Breaking Cardboard E5 with Orlando/ACollectorsDream

All right, I want to talk about our sponsor for one, Breaking Cardboard SGC, my personal favorite grading company. I've had a long time relationship and that continues to this day and words of their downfall are premature. So they are doing well. And another person doing well that's joining me, I'm Breaking Cardboard.

He was actually supposed to be on sooner than this, but he had a health crisis come up and no explanation needed, right, health is is first and foremost. But uh, glad we we we do have him on here, and uh, good to see him. I think he's doing pretty well. Let him speak for himself.

But Collector's Dream Orlando, welcome to the show. Hey John, so always great to be on with you, my friend. Yeah, and likewise, yeah, no doubt, no doubt. And uh, you know, scary stuff.

I know you did the video explaining what you can what you were going through, and I don't care who you are, I don't care how tough you are, I don't care how old you are, young old, that that's a scary situation. And uh, you know, and uh, but one thing we saw right and I'm sure you felt it. Uh from all over the world and the hobby community right. Uh, people care about you, people love you.

Uh. I include myself in that group. And uh, you know, if you believe in the power of prayers and that sort of thing, you had a lot of momentum. You had a lot of momentum there, and you hear you're doing well.

I'll let you speak to the specifics of that, because that's obviously your business. I'm not gonna, you know, talk for you there, but I know I speak for many Orlando when I say glad to see you, and well, you know, I know you're part of Hobby Hotlight and we had this show scheduled and here you are. Like you said, it doesn't matter what the date is, You're here and that's the most important thing. So enough of me, jibbert you ever and I'll let you speak to that.

Yeah, I know, everybody's been so kind and thoughtful and just really so supportive and yeah, I mean, I'll go ahead and just briefly touch upon what happened. I, you know, went to the doctor and you know, just routine stuff and you know, my doctor, you know, went through a lot of tests that I've never had before, you know, and wanted me to go through all the stuff and you know, things like a colonoscopy and a scan on my chest and all that stuff. You know that really I've been healthy all my life and never really been to the hospital, had any issues at all, you know, as people. Know, you know, I walked four or five.

Miles every other day and really was feeling fine. I had no symptoms, nothing, And during the chest x ray, they discovered a tumor on my right lung and it was a fairly small tumor, but you know, they went and this was probably maybe five six months ago, and they ran some tests and some more tests, and eventually they decided that to do it. One of those tests that they put some type of dye in there and they determined that that I had that it was cancer. So lots of consultation with the doctors and stuff.

They they said, you know, you got to get that removed, even though you don't have any symptoms. Uh, it's obviously you do have you know, lung cancer. You have a tumor in there. And when they went ahead and me, you know, I'm scary because I've never been you know, to the hospital, never had any major operations, and as the doctor kept telling me, you know, look, you know, this is what we got to do, and we're going to have to remove a third of your lung just to try to you know, make sure we remove the tumor or anything that's around the tumor.

So, you know, went to the hospital and had that procedure done. Pretty scary, spent probably I think it was five days in the hospital. And you know when they do that, you know, they kind of. You know, it's pretty interesting how they do it because they have you know, I've got like four different holes and a big scar so they stick in there a little camera and then so they could see, and then another area where they could do the incision, and then two in there so to draw out all the blood and stuff that's coming out of there, and then of course the bigger incision to.

Remove the that part of the lung. And you know, as they explain to me, it's it's a very delicate operation because of the you know, it's your lungs and you're right near your heart and they have to you know, stitch all that up inside. Outside you could have bleeding and turtle bleeding in there, you could have blood cloths and so on and so on, so you know, not to bore you with all the details. It's it's pretty scary.

No, it's it's it's yeah. And here's the it's a major surgery, as you just pointed out or Landa. But here's the thing. I had my grandfather who went through some but he had it done in nineteen eighty four and it was a lot more barbaric, if you will, that even though the doctors are well trained, surgeons are well well trained.

There they open they used to open your chest cavity up. It was a little more now with doctor Scott, with the doctor Scopik, and they could do smaller holes. Again, it's still it's still scary. It's still you know, it's still can be dangerous all sorts of ways that can go.

So, no, it's not any scary, it's not any less scarier. But they have streamlined that gotten better procedures, as we see in in a lot of things right as technologies improve and get better. And so listen, I think I speak for for everybody in the hobby community that knows you, even some that don't. We're glad it went as well as could be.

