Saturday, March 2, 2024, Salvation Army Community Center, Oak Creek, WI
Years ago, I created and operated a small publishing company in Chicago. My main publication was a free newspaper called Barfly, a Guide To Chicago's Drinking Establishments. With a very small staff, we printed 24,000 copies of Barfly every two weeks and distributed them to more than 600 bars and restaurants across the city.
Each issue of Barfly was between 24 and 36 pages, depending on how many ads we sold. Usually, we had around 100 different advertisements. Barfly featured articles about drinking in a current and historical context, profiles of local bartenders, profiles of various liquors, beers and wines (I had a sommelier on staff!); bar, restaurant and music reviews, cartoons, tons of photos, classifieds and more.
During its 8-year run, Barfly became very popular in Chicago and influential world-wide where other publishers copied my format (even my name) across the globe. Articles were written about me in other publications like the Chicago Tribune and Playboy. I enjoyed some notoriety in Chicago which included many free drinks and meals all over the city.
My wife Lisa, whom many of you have met at the Oak Creek show, worked with me at Barfly. We did not get rich off Barfly but it brought in enough income where we could live a modest life and continue to publish the newspaper indefinitely. However, when Lisa became pregnant with our first child, we decided we could not raise a family and continue on as barflies. So in 2001, we shut down Barfly and I enrolled at John Marshall Law School in Chicago to work in a profession better suited to raising a family. The year 2001 was also when I started to set up at card shows every weekend. I had to work most weekends during the Barfly years and could rarely set up at a card show.
Why do I mention Barfly during my blog about the Oak Creek Card Show? Well, both are my creation and I am starting to recognize many similarities between the two, none of which have anything to do with drinking. While drinking was definitely a part of Barfly, it was only a small part, I spent the bulk of my time planning each issue, managing writers, cartoonists, photographers, graphic artists, sales people and delivery staff, along with editing copy, interviewing and writing articles, taking many photographs myself, selling and designing ads, designing each issue, getting the mock ups to the printer and assisting with delivery -- it was a huge undertaking!
As soon as we finished delivering the newest issue of Barfly, there was no time to rest, I had to immediately start work on the next issue which meant contacting the entire writing staff and assigning articles, contacting photographers and assigning photographs, checking in with the cartoonists to let them know I needed their cartoons ASAP. I also had them draw illustrations for some of the articles. I then had to start contacting 100 or so advertisers to see what changes they wanted in their ads for the next issue. Then I had to deal with dozens and dozens of phone messages and emails. It was a Herculean task to produce each issue of Barfly.
Like Barfly, promoting the Oak Creek Sports Card show is a Herculean task. As soon as one card show ends, I find myself working on the next one, even though I want nothing more than to rest. There is no rest for the weary. Once again, I have created something very popular which requires a TON of work. Ugh!
The day after I completed delivering the newest issue of Barfly, I would be rudely awoken from my much-needed slumber by my phone ringing off the hook with new and old advertisers wanting to discuss an ad for the next issue. These days, like Barfly, I am awoken from my much-needed slumber soon after the show by my phone ringing off the hook from current vendors wanting to confirm their spot for the next show and multitudes of new vendors wanting space at the next show. No rest for the weary! My next venture is going to be purposely unsuccessful so I can get some rest!
The March Oak Creek show was especially difficult for me because I had to move out of my law office as my lease expired at the end of February and I can no longer afford the office as I have greatly reduced my hours due to my health battles this past year. While I am definitely starting to feel better, I now have some concerning kidney issues to deal with. I just can't seem to get healthy!
So, in my current gimpy state, I spent the past two weeks packing up my office and moving boxes of files to my basement at home. I also moved into a smaller office in the same building, so I am still operating as a lawyer but in a reduced capacity. I don't know if I can ever work like I did in the past. Litigation is incredibly time consuming.
