spot for next year.

So I had an easy plan for Saturday morning. Arrive around 8 a.m. for the booth lottery then go set up for the day — easier said than done!

My helper for the day was Donny, who arrived at my house earlier than scheduled. Great, I thought, because I wanted to make sure we arrived at the booth lottery on time. We hopped in my car and drove to Rosemont.

As we pulled off the highway onto River Road, I realized I forgot our badges. Ugh! We had to drive back to my house and get the badges. I was not going to be early to the booth lottery. Not sure I was going to be on time.

I drove back to my house like a bat out of hell. Sorry Donny! He did not realize he signed up for some crazy driving by yours truly.

We got back to my house. I ran inside and grabbed the badges. Hopped back in the car and drove back to Rosemont like a bat out of hell, again. Sorry Donny!

We made it back to Rosemont and into the room with the booth lottery just as they were finishing up the sixes. I was able to get my booth for next year. I also voted for Detroit for the location of the 2028 National.

Crisis averted. On to preparing for Saturday.

I had major open space in my display cases due to monster sales all week long. I pulled out most of the stuff I had left over that would not fit in the cases previously. I still had space so I had to place some of my National purchases into the cases to fill up the holes.

Now I needed food and caffein. I went to check on the line at the Starbucks in the lobby. Long.

The bar in the lobby did not have a line at all and it also served food. I ordered a coffee and some avocado toast. The coffee was crap but the caffein worked. The avocado toast was surprisingly good.

The show was very crowded today but action at my booth was the slowest it had been all week. Sales were still good and better than Saturday last year in Cleveland but just not as good as the previous three days.

Donny was an excellent helper. Thanks Donny!

On the buying front, a near set of 1966 Dexter Press walked up and included a graded Mickey Mantle and Elston Howard — what a fun purchase!

After the show and on our way to the parking garage, I noticed the line wrapped around the building for trade night. There was all sorts of stuff to do each night after the show but I was much too tired and hungry to attend any of them. I took Donny over to Russell’s for dinner. He had never been and we had some great food and called it a day.

Friday, August 1, 2025, National Sports Collectors Convention, Rosemont, IL

I have been incredibly busy since the National ended and have just not had the time to blog. One day I'll catch up....

So, Friday was the third day of the National but actually my fourth day, since I was there much of the day Tuesday setting up.

The smartest thing I did this year was to find people to help me at my booth each day because I was much busier than usual. On Wednesday I had Al help out. Thursday was Bronko. For Friday, I convinced my daughter Tabitha to help.

Tabitha, like her dad, is not an early riser. We were both tired Friday morning. Tabitha went to find us some caffein while I filled the holes in my display cases.

Tabitha has never helped me at a card show before so I was not sure how she would do -- she was great. Thankfully, she has a lot of retail experience and took to it immediately. The thing I liked most was that she really kept her eye out for thieves -- unfortunately, the National, like most card shows is filled with thieves. You really have to be on your toes.

Turned out that Friday was my busiest day of the show. We were mobbed. I couldn't really check up on Tabitha, we just had our heads down and were selling, selling, selling! Tabitha would check with me when guys wanted discounts.

At one point, she came to get me because she did not want to deal with some customers who were very aggressive and pushy, so we traded customers. I took over and did not mind these customers who were stereotypical New Yorkers. They were a middle-aged couple. The guy told me he runs some kind of auctions and needs inventory. They both went through my display cases with a vacuum. I pulled tons of cards for them including just about all of my pre-War. This turned out to be my largest sale ever, making this my best one day at the National, and making this my best National ever, and it was only Friday! I was ready to pack up and go home at this point but had two more days to go. Oh my!

On the buying front, one of the nearby dealers came by with a box of commons from the 1960's and sold them to me for a song. Woot!

While selling and buying has been great, there was one on-going problem at the show, which was especially bad on Friday, and it was people standing around blocking my booth. They all seemed to come from the Texas guys next door. They would start there and float into my booth, blocking my display cases and blocking entry into my "U" section. I had to repeatedly ask them to move.

​Anyway, my display cases were super empty after Friday. I was going to have a tough time refilling them on Saturday.

Tabitha must have snuck and grabbed my phone for this photo. Looks like Scott and I are having an intense discussion on how to solve the world's problems... one sports card at a time.

I think Mike S. purchased this Mantle at the show and was sharing it with me on Friday. Mike, this is yours, right? Anyway, it is always awesome to see a 1951 Bowman Mickey Mantle, the true Mantle rookie.

Of course, I can't remember who showed me this 1958 World Series complete ticket that they purchased at the show on Friday. Very cool, though.