Uh, you're here, We're glad to see you. And you know, anyone that watched that video. And you can go back and watch that video if you didn't get emotional listening uh to you. And and you know it's again you know, cards is what we are.

That that's that shared passion, right. Uh. But we're humans first, right, and uh, you know if we're not here, we can't enjoy the hobby. So uh, you know that stuff's got to come first.

I don't care who you are, where you live, young, old, doesn't matter. And again, Orlando, you got a lot of p as you well know, you have a lot of people in your corner, uh, you know, rooting for you, sending all the best and well wishes uh possible. And you know we're I'm glad, I'm glad you're here. I'm glad we're we're doing the show finally.

But you know, more importantly, I'm glad you're here. Happy Joe, that's just that's just a bonus. Uh you know. And and speaking of shows, right, speaking of shows, you know we've got a big one withere sixty days away.

But let me get some uh, let me get some comments here. Warren in Cleveland, so happy for this tonight. Yeah, concur you know also uh he all says, We're all happy to have you with us, Orlando. I just give this video like hey, everyone, Brent says us up guys, so there, uh there you go.

And uh uh so glad Orlando's okay, yeah, no, no doubt. That can't be that can't be said enough. And you know, uh, it's tough. It's tough, and and and watching that and I'm a I'm a send.

You know, I'm always been sensitive, but even the older I get a landa. I mean, I think even even more so. And you know, I care about I generally, I'm a people person. I like most people.

I care about them. You know, even if I don't know someone right, you don't want to see somebody hurt. But when you know someone on the level we know each other, I think it even hits more home. And uh, I was thinking about you a lot today.

I knew you were the day were going in and I was working. I was at school. Somebody one of my kids even said you okay, mister Newman. You know, I guess I was kind of quiet and maybe my mind wasn't you know, normally like kind of on point.

And uh I said, uh I am, but you know I'm thinking about someone today that's that's going through something. So uh, I truly appreciate John. I mean you you texted me a lot, and you called me. You really stayed in touch, and you know, just like everybody else in this community, it was so much love and support and prayers that really those are the things that kind of lift my spirits and you know, you know it's uh, you need that.

It's been four weeks now and I'm feeling much much better. Still, you know, trying to recover. You know, it's one of those things that I can't be doing any lifting and stuff or any twisting. You know, I still have stitches in there and.

Stuff like that. But in a couple of weeks, I've been the. Doctor and uh, you know, I'll still have. Some follow ups that I need to do stuff like that and make sure that you know, everything is good and clear.

So it's gonna take, you know, it's a process like like anything else, you know. But the good thing is that, uh, I'm all set for the national and uh let's let's talk about the positive. Yeah, no doubt, no doubtely. Yeah.

I just wanted, you know, for those that maybe didn't know as much or or you know, but there's good news in there too. So and here we are. Let's talk about the National sixty days away or Lando, two months. If you're scoring at home, and you knows that the week we circle every year on the calendar, anyone that goes knows what we're talking about.

Right. I love people tell me they're going for the first time because they you know, they'll ask me, John, what's it like? Much like I asked people like my first one, which was the Chicago one whatever whatever, the Chicago one, And I don't know if it was twenty seventeen or twenty eighteen. That was actually my first one for as long as I've been in the hobby, Orlando, as crazy as that my sound, that was the first time I actually went to the National, And I asked a lot of people like, Hey, what to expect, any tips, how's it? How's this gonna be? And everyone gave me great advice. That's not what I'm But no matter what someone tells you, for the first time you go, it's even bigger than that.

So whatever you're told, if you're a first timer, you know, it's even it's even bigger than that. And so I give tips to people, but I tell them, like, you got experience, and me telling you about it is not going to live up to what it actually is, So experience it for yourself. I see Warren's unfortunately not gonna make it, but hopefully we'll see him sooner. You know, it might be another show.

I know he's at Strongsville. I got to get to a Strongsville show as well. So I know you had this health thing, but under normal circumstances. Kind of what is your like approach to the national When do you listen? I know we think about it as soon as this one's over, we're thinking about the next one, But when do you really start like, wow, we're When is it when it really comes to the forefront of your well.

I gotta tell you. I wanted to make sure that I booked a hotel, room and everything early. That's the first thing I did. So I actually did that last year, did that around the holidays to make sure that I was all set to go, because you know, you can book the hotel and always later on if you can't make it.