By the time I completed the move, around 2 p.m. on Friday, March 1, 2024, every bone in my body ached. I am in terrible shape. These aches upon aches reminded me of two-a-day high school football practices in August before the school year began. You remember those? I remember that I could not walk after that first week of high school football practice. Just like those days, I could barely walk after two weeks of moving out of my office.
Yet, I could not rest and had to get to Oak Creek to set up the show! Somehow, during the move, I was able to contact all 119 different vendors, map out the five rooms, get the word out and make all the preparations for the March show. Back when I was operating Barfly, I learned not to ponder or worry about all the work that needed to be done, I just did it. Same as today, I don't ever worry about everything that I have to do, I just do it.
So that Friday afternoon before the show on Saturday, I made the trip home from my office with my car filled with boxes of files. Lisa and I unloaded the files then loaded in my bins of cards for the show and off to Oak Creek! We arrived in Oak Creek around 5:30 p.m. on Friday and began setting up the show. Soon my helpers George and Kristy arrived along with a couple of vendors for early set up.
Well, someone stole two cases of Mountain Dew from the kitchen on Friday night, so I am no longer having early set up for vendors. It just takes one knucklehead to ruin it for everyone. I don't think said knucklehead reads the blog but if he does and returns the soda, I'll restart Friday night set up for vendors. But for now, no more early set up Friday night.
Knucklehead aside, we finished setting up the show around 8:30 p.m. and went off for an enjoyable dinner at Water Street Brewery. Lisa and I stumbled into our hotel room around 11 p.m. and passed out.
I hit the snooze on my alarm a couple of times when it went off at 5:30 a.m. I gave up on sleep when I heard the couple in the adjoining room engaging in very loud coitus. Lisa started to laugh and reminded me about our old apartment in Chicago where we were regularly awoken by our upstairs neighbor making thump-a thump-a sounds on our ceiling accompanied by a cacophony of agonizing cries. Good times.
The parking lot was already full when we arrived at the Salvation Army around 7 a.m. I ended up with 185 tables sold, breaking my record of 184. I did not intend to break the table record but I forget to add a couple of people and had to stick some vendors anywhere I could eek out some extra space. As a result, the only place left for me to set up was on the stage in the Chapel.
I had a couple of vendors on the stage when I did 184 tables but those vendors were not happy as very few customers walked up on the stage. My sales were down this month as few customers found me on the stage. Though, I think I might permanently set up on the stage because I think folks will eventually realize I am there and sales should pick up. There really is no other space for me to set up as I prefer to give the premium space to the vendors. I just don't have enough space at this venue for all the vendors that would like to set up. As much as I would like more space to accommodate everyone, I am never leaving the Salvation Army because we have such a great relationship. I never want to return to the turmoil I dealt with when the show was at the Four Points Sheridan, so this is it, the show cannot grow any larger.
I don't think the soda theft messed up my relationship with the Salvation Army but those types of things really frustrate me. This show is much bigger than me and its success relies on continuing our great relationship with the Salvation Army. Freakin' knucklehead. I did pay for the soda. Why is being an honest, good person so hard for some people?
It is important to me to always be honest. Always be a good person. It is also important to me to be responsible. I expect others to be honest, good and responsible. Yet, every month, I have to deal with vendors who are not responsible. I confirm with all the vendors prior to the show. I am amazed that after a vendor confirms with me, he fails to show up, fails to contact me. I only had one vendor out of 119 fail to show up at this show -- also may be a record.
My waiting list is getting out of control again. I was able to get seven new vendors in this month including the return of Dave M. and Reed P. Welcome back guys! I will try to get more new vendors some space at the April 6 show but I need these guys to be patient. No need to contact me every 15 minutes. I'll let you know when space opens up. If I don't contact you, that means I do not have space for you. There are way too many guys on the waiting list for me to contact them all every month to let them know there is no space available.
Anyway, it was quite an effort to put the March show together. The stress and body aches eased as I could see the front door from my perch on the stage in the Chapel and viewed the hordes of customers enter the building all day long. Another record went down -- new attendance mark set at 1,100!!!
