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2-22-22 This is where I one-up Charles Dickens and also celebrate 2/22/22 in my own way... ---Dayton, OH--- As 9+ inches of snow rolled in on February 1st and 2nd, I cursed myself for scheduling shows in such an uncertain weather month. Everything in Champaign was closed down for Tues-Wed-Thurs (including mail delivery, belying the USPS' trusty motto). Would it be, not even nice enough, but OK enough to make the drive over to Dayton on Friday the 4th for shows on Saturday and Sunday? I told my friend Ray that when we were in our 20s, I wouldn't have considered not going. I wouldn't have ever let road conditions come into play in such a decision. But now in my 40s, much of the headspace once occupied by immortality has been taken over and replaced by responsibility. Regarding that responsiblity, I also had an obligation to be at those two shows. So I called the promoter of the Saturday show, Mike Rutledge, and asked if the show was still happening as scheduled. It was. Ohio didn't have the same weather system roll through. My thought was, "If I can get out of my subdivision, I can make it." And that's exactly what happened. The trip took an extra 30-45 minutes, but that wasn't terrible. My drive went better than the drives of these unlucky folks: 
(And yes, if I wasn't driving the speed limit, I would have edited/cropped the picture.) All in all, once I got to Indi, everything east was noticeably more clear and less snowed-upon. However, when I stopped for gas and White Castle, my poor van had so much dirty slush frozen to it that I likened it to a large Coca-cola slushie. I felt so bad that when I made it to Dayton, my first stop was to a car wash, which I've never, ever done while traveling.  (Travel companion!) On to the Main Events! Saturday was a show in Miamisburg, south of Dayton. In a room of 90ish tables, I was the only vintage dealer. I thought that would mean it would be feast or famine. I could kill with my monopoly if there were a lot of vintage collectors pouring into the room, or I would have a thumb-twiddling day if they all stayed home expecting to strike out. As it turned out, my show was unexpectedly average. No buys and mediocre sales. Food-wise, I planned on hitting up somewhere local over the weekend. You know, experience a good, non-chain greasy spoon while I'm in a city I don't frequent. Despite those plans, on Friday I ended up going with a healthier option and ran to a Meijer just a couple minutes from my hotel to get a salad and guac. Between that and watching some old Friends episodes in the room, I felt I was leading a pretty basic, uninspiring life.  (No plate. No problem.) Saturday's meal involved an even shorter trip...just down to the hotel bar. It happened that the hotel restaurant menu was placed in the elevators and I read it a handful of times during those trips up and down Friday and Saturday. Well, their crafty marketing attempt wormed its way into my head. Saturday night I ended up with their pork carnitas tacos... which were some of the best of my life! Imagine that, right there at the Fairborn Holiday Inn (and location of Sunday's show).  (And a side order of Maker's Mark...) Sunday's show, first of all, was a scheduling goof on my part. I really didn't intend to do shows on back-to-back days in the bustling Dayton metropolis. (This despite being told that "Everything's great in Dayton"!) The promoter, Jon O'Connor, has shows in both Cinci and Dayton...I just didn't know about the Dayton side of that equation. Whoops. Not ideal, but not the end of the world either. This show featured a touch more vintage, with myself and two other like-minded dealers in the room. However, the show was off to a terribly slow start before one customer and his early-teens (I'm guessing) son came up and bought (10) Mantles, a 2nd year Rose, a '64 Mays, and (3) Aarons. This sale ended up being the difference between me having a lackluster weekend and a worthwhile weekend. And that's the magic of getting out there into the world! ---Illinois--- Now we'll get up to speed with this weekend, Feb 19th/20th. Another pair of shows, another snowy/icy few days to preceed them! What the heck? This time, there were differences: 1) I stayed in Illinois and 2) the snow and ice were more manageable. Saturday's show at the Champaign mall was not super exciting, but still solid. I've let my feelings be known on mall shows, but I have to represent at any in my home town. Thanks to the ice, I had a couple days off of the tutoring gig the week before the show, which allowed me to go bananas pricing some cards that had been sitting around for months. I restocked a ton of minor stars and $2/$1 stars from 1958 through 1961 and also made common lots from those years as well (coming tonight to eBay!). Those efforts paid off, as I sold bunches of $2 cards and commons. Throw in a couple star card sales for good measure, and it turned out to be a decent show...requisite qualifier: especially for