So I wanted to make sure I got that, and I'm glad I did. What I hear, it's really tough to get one of the hotels that you can walk to the National, and so, you know, that really helps me a lot of what I've been through. It's still not one hundred percent. I didn't want to be in a place where I had to walk a few miles to get there, so luckily, you know, I got that.

I do want to thank Warren. He picked me up at the airport to go to Strongsville. So thank you Warren for that. You've been just a great host there.

So I think, you know, as far as the National, if you've never been there, it's something that you have to do. It's a once in a lifetime experience. It's something that at first it's overwhelming. You first get there and you see, you know, one hundred thousand people and that place jam packed and all that and so many tables.

I mean, you take any big show, the biggest show you've been to, and multiply it by fifty, you know, that's how big it is. There's just like everything you could possibly imagine for everyone. And I don't just consider it a show a card show. It's more like a museum because the kind of stuff that you're going to see there you won't see anywhere else.

You know, a lot of the dealers hold off on their best item to bring them to the nashup and then you're also going to see a lot of the auction houses have huge things. I mean last year they had the ruby red slippers from the Wizard of Oz and they had the Babe Ruth culture. I always joke what people are landing out. I tell you, if you gotta have guys in suits, big guys in suits went like a forty five under their suit coat looking at you that could care less about the cards themselves.

They're there to do with job and the service that tells you what they might be protected. So yeah, it's crazy stuff, you know. I was on a podcast at my first National. It was Eric Norton's Fat Packs podcast at the time, and it's one of the inspiration for sports cardination.

And I sat down in the booth with him and he's like, John, it's your your first National was like the fourth or fifth day in like what are your thoughts? And I'm like it's hard to put him in there, like I'll just say this, and you kind of sent this Orlando like if it's not here, may not exist, Like almost everything is here now, I know, that's not exactly true, but almost literally, almost everything is somewhere in the building hobby hobby related from the Wagner card to you know, a high grade fifty two tops man le it's in there. You got you got uniforms of you know, Jackie Robinson, my guy, you know, and every everyone else. It's like you said, it's museum mask while it's the show. It's a museum masque.

And then you got the people right, the how you know the same My hobby is the people right. The show is is just so many different things in one big conglomerate ball right, and then you the cities themselves have events outside after the show, whether you know, in Chicago you got Cubs games, White Sox game. I know Lala Lallapalooza was there for a couple of years at the same time. So like Ryan from Breakout Cards is a big music guy like I am.

I didn't go, but he went to Lallapalooza as well. So it's just you gotta really that's a tip too, is you gotta before you get there, you sort of gott to map out what am I doing this day? This day? This day? Dinners, who am I meeting. Who am I hanging out with? I mean, you're gonna you can fly by to seat your pants a little bit too, but you definitely gotta have some sort of guy outline of of what each day might might look like. Yeah, it's funny that you mentioned Ryan because he's been my roommate the last two years and we're gonna be roommates again.

And in that lallapalooza, you know, it was me and him in the room and he's got he went to the concert and when he comes back, two other guys come back with him, so he ended. Up four guys in the room. You know, I don't mind. A couple of guys had slept on the couch, the one on the floor, But it was just it's a fun, fun time, so much to do.

The food over there in Chicago is incredible to also. I mean they have you know, they're gonna have so many different events, not the trade you know, the trade nights. I think they're having trade nights every single night and even if you don't go to the trade night. I stayed at the Lows, and luckily I'm staying there again.

That it was an entire card shop all over the Hall. Everywhere you would go in the lobby and the hallways and the restaurants, people were buying and selling cars. I mean, it's like a twenty four hour a day show. And of course the best thing about it is the people.

You get to see people that you know, you you know through through YouTube or you text with them, but really don't get a chance to see him in person and you know, and just shake their hand and sit down and have a drink and just talk. And I think that to me is probably the best thing about the National You know, you get to meet you know, I got to meet Ken Golden and all these guys out there. You know, it's just a it's a fun event and you're going to see people that you you kind of know, but you don't really get to know. Got to meet the first time I went to Atlanta, Atlantic City, I got to meet John Manginie and a bunch of the other guys.

The best dressed guy, the best dressed guy. Yeah. At the NASH I feel like I'm on the set of Miami Vice. Whenever I see I'm like I'm an extra or something.

Uh, you know, like I'm looking for DoD Johnson. Uh. The scene I'm like, yeah, am I Like, am I in the scene? Are you shooting? What am I doing here? You know? But uh, yeah, I mean. It's I got to doctor Beckett and that that was a big thrill because you know, first time I had ever met him, and you know, it was like meeting uh you know, I guess a superstar or legend, you know, and uh, you know, you get all nervous and sweaty.