Back when I was operating Barfly, it was extremely stressful publishing each issue but when I saw the finished product roll of that huge web press, I was so happy and so satisfied. Just like Barfly, it is extremely stressful putting on each card show at the Salvation Army, but when I see all the dealers set up on Saturday morning, see all the customers come on out and folks buying, selling and trading cards and having a good time, I am so happy and satisfied. I have a passion and love for sports cards and I find it so rewarding to be in a building filled with others that have the same passion and love. My people! I thank you all!!!
Next Oak Creek show is April 6. I should be a lot less stressed out as I am comfortably in my new law office.
In the meantime, I am setting up Saturday, March 9, 2024, at the Kane County Fairgrounds in St. Charles, Illinois. I am not sure yet as to what I am bringing out. If you want to see something, let me know. It is a double bill weekend, with Orland on Sunday, March 10, 2024. I am looking forward to both shows. I just love setting up at card shows. Promoting shows... not so much, but I am a glutton for punishment. What can I say?
A huge thank you to the record-breaking number of dealers who set up in Oak Creek on March 2nd and the record-breaking number of customers. Wow! That is all I can say!!
Now for some photos from the record-breaking day in Oak Creek:
Years ago, I created and operated a small publishing company in Chicago. My main publication was a free newspaper called Barfly, a Guide To Chicago's Drinking Establishments. With a very small staff, we printed 24,000 copies of Barfly every two weeks and distributed them to more than 600 bars and restaurants across the city.
Each issue of Barfly was between 24 and 36 pages, depending on how many ads we sold. Usually, we had around 100 different advertisements. Barfly featured articles about drinking in a current and historical context, profiles of local bartenders, profiles of various liquors, beers and wines (I had a sommelier on staff!); bar, restaurant and music reviews, cartoons, tons of photos, classifieds and more.
During its 8-year run, Barfly became very popular in Chicago and influential world-wide where other publishers copied my format (even my name) across the globe. Articles were written about me in other publications like the Chicago Tribune and Playboy. I enjoyed some notoriety in Chicago which included many free drinks and meals all over the city.
My wife Lisa, whom many of you have met at the Oak Creek show, worked with me at Barfly. We did not get rich off Barfly but it brought in enough income where we could live a modest life and continue to publish the newspaper indefinitely. However, when Lisa became pregnant with our first child, we decided we could not raise a family and continue on as barflies. So in 2001, we shut down Barfly and I enrolled at John Marshall Law School in Chicago to work in a profession better suited to raising a family. The year 2001 was also when I started to set up at card shows every weekend. I had to work most weekends during the Barfly years and could rarely set up at a card show.
Why do I mention Barfly during my blog about the Oak Creek Card Show? Well, both are my creation and I am starting to recognize many similarities between the two, none of which have anything to do with drinking. While drinking was definitely a part of Barfly, it was only a small part, I spent the bulk of my time planning each issue, managing writers, cartoonists, photographers, graphic artists, sales people and delivery staff, along with editing copy, interviewing and writing articles, taking many photographs myself, selling and designing ads, designing each issue, getting the mock ups to the printer and assisting with delivery -- it was a huge undertaking!
As soon as we finished delivering the newest issue of Barfly, there was no time to rest, I had to immediately start work on the next issue which meant contacting the entire writing staff and assigning articles, contacting photographers and assigning photographs, checking in with the cartoonists to let them know I needed their cartoons ASAP. I also had them draw illustrations for some of the articles. I then had to start contacting 100 or so advertisers to see what changes they wanted in their ads for the next issue. Then I had to deal with dozens and dozens of phone messages and emails. It was a Herculean task to produce each issue of Barfly.
Like Barfly, promoting the Oak Creek Sports Card show is a Herculean task. As soon as one card show ends, I find myself working on the next one, even though I want nothing more than to rest. There is no rest for the weary. Once again, I have created something very popular which requires a TON of work. Ugh!