a mall. I was busy enough to where I couldn't leave my table all day, wihch is a good sign. (I know you're asking "What did you eat?" Well, I packed a Jimmy John's sandwich from the day before.) After I packed up my display for the day, I roamed the other tables and bought three separate vintage deals that ended up being a majority of the 'old' cards displayed by other dealers. Speaking of effort, and going back to that topic of responsibility from the beginning... Saturday night I had a choice to make. For weeks, I'd had circled on my calendar a music event at a bar in Urbana, The Rose Bowl. (And however The Rose Bowl wants to describe itself is fine by me.) A band that was unknown to me was having "An Evening of Led Zeppelin." Despite having to be on the road at 5AM on Sunday for a show in Orland Park, I thought I could hit The Rose Bowl at 7PM, catch an hour or two of the show, and still be in bed at a respectable enough time that I wouldn't hate myself in the morning and, realistically, throughout the entire day. Then bad news set in as I actually checked the bill...the band would be playing their own stuff at 7 and wouldn't shift to Zep until 8:30. Uh-oh. Here comes that decision part. So...after a long chat with myself about being responsible and treating my body well vs. having fun and skipping life experiences, I skipped the music. As great as it is being a card dealer, and I do love it immensely, you can see some of the non-glamorous parts making appearances in this blog/column. I don't totally regret that decision. It helped that I popped out of bed Sunday morning at 4:30 - before my alarm - feeling pretty great. It helped that when I talked to the cashier at Casey's, where I stopped for a disappointing breakfast*, she mentioned how hard it was for her to get up at 4 that morning. (And I'm sorry to say this...is it rude to say she looked a little rough? I hope she's not a loyal reader!) It helped that I was able to focus all day during an extremely busy show. It helped that I took a few minutes Saturday night to price five cards I bought at Saturday's show, and I sold three of them (for $188) on Sunday? So, wise move. *But before I get too wrapped up in Sunday's show and patting myself on the back for my great choices, can I get back to my poor breakfast decision that morning? For whatever reason, my customary McDonald's Sausage McGriddle didn't sound that great to me. Idk. A year after I had covid and my smell/taste still aren't right. Regardless, I wanted a slice of breakfast pizza and a chocolate-frosted cruller from Casey's. This Casey's went 0-for-2. Can you believe that crap? No breakfast pizza in the spinny warmer thing, and a case 100% stocked with donuts, but sans crullers. ARG! A sausage/egg/cheese croissant and cinnamon roll with 62% of the frosting stuck to the plastic bag had to suffice. First world problems. But still, imagine how poorly I might have reacted without sleep or with a hangover. I might have actually told that cashier her face looked puffy. haha - no, I wouldn't have!! I wouldn'ta wanted to get my ass beat at 6:16AM! OK, OP. Orland Park. I visited this show a handful of months ago just to do some buying; I didn't set up. Sunday was the first time in maybe a year or two that I actually had tables and sold cards there. I think I picked a good day to do it! If you follow me on Instagram, I posted a video of the crowd. The place was packed well in the afternoon! I had strong sales all day, and even made a few buys from other dealers in the room. Unlike most shows I'm doing now, there was vintage to be found! Tony Gordon (Check out his blog), Jimmy C, Terry, and even a couple others whose names I don't know have vintage. I bought a bunch of stars and some '67 Hi#s in the room, but they're all still sitting on my desk untouched, unsorted, and unpriced because there's just one of me, and I happen to be writing at the moment. But here's a quick preview of some big boys:  All have a wrinkle or two, but hey, who among us doesn't anymore? And I would have purchased more, but ran out of time! Now that's a busy show! I was glad to see it, because shows up there had been doing a slow burn, and I all but stopped setting up at them. Now, between how busy it was and how much fun I had, I have to get up again soon. I got to catch up with Tony and Jim and Derek, and talk about life with Will. Good times. And let's not overlook the mediocre hot dogs and lukewarm pops right in the lobby for lunch. All in all, four shows over two weekends in February is a pretty big month for me. One thing I learned is that Ohio is still a tough place for me to sell (or buy) cards. I don't think I've had a good show there since the 2018 National. I was one sale away from those two Dayton shows being a bust, and it cost me three times more to set up at those than my two in Illinois...and that's before you factor in gas and the fancy car wash. So, live and learn, in many ways. And keep making smarter decisions! Have fun! -T |
Inside My Brain