And he's easy to find now and I know he'll listen to this, so I'm not breaking any news. Everyone that the cats out of the bank. You know, you'll find him at the at the singles club, the dollar boxes. So you know, it's not like Where's Walder where he's hard to find.

Uh, He's very easy uh to find? And uh you know, And and I'll say this and I'm not saying this because I know him. Well, I am saying this because I know me, because that's how I not. This is true, right, one of the most down to Earth's modest guys. And like he's a hobby I got.

I think you'll agree we'll land on. Most people will, but he doesn't carry himself that way. I've been next to him when people come up to him and whether it's asking for an autograph or just a conversation or telling him what he means to them, and uh, you know, and he almost still blushes, you know, all these years later, like it's you know, you could tell like he doesn't walk around with that that air to him when he could legitimate Uh, and he doesn't. And uh, I think I've learned a lesson and humility by watching him, how he carries himself, and you know, so.

Uh John, he so humble that at first you feel nervous even going up to him, but then once you start talking to him, you know, you feel like you've known him all your life. He's just such a nice, nice man and you know, wanting to sign whatever autograph or whatever I wanted, just you know, he'll sit down and talk to you, and it's just it's so good to see people that you know you've seen and you know dustin the sports car dad was his wife, you know, and they're really good people, you know, even Jeff Wilson. I was able to sit down with Jeff Wilson and his son was there, and I spent probably fifteen twenty minutes just talking to him. And you know, those are the things that you know, what you see a lot of times on YouTube and stuff.

And a lot of people may not like certain people, but once you really get to talk to them, they're just. Like you and I. They're really great, but they're really nice people, and they love the hobby. You know, whether you agree with whatever they say or not, they all love the hobby in their own way, but they just you know, it's just awesome.

I think that if you've never been, it's you have to do it at least once in your lifetime. And I think once you go the first time, you'll want to go every single year. It's like strong, Yeah, yeah, it's funny. It's funny you say that because probably about three months ago, I had not made any sort of arrangements, no airfare, no hotel, and it was a fifty to fifty whether I was going, and I was kind of leaning towards not going.

And you know, my wife said, you what is She doesn't know it as the national because you're not. She just goes, when is the big hobby show? That's how she refers to it. And I told her, she goes you all ready? Did you do all your stuff? And I said her name is Sharon. I'm like, Sharon, I'm kind of lean into not towards not going.

I haven't done anything yet. And she's like, really, why why how do you not go to that? Like that's that's your thing, like that I know what that means to you, like and I said, I don't know. It's a more expense. You know, it's back in Chicago.

It's a great city, it's a great venue. But it's just gonna cost me. Things are gonna be higher price because now I can't drive, I gotta fly. Now I've waited a little bit longer, so might cost me a little bit because of that.

She goes, Listen, you do what you want, but you know, if you don't go, you're gonna be sitting here. You know, Fomo, you know it just as well as I know it, And you really should go if you can go, Like I don't know like how things sell out or what all the you know, all that stuff around the show, but if you can go, you really should try because you know, if you don't, you're probably not You're not going to be in the best mood and fear missing out. So tell me I'm wrong, right, she says to me, and I thought about it, and she wasn't, you know. And it was funny because I had told other hobbies I'm probably leaning towards not going, and they're like, John, you gotta go, man, how do you not go? And blah blah blah.

You know, I'm like, I don't know. It was my wife who's not in the hobby, you know, like she said, she goes it the big show or you know, the once a year big hobby show, and it was her pep talker, you know, get off your butt and get it done. That was really what, you know. I thought she'd be like, Okay, you know you're not going, that's all right, we'll figure you know, we'll do something here or something.

You know. I even joked with her or I'm like, what do you do? You got a boyfriend and you already got that week played out? Like am I screwing? You know? That's our humor, that's our you know, I screwing things up. She goes, yeah, you wish. She goes, no, I know, like you don't have to go listen if you but I know what will happen if you don't, so you can out that so uh funny story and uh you know I do have to, you know, Warren put, I gotta get the Strungsville? What is there? Is there one or two a year? One? It's just one big show.

See what kills me about that? Yeah? Yeah, And I know all about the show without never being to it, So I know as much as you can know without actually never been to it. What kills me is it's it's fairly close to the National, and so it's hard for me to pull off two of those trips. But it is drivable. I think I checked.