 Thursday, July 31, 2025, Day 2 of the National

I have to admit that it was kind of fun having different helpers each day of the National. Day 2's helper was my pal Bronko, who came down from Wisconsin for the National and stayed with some friends who live conveniently near my house. I picked up Bronko and once again went to Chicago Bagel and Bialy. I went with a kosher salami sandwich this morning. Bronko was not hungry.

We took the back roads to Rosemont and hit a traffic jam on River Road at Higgins. It took us a long while to get into the parking garage. Once at the booth, I sat down and ate my sandwich while Bronko perused the show.

Set up took a little longer this morning as I spent a ton of time replacing all the empty holes in my display cases from Wednesday's sales. Having all those extra cards priced out ahead of time proved necessary and helpful as I was easily able to fill all the holes.

First person at my booth on Thursday was big Tim, who apparently sneaked into the show somewhere near the autograph pavilion.

Much larger crowd on Thursday. I saw lots of people I knew like Jim C., Jeremy S., Chad W., Troy K., Larry N., and many more. Sadly, I had to inform Sandy of Dave's passing.

Andy and Scott stopped by and purchased some hockey. Thanks guys! I sold my 1955 Bowman Mickey Mantle along with a ton of other cards. Sales were frequent once again. Bronko's help was invaluable. He quickly figured out my discounts and we worked really well together. 

I am so lucky to have so many great friends that I have acquired in my sports card hobby journey. I enjoyed hanging out with Al on Wednesday and enjoyed hanging out with Bronko on Thursday.

As much as I love cards (well it is really a serial addiction), I really enjoy hanging out with all my hobby pals. I really had an enjoyable time on Thursday. Too busy once again to the leave the booth. I did have a binder of 1963 Exhibit stat backs walk up and now in my possession. I have always had a tough time acquiring the '63 stat backs and am really excited about this purchase.

It amazes me that in a building with 700 vendor booths, a huge amount of the booths are of the vintage kind, that stuff finds its way to me. I don't have any big "buying" signs like other dealers. I don't have a jazzy booth. Just old school. Seems to work!

I gotta comment about this lady who came around today. She was around last year in Cleveland as well. She comes by to try and sell some really cool pre-War items but they are insanely over-priced. She must be set up in a nearby booth and trying to move some high-end items. Below, I'll post photos of some of the stuff she brought by today. I mean, I loved seeing the autographed Lou Gehrig Butterfinger premium but her $22K asking price is on the nutty side.

I also started to have a problem with one of the dude's set up in the Texas booth. He had three or four display cases in the booth adjacent to the end of my booth. He seems okay and I watched him do a brisk business selling slabbed complete tickets and ticket stubs. Problem is that he has some regular customers that come every day and they stand in my booth because he only has one table in the Texas booth which seems to always have people in front of it, so his overflow goes into my booth, blocking my display cases and access into my U. I had to shooo a few of his customers away today. I don't mind if they stand there 15 or 20 minutes but they were blocking my booth for more than an hour. Kind of sucked.

Other than these dooshbags blocking my booth, there really were no problems or issues. Overall, an excellent day. 

I don't know about Bronko, but I was pretty tired when the show ended at 6 p.m. and very hungry. 

Much easier time exiting the building on Thursday. I treated Bronko to one of my favorite Chicago-area restaurants -- Hackney's on Lake in beautiful Glenview, Illinois. I've been eating at Hackney's my whole life (58 years!) and still absolutely love the place. We dined on Hackney burgers. Bronko had his first Green River, my favorite Chicago soda from my youth. I can't drink them any more due to diabetes. I tried the diet Green River once and it was horrible. Man I miss Green River!! Stupid diabetes.

Anyway, Day 2 of the National was in the books. Sales were awesome!! I did not want to get too excited but it was looking like my best National ever. Woot!​

Below are some photos of the pre-war items brought by the random lady who I met last year in Cleveland. Cool stuff but she was asking five-times the actual value for these items.

Tuesday & Wednesday, July 29 & 30, 2025, The National Sports Collectors Convention, Rosemont, Illinois

I worked tirelessly for several months pricing cards in preparation for the National. When Dave fell ill in June, I knew I was going to have a lot more space. I priced and priced cards, worried I would not have enough cards to fill the 20-plus display cases I planned to bring to the National.

I gave up pricing cards on Sunday night and just chilled out on Monday. I arrived at the Stephens Center around 10 a.m. on Tuesday, July 29, 2025. I was able to drive into the building and get about 30 feet away from my booth. Unloading the car was a breeze.

I wandered around the building to find the booth where I could obtain my badges and parking pass. My initial observation was that this year's show was absolutely huge. I ran into Tony Schaefer in the main room. He had a nice spot. Tony directed me to the proper booth for the badges.

I had two booths this year in the exact same location I was in during the 2023 National in Rosemont. I took 3/4 of the booth and gave 1/4 to my buddy Scott Ziegert, who I needed to help watch the booth.