The day after I completed delivering the newest issue of Barfly, I would be rudely awoken from my much-needed slumber by my phone ringing off the hook with new and old advertisers wanting to discuss an ad for the next issue. These days, like Barfly, I am awoken from my much-needed slumber soon after the show by my phone ringing off the hook from current vendors wanting to confirm their spot for the next show and multitudes of new vendors wanting space at the next show. No rest for the weary! My next venture is going to be purposely unsuccessful so I can get some rest!
The March Oak Creek show was especially difficult for me because I had to move out of my law office as my lease expired at the end of February and I can no longer afford the office as I have greatly reduced my hours due to my health battles this past year. While I am definitely starting to feel better, I now have some concerning kidney issues to deal with. I just can't seem to get healthy!
So, in my current gimpy state, I spent the past two weeks packing up my office and moving boxes of files to my basement at home. I also moved into a smaller office in the same building, so I am still operating as a lawyer but in a reduced capacity. I don't know if I can ever work like I did in the past. Litigation is incredibly time consuming.
By the time I completed the move, around 2 p.m. on Friday, March 1, 2024, every bone in my body ached. I am in terrible shape. These aches upon aches reminded me of two-a-day high school football practices in August before the school year began. You remember those? I remember that I could not walk after that first week of high school football practice. Just like those days, I could barely walk after two weeks of moving out of my office.
Yet, I could not rest and had to get to Oak Creek to set up the show! Somehow, during the move, I was able to contact all 119 different vendors, map out the five rooms, get the word out and make all the preparations for the March show. Back when I was operating Barfly, I learned not to ponder or worry about all the work that needed to be done, I just did it. Same as today, I don't ever worry about everything that I have to do, I just do it.
So that Friday afternoon before the show on Saturday, I made the trip home from my office with my car filled with boxes of files. Lisa and I unloaded the files then loaded in my bins of cards for the show and off to Oak Creek! We arrived in Oak Creek around 5:30 p.m. on Friday and began setting up the show. Soon my helpers George and Kristy arrived along with a couple of vendors for early set up.
Well, someone stole two cases of Mountain Dew from the kitchen on Friday night, so I am no longer having early set up for vendors. It just takes one knucklehead to ruin it for everyone. I don't think said knucklehead reads the blog but if he does and returns the soda, I'll restart Friday night set up for vendors. But for now, no more early set up Friday night.
Knucklehead aside, we finished setting up the show around 8:30 p.m. and went off for an enjoyable dinner at Water Street Brewery. Lisa and I stumbled into our hotel room around 11 p.m. and passed out.
I hit the snooze on my alarm a couple of times when it went off at 5:30 a.m. I gave up on sleep when I heard the couple in the adjoining room engaging in very loud coitus. Lisa started to laugh and reminded me about our old apartment in Chicago where we were regularly awoken by our upstairs neighbor making thump-a thump-a sounds on our ceiling accompanied by a cacophony of agonizing cries. Good times.
The parking lot was already full when we arrived at the Salvation Army around 7 a.m. I ended up with 185 tables sold, breaking my record of 184. I did not intend to break the table record but I forget to add a couple of people and had to stick some vendors anywhere I could eek out some extra space. As a result, the only place left for me to set up was on the stage in the Chapel.
I had a couple of vendors on the stage when I did 184 tables but those vendors were not happy as very few customers walked up on the stage. My sales were down this month as few customers found me on the stage. Though, I think I might permanently set up on the stage because I think folks will eventually realize I am there and sales should pick up. There really is no other space for me to set up as I prefer to give the premium space to the vendors. I just don't have enough space at this venue for all the vendors that would like to set up. As much as I would like more space to accommodate everyone, I am never leaving the Salvation Army because we have such a great relationship. I never want to return to the turmoil I dealt with when the show was at the Four Points Sheridan, so this is it, the show cannot grow any larger.