I check. It's like five hours and chain I gotta do it. And what I gotta do, Warren and anyone else listening, and is I really gotta make a point like I'm going this year and just get it done early so there's no like escape hatch or something like, oh it's too late. I'm not gonna.

And I really gotta like cross t's and dot eyes and and that's uh, that's what I gotta do. Everyone, everyone that's went. I've never heard a bad thing about Strongsville. That that tells you a lot.

I've heard more negative stuff, frankly about the National than even strong Wille. Now more people are probably going, so they're gonna have maybe more complaints based on population size. But I've never really heard anybody say anything too negative about Strongsville. So I think twenty twenty six, I think I gotta make it, make it happen, and make a point to go.

And it seems like a lot of fun and you know that sort of thing. So but yeah, man, you know, and you know, I know a couple of people in the chat room said they're not going. It's I'm sure they'll you know, there'd be some disappointment there. I think that's just natural.

But uh, you know, you can't. You know, I even say to myself, how can I go to everyone? And even this one, like I said, it was on the fence. It's tough, you know, people, it's a commitment, right, You got to take off work, if you're not retired, you gotta you know, it's you know, it's not free, right. You got to get there, whether it be driving or flying.

That's an expense and that stuff adds up. So I never try to make anyone feel bad if they're not going. I mean, like, hey, I'm missiere, which is true. I miss anyone that doesn't go that I like, right, But no, everyone's situation is different.

I mean for me, I was like looking at the financials and saying, you know what I mean, So I get it. I can't criticize someone else when I was thinking along the same line. So you know, you know, John, you could always find a chief flight over there, there are chief flights. And you know, I always get a roommate because it helps out a lot.

So it's strong as though. I room with Rick and then yeah, with Ryan Nolan here at the National, so you know there's always ways. Yeah, it's gonna be extensive. Take a drink.

I put a comment up here. Warren says I can stay out at his house with me and Hodges. Yeah, I'm in. I might be in.

That might be what tips me. I appreciate it all joking aside, Warren, and I might take you up on that offer. And I definitely will if I if I go, you know, and I'll buy dinner, I'll do something sort of. You know, someone's nice enough to do something, I'll do something in return or whatnot.

So I'm playing on it. I'm playing on it for twenty six maybe even more so now. Thank you to war And it'd be cool to hang out with those guys as well as all the other facties. Right, someone says, I've heard someone say they actually enjoy Strongsville.

It's a big statement. They actually enjoy Strung. They like both shows, but they like Strongsville some in some cases better than the National. Well that's saying something.

The good thing about is that you're basically everyone's in one hotel the street. Yeah yeah, yeah, Well, let's do this. Let's do this, give your voice, let's do this. Let's uh.

Part of the show is opening opening some packs. Unless ed Wirren. I'm a little bit of a store. I'm gonna let you fall asleep unless I'm in a completely different room.

I'm gonna let whoever's rooming with me fall asleep first. I don't think I'm as bad as I say I am, but I don't I do. I guess we all store in some regards. So uh no, ask Danny Black about that in the two Guys on shows.

All right, so I'll open the pack. You got four packs. I got two packs, so I'll open one. You open to the two I have for tonight.

Uh is eighty seven, the year eighty seven. We got a tops and we got a don Rous. I'll save the don ruts for the second pack rip. So I'll open the pack.

You have four packs, I'll let you open two, uh, and we'll open the last one in two packs towards the back end of the show. So here we go. Definitely buy you a beer ware more than one, more than one? All right? Let me see. Am I gonna win a trip to spring training nineteen eighty seven? I don't know.

Probably not? All right. There's there's the gum. I am not. I'm not gonna chew this or eat.

I don't even think it's chewerbow no more so anymore. All right, So I'm gonna just kind of put him up here as I Willie Upshaw, Rick Aguilera, Luis Ke remember all he's gotta tell. Mike Easler, John Denny, Tim Wallach, not great, nothing right home about just yet. Jeff Sellers.

A lot of people remember this guy. Dennis Boyd also known as oil Can. Daryl Evans A long time. I think he played like twenty years if it felt like it, Mark Bailey, long time, I'm Tiger chet Lemon, Mike Flan again, Rubens Sierra, the guy grew up watching play second base for the Yankees.

This is kind of on his second go round with him Willie Randolph Cliff Johnson, and I believe this is the first Hall of Famer in the pack. Uh Jack Morris, I know there's a there's a few people who argued that he shouldn't be. Mike. And we'll finish with his battery mate, you know, Lance Parish there, I'll start catcher.

So not not the greatest eighty seven tops pack I've ever opened, and I've opened quite a bit then and even a little even a few uh since then. So all right, you're up, but you go ahead. Four pick? Okay, Oh eighty eight flear? What? Yeah? Eighty eight flear. I gotta say, Orlando people, some people kind of bag on eighty eight flear.

I kind of I have a soft spot in my with that red, white and blue and the streamers, Like, I don't hate it as much as some people do. Let me put it that way. So let's see what we got here. Yeah, stickers.

Yeah, I'd rather have the stickers than the spring training eighty seven. You gotta start off with the checklist. That seemed like every pack of eighty eight for your at least one checklist. Like and I got Ernie Wittz, Tony Dwight, Evans, Bob McClure, Sammy Stewart.

I'm looking good either, yeah, Pat, I. Beat your man, Mandy Trio Trio Yeah, Hamilton, Oh here we got a duo here. This is uh Wally Joiner and Corey Snyder. Yeah, and that you know while I Joiner that time per and Coury Snyder's big Those were those were big dudes back.

Then, Gerald Perry, Jim Dwyer, Glenn Davis, and Mike Morgan. Did you beat me on that one? Nothing? Yeah? I think you got another shot here though, you got another shot with the eighty eight tops, go with the DoD's feel the Dreams said, it's great to see Orlando. Yes, indeed, Jesus slipped over here. So we got a glossy set card you can order.

I guess that you got u. Tim Oh yeah, Matt's guy. Ye, Jamie Quirk, Mike Stanley, Cecil Cooper. You got Glenn Davis, Yeah.

You got? You got him in the other pack too, or I did you did? Billy Bean, Fred Lynn, Larry Anderson Davis. He's pretty good back in the day. Bob der Mere, Marvel Wins drinking out here there you go. There, you go, well, that's a that's a good way to finish that pack off.

More here, Oh we got not more Dave with the airbrush hat. It looks like, yeah, fifteen cards, Larry Sheets and Greg Gross. Well at least I got a Ryan. Yeah Jay Jay, average vintage car collector says Ryan for the win.

Yeah, no doubt that. That's a Uh. He's a little bit better than Jack Morris. You know, people people people argue, People argue what Jack Moore should be in the hall.

No one's arguing whether no one writing should be in the Hall of Fame. So well, yeah, well that's all right, that's okay, and we'll we'll do this again here in about maybe ten fifteen minutes. So yeah, to see some stadium club there. So one of my favorite brands.

So yeah, we're sixty days away from the National Uh, you know, it's crazy, and really, you know, I start really thinking about it about when we get under triple digits, when we get on there one hundred days, I really start And that was when, frankly, that was when I had not done anything yet, and I'm like, I'm going it's got to happen now or you're out you know what I mean, You're point of the point of no point in oh returns so glad to be going. It looks like I'm going to Strongsville and crashing Lawren's house. It's gonna cost me a few beers, but anyone that knows me, I'll take care of dinner one night, and who knows what I'll figure. We'll figure it out so that that's one less thing to worry about it.

And I think driving, you know it's doable. The older I get, I don't know about you, Orlando, and the older I get, my driving stamina stink or gets worse. I should say, you know, the younger version of me seven eight hours without blinking. Now the older version of me two three hours.

I'm tired. I gotta stop use the rest room like it's it's scary. You know how that drops off your driving, at least for me. Maybe other people are still do well with that, not me, and I make my wife.

Man, if I'm going on trips with my wife, we try to split up the drive time so she can sleep. And I seem to never live up to my bargain. Like if I just say, do you drive three hours, I'll drive forward. It's a seven hour trip.

I'll take the X. I get to like hour and a half, two hours, and I'm like, Sharon, Honey, what what I'm like, I'm hitting the wall. She's there's a few bad words in there. You gotta be, you know, kidding me.

And I'm like, no, I'm, I'm I always know, I'm. I don't know about other people. I always you know, when I'm hitting that wall is when the road looks like it's like I'm driving up hill. Yeah it's it's a it's a it's an even road, but to me, it starts to look like I'm driving uphill.

I know, A boy, I. Mean, you definitely got to trouble stop you feeling like that because it's pretty dangerous here, you know. But uh yeah, I mean I used to drive five six hours with no problem and now definitely need to kind of split that up or make a stop or two. You know.

Yeah, yeah, no doubt. So, Uh you got the survey. I got the survey. Probably a lot of people in this chat room, maybe people not in the chat room are listening to this as a podcast.

Afterwards. We got this PSA survey. Pretty a lot of questions I kept answering the questions they I mean, they warned you, I don't want to throw them under the bus. They said this will take about fifteen minutes.

But a lot of questions. I felt like it was like a race that would would never end. And you know, but the one thing that you like, you could read between the lines kind of things they were thinking about implementing. One of those is car cleaning on cards you're subbing.

Now, that's something I do myself, or you know, I'll take a microfiberclas especially it's a chrome or any kind of a glossy card very gently just kind of wipe any fingerprints off and that sort of thing. I don't know, I guess to each their own. If someone wants to pay for the service, who am I to say, like bead on you or what not? But kind of what was your thoughts with some of the stuff on that survey and maybe even the car cleaning topic. Car cleaning, I'm assuming it's just gonna be a micro cloth, just dust off things like that.

I'm hoping that it's not that they're gonna be spraying something on there or doing it any more than that. But you know, you never know, because you know, some of these guys mister Minty or whatever, you know, go ahead and. Somebody's names too are hilarious, So go ahead and put. A loot on there, you know.

And that is something that I'm against, you know. Yeah, yeah, everybody has to the car clean it like that with with a micro you know, with a little thing, that's fine. But once you start adding something to the car worries me. And I don't know, you can do that yourself.

Why would you pay for them to do it unless you feel that clean it. I kind of guarantee a better grade, you know, you know, you never know, maybe they say, okay, you pay that extra. Maybe, you know, make sure you bump it up a little bit. It's like it's like slipping to make your DA twenty and you get take a nice table by the window.

Yeah yeah, you you said it right. That's something I do now, Like how like I don't know, man, I hope I don't make anyone man say this, Like how busy are you that you like want to throw someone five bucks to do that? Like I enjoy the process of the submission of when I'm grading cards, I enjoy going through that initial stack and putting on these glasses. Yeah, looking at it, you know, putting on. These glasses and hey, does this make the cut? And you know, so that stack original sixty cards is now thirty five and now I want to look at them a second run through.

Maybe that thirty five becomes twenty five, and then I wipe them. The ones that are definitely going, then I'll wipe them down. If they're wipeaboy. Yeah, I mean, you know, if it's got like the gum thinks maybe and then you look at it and you know, just wipe it a little bit.

I got I'm okay to that kind of stuff, you know, and then yeah, you do that maybe in the back shut and have any little dust spot or stuff like that. Or even sometimes when they cut everyone knows this that's been in the hobby. Sometimes when they cut these sheets, especially on that advantage the stuff we just opened, sometimes the extra debris gets in there and it's on the it's on the car, So just wiping that stuff off or you know, or even I don't even like a freight edge. There's nothing wrong with the card.

It's just a little extra part of the car. You can kind of with that. Yeah, I enjoy finn I don't know about you. I don't know about I sort of enjoy doing that.

I guess some people maybe don't enjoy it as much as I do, or maybe and I get it to each again ero, but I enjoy that whole process of getting down to like, hey, these are going whether it be in my case P s A or s GC, these are going to get graded. And but I guess other people press for time, like hey, I just look at these, clean them, do it, send them back, encapsulate it. You know. I just enjoy the whole process.

And you know, even doing the bulk subbing, which I do now on behalf of SGC, I'm I'm looking at four to five hundred cards that are not mine. I'm not doing the whole cleaning. That's something that the individual suburb is doing. But I enjoy seeing the cards and getting them all packaged up in that whole price.

They're not even my cards, you know what I mean, some of them are. I mean, I'm in on the sub, but ninety five percent of the sub is not mine. So I enjoy that whole process, like you know. And so but again, maybe people have less time.

Maybe people don't trust themselves to you know, I get that because I've had people ask me like, how do you do this? What do you recommend? What do I use? You know, what kind of do I use? A piece of tissue, a paper towel? You know, they really don't like, you know, a sanitizing white like and I'm like, no, that's wet, it's. Gonna like, yeah, just a microfiber. Yeah, Just I tell them the thing you say, if you have glasses, the thing you would wipe your lenses with because you don't want to scratch your lenses. You don't want to scratch, just like you don't want.