In the months leading up to the National, tons and tons of people asked to share my space as National booths are extremely difficult to acquire these days. I probably would have given out some space had not a new management group arrived last year and placed some new rules including a ban on sharing space. I don't want to lose my booth, so I am not sharing with anybody but Scott. Turns out I needed all the extra space anyway!

I basically laid out both booths the same way Dave and I had our one booth in Cleveland last year. I had 16 feet of table space along one aisle then I made a U in another aisle allowing for another 23-feet of space. I brought out 20 display cases on Tuesday then saw I had space for more, so I brought out four more cases on Wednesday, for a total of 24 display cases.

I was amazed that I was able to fill all 24 cases with vintage cards. I actually could have filled 27 or 28 cases because I was initially unable to get all of my cards out. I find that it is better to overprepare than underprepare.

I spent most of Tuesday cleaning my display cases and inserting the cards. I was really happy with my set up but knew it was going to be awfully strange to set up without Dave. We have been setting up at the National together since 2008. He was like a security blanket. I was seriously uncomfortable without him there.

I was up bright and early Wednesday morning to meet my pal Al Lavine, who had signed on to help me for the first day of the National. As has become my tradition on the first day of the National, I stopped off at Chicago Bagel & Bialys in Wheeling, Illinois, for some corned beef sandwiches.

We parked in the Stephens Center parking lot and made the long trek to my booth. I essentially have the last booth in the building but it worked out great in 2023 because folks arriving from the parking garage were funneled down an escalator near by booth. 

Unfortunately, no such luck this year and the crowds near my booth were noticeably lighter than last year... which worked out great. It was nice to have breathing space all week as plenty of buyers still found my booth and sales far exceeded expectations.

Upon arrival at the booth Wednesday. I sat down and ate my sandwich while Al took off to roam the show.

We had some down time until the VIPs were allowed entry around 3 p.m. I took my time setting up the booth, as I had locked everything away the night before.

Sharing the other side from my two booths was a large group from Texas. In the aisle across the way was a dealer I recognized from 2023 who had a bunch of sealed wax in tall display cases. Then on another side was a group with a mix of modern and vintage. On the other side was a group with modern. Just past the group from Texas was the autograph pavilion.

Scott texted me around noon and I went out to the front of the building to hand over his badges to his dad Jim. On my way back in, I saw a customer I knew from Boston, who I met at the Strongsville show. I gave him my booth number and he soon arrived ready to buy. He pulled out a bunch of cards and started my show off right! It was nice to have a little cash kitty long before the VIP's entered the show.

Then one of the modern card dealers from Texas gave me a nice deal on a 1957 Topps Frank Robinson rookie and a Rocky Colavito rookie. Boston guy was still at my booth and drooling over my purchases. Down dog, down!

I had a steady group of customers up until the VIP's arrived and sales were strong up until 8 p.m. Al came back at 3 p.m. when things were light. I told him I did not need him until 4 p.m. Turned out that I really needed him at 4 p.m. as I was much busier than expected.

Last year in Cleveland, sales were really light on the first day. What a difference a year makes. I was extremely busy and had excellent sales. Also, I observed that the air conditioning worked splendidly unlike 2023 when the place was a smelly sweat box.

I saw lots of folks I knew and it was fun to chat. Tim Payne was set up near by. I saw former ESPN reporter Bill Simmons walk by. Maybe if I wore a Celtics jersey he would have stopped at my booth.

Al and I were exhausted at 8 p.m. when the show closed for the night. I locked everything up and we made our way to the parking garage, walking with a huge crowd. When we finally made it to my car, I was barely able to pull into the crazy long line to exit the building. We sat in my car a good 40 minutes and only moved about five feet. We decided to park and go get something to eat in the square behind the parking garage that is filled with restaurants.

I parked a few feet away from where I initially parked that morning and we walked in the heat and humidity to the square. Once in the square it started to rain. We went from restaurant to restaurant and none had any tables available. Ugh!

We went back to the parking garage and observed the line to exit had reduced considerably. We hopped back into my car and were on the road to my house in about 20 minutes. 

We were exhausted!

I was hungry. Al didn't want to stop for food. So we just went to my house and he drove off back to Milwaukee. I munched on some leftovers and passed out.

Day 1 complete!

Pictured above is my booth on Tuesday afternoon during set up. I was able to park my car next to that white van on the right to unload. The guys from Texas, who would later set up to the right, had not yet arrived.

Pictured above is my booth on Wednesday afternoon, waiting for the VIPs to arrive. That is Scott in the middle of the picture wearing the red shirt.

The show began to heat up shortly after general admission folks were allowed in after 4 p.m. I was much busier this year than last and unable to walk the show. I only left my booth for a few bathroom breaks. I had a really nice first day of the National.