I don't think the soda theft messed up my relationship with the Salvation Army but those types of things really frustrate me. This show is much bigger than me and its success relies on continuing our great relationship with the Salvation Army. Freakin' knucklehead. I did pay for the soda. Why is being an honest, good person so hard for some people?
It is important to me to always be honest. Always be a good person. It is also important to me to be responsible. I expect others to be honest, good and responsible. Yet, every month, I have to deal with vendors who are not responsible. I confirm with all the vendors prior to the show. I am amazed that after a vendor confirms with me, he fails to show up, fails to contact me. I only had one vendor out of 119 fail to show up at this show -- also may be a record.
My waiting list is getting out of control again. I was able to get seven new vendors in this month including the return of Dave M. and Reed P. Welcome back guys! I will try to get more new vendors some space at the April 6 show but I need these guys to be patient. No need to contact me every 15 minutes. I'll let you know when space opens up. If I don't contact you, that means I do not have space for you. There are way too many guys on the waiting list for me to contact them all every month to let them know there is no space available.
Anyway, it was quite an effort to put the March show together. The stress and body aches eased as I could see the front door from my perch on the stage in the Chapel and viewed the hordes of customers enter the building all day long. Another record went down -- new attendance mark set at 1,100!!!
Back when I was operating Barfly, it was extremely stressful publishing each issue but when I saw the finished product roll of that huge web press, I was so happy and so satisfied. Just like Barfly, it is extremely stressful putting on each card show at the Salvation Army, but when I see all the dealers set up on Saturday morning, see all the customers come on out and folks buying, selling and trading cards and having a good time, I am so happy and satisfied. I have a passion and love for sports cards and I find it so rewarding to be in a building filled with others that have the same passion and love. My people! I thank you all!!!
Next Oak Creek show is April 6. I should be a lot less stressed out as I am comfortably in my new law office.
In the meantime, I am setting up Saturday, March 9, 2024, at the Kane County Fairgrounds in St. Charles, Illinois. I am not sure yet as to what I am bringing out. If you want to see something, let me know. It is a double bill weekend, with Orland on Sunday, March 10, 2024. I am looking forward to both shows. I just love setting up at card shows. Promoting shows... not so much, but I am a glutton for punishment. What can I say?
A huge thank you to the record-breaking number of dealers who set up in Oak Creek on March 2nd and the record-breaking number of customers. Wow! That is all I can say!!
Now for some photos from the record-breaking day in Oak Creek:
Eugene hanging out at Dan's table in the gym.
From my perch on the stage in the Chapel.
I love our concession stand and I appreciate our volunteers who work it each month! I had a Sloppy Joe for breakfast and a brat for lunch. Thanks guys!
The action in Fellowship Hall.
The action in the Game Room. We have five different rooms!
One of the things that makes this show is unique are the free packs of cards that I give away. I went through four boxes at the March show. One young collector pulled the card pictured above.
Dave and Reed are back!
Another photo of the Game Room.
This is Eric's table in the front hallway.
Lake Country Cards is located in the back hallway where they will accept submissions to the grading companies.
Tommy Larson in the house!
Rocky!
So I pulled a random issue of Barfly from my archives and it just happened to be a time-appropriate St. Patrick's Day issue. See below.
So I pulled a random issue of Barfly from my archives and it just happened to be a time-appropriate St. Patrick's Day issue. See below.
This is the front cover of one of two issues I published in March 2000. The cover was designed by my pal Mike Kandel (RIP), who achieved some fame in the 1990's as the creator of Trip Hop and made music under the name Tranquility Bass. His videos were regularly featured on MTV and you can still find them on YouTube. Mike used a photo of his drinking buddy Martin Tunny in his cover design. Martin is a local Chicago actor, a barfly in his own right and sports aficionado. Martin's sister is the actress Robin Tunney.
I had a great many artists create original cartoons for Barfly. My favorite was Paul Moch, just a regular guy with amazing talent I found sitting at the end of the bar at the L & L Tap.
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