I've been tangling with modern inconveniences for the past month. None of it is overwhelming or a real crisis but also all of it was not even a thought 10 years ago.

 

To review briefly:

 

* Misunderstandings related to social media (yes, plural)

* Getting yelled at work by readers (related to cutbacks and out of my control)

* Covid arriving at home for the first time and during the holidays (we're OK)

* Contractors who say they'll do the job and then disappear (it's now an epidemic around here)

 

It does wear on me and I'm sure others have been dealing with their own life issues at this time. It's one of the reasons why I collect -- it gives me my own space to go where I can shut out the drama of everyday existence. I'm not sure what I'd do if I didn't collect and baseball was in its offseason -- whine about my team's transactions, I guess.

 

But collecting saves me from that. And sometimes you get happy little card convergences that make life enjoyable even among the misery.

 

On Monday, my Black Friday COMC order arrived. It showed up much earlier than originally planned -- I was supposed to get it at the very end of the year, maybe in early 2024. That was a pleasant surprise, a whole two weeks early.

 

It wasn't a big order and a lot of it was filled with stuff I can barely explain, like these four Tony Gonsolin cards. All I can say is, there once were a lot more Gonsolins in the cart. It looked like the cart of a madman, so I pulled back a bit before I was reported.

 

 

Yeah, I dunno. I got on a Burleigh Grimes kick for a reason that's now forgotten. I know the Baseball Immortals card is for the Dodgers collection because that set is complete.

These are a part of fulfilling a vow I made a year ago, to get some of the 2022 A&G short-prints in an attempt to finish that set. Mostly I just want the 1970s guys though, and these were the best of that bunch.

This card was waiting for shipment for a long time, so long that the person who inspired me to get it, Ben of Cardboard Icons, is no longer with us. I sometimes get confused by how COMC does things and that's why it's just arriving now. I got it because it's a Dodger card, you know.

 

I wanted to finish off the 1984 Nestle Dodgers set with this order but someone stole the Derrel Thomas card out of my cart without me noticing, so there's a one-card hole. Closer though!

 

 

But the real intent of the order was to finally get near realizing my goal of finishing the 1970 Topps set. With the exception of the Orioles Rookie Stars, all of these are high numbers and it feels great to get that Ron Santo card out of the way.

 

The 1970 cards were the top reason why I was so glad that the COMC order arrived early because in a terrific instance of card convergence, my trade with Crocodile Sports Cards arrived barely a few days earlier. And guess what that contained?

 

More 1970 needs, and a lot of those (if not all) are high numbers, too!

 

This arrival was not as unexpected as the COMC one, but it did contain something of a surprise in that how many times do you see vintage trades between bloggers these days? It's not like it happened a ton years ago but it was much more frequent.

 

So this was quite a thrill. Thanks to those two arrivals, I'm down to needing between 9 and 12 cards to finish the set. Some of those cards are needed upgrades so that's why it's not just one number. I won't consider it complete until I get the upgrades, too.

 

The job isn't done. The biggest obstacle remaining is the Willie Mays. There's also HN Ernie Banks and Al Kaline. But I've already landed the Ryan and the Bench so I should be finishing this up in the first part of 2024. Get ready for some noise!

 

Crocodile also added some 1969 Topps needs. I've got more to do with this set. No Ryan or Reggie yet and more upgrading here. But 2024 could use some projects, I can't just sit around and watch ballgames all year.

 

The rest of the cards in the package were a good portion of the 1998 Inkworks TV's Coolest Classics set. Greg had a bunch to give out to people.

I hesitated in asking for these as the sets covered are all from the 1960s, which is before my time. But I wanted the Brady Bunch cards because that series ran during the '70s and I watched it as a kid.

These are most of the cards from the Brady Bunch portion of the set. I'm missing one, which is being sent to me by Bo.

 

Of the other TV series in the set (notice how Mike Brady has disappeared from the Brady Bunch card), the one I watched the next most is The Andy Griffith Show. My parents liked that show and when my mom was sick, I'd watch it with her on Nickelodeon, over and over.

I recall the Beverly Hillbillies being on when I was little but I can't tell you much about it. Hogan's Heroes and Get Smart! are so famous that references to the shows are everywhere, but I never saw an episode of either.

So that card convergence was a nice respite from the last few weeks. Things will improve -- or be replaced by other modern inconveniences, life is full of uncertainty.

But I'm certain to have my cards to take the edge off.

I think a few people I've been dealing with lately should start collecting cards.