To but you still still got to be that because sometimes you could get a little corner spence, So you gotta be real careful with that. Yeah, but there's no problem with that. I think this is it everybody. At least when I'm gonna submit something, I'll pregrade in myself and I'll take a real good look at it.

And you know, I don't want dust on that card or I don't want you know, any little thing that that could get stuck on it. Sometimes you do have maybe a little bit of wax from the pack and if you can take it off, you know, with the microfiber, that's okay. Yeah, And here's the other thing. And I think you'll agree with me, or Lando and guys and check, like I enjoy that process and I take pride, like, hey, I think this is going to get this number great.

And if you take pride and like like doing the the pre grading yourself, like how close was I was? I was? I did I undergrade my card? Did I overgrade my card? Right? And then when you're right on or even if you undergrade, like hey, I think this is a sixth and you get a seven, you're like that's great, Like you take I know it's kind of sounds silly, like you hit a home run, and I take pride in that. But you know what I mean that I kind of figured it right, you know what I mean, Like, well, I enjoyed that process. You learn a lot doing it. You almost become a greater after you do so many of them, you pretty much can can look at it and tell you know, the centering, how they're going to do that, and you know the card is well registered, some of the vintage cards, and you know you could kind of once you do a few hundred cards like that kind of you kind of really could even do a better job so than PSA with some of their greaters.

You know, you can kind of tell pretty accurate grading, you know what I think it is within a grade. Or it's funny because with these bulk subs, I do. You know, I'm at the show and I have a table which is just it's not even my stuff, it's it's for bulk subbing fresh, you see. And I have my two tables.

But you know, I've done it now two years, so I've gotten to know people and they're like, John, what do you think this gets? And I'll look at you know, I'm like, listen, I'm not the great, and this is just for what it's worth, right, My two cents is what I think it is, right, And they say, okay, well i'm subbing it. Let's see, let's see, you know, if they agreed, I'll say, yeah, I think it's a four or five two, and then we kind of we see what it comes back and for' right. Sometimes you know, sometimes the person will disagree with me. I'll be like, I think it's a three three and a half.

Like oh man, I was I was thinking of four. What a really dark course? Chance at the five I hope you're right. I hope you get the grade. But you're asking me, you.

Know, I buy a lot of raw cards myself. Yeah, I'm graded. And the more you learn about the grade your self grading like that, the better you can get a determining something. And you can buy a raw card so ten dollars and it come out being a seven or eight, and it's it's.

Like a lottery ticket, man, you scratch it and you get a winner. It is. And I've gotten a lot of those. I mean, one of the big ones that I got one day is I bought a raw sixty nine Johnny Bench and to me, I thought I could get an eight out of it, and it came out an eight and a half.

I was like, wow, you know, and I got that card pretty cheap, and now it's like a thousand dollars card. Yeah, you can really if you really know what you're doing, you really take a good look at it again, measure it up. Also the right size so you don't get a minimum size. You know.

I've gotten a couple of those also, But for the most part, if you get good at that, you know, you could really hit the lotto. Like you said earlier, Yeah, and it's fun, right, That whole process is fun, right, especially you get in it's not it's didn't break the bank to start with. And then like you said, you had an eight and a half when you were I been a static with an eight. It's even kind of like bonus, right, you know, going back, I want to just touch I don't want to talk about it super long.

But you know, if some of these cleaning services were using chemicals, I know you mentioned here's the thing with chemicals because people ask me, like John, what if it's safe? But how do we know, like in ten years what that chemical is going to do. Well, perfect examples Tops Finus. Right when we were open in Tops Finus in nineteen ninety three, we didn't know that many years later they were going to just naturally turn green just from light exposure. Right, we don't know what some of these chemicals.

Maybe right now there's no nothing happened to them, but maybe over years that chemical is going to that reaction is going to take the years to kind of settle in. So I just don't like using foreign substances other than maybe you know this and even that you know you have different acids in your. Salide, don't do it, don't do it? Yeah, I tend not to, so like I just don't. I don't trust that stuff.

And now you're hearing some of these grading card companies Orlando, they're they're looking into different processes to detect those chemicals to say that they're looking at those chemicals as altering chemicals. So if they design whether it's a UV light or a black light or some kind of light that can detect like, hey, there's been a chemical added to the film of this and now this car is going to get that designation of like clean card, altered, Yeah, yeah, altered or I legally clean card. That's it, you know what I mean. And so something else to think about.

Well, you know some of those chemicals, you know, they may not have something today, but they may have something that you could smell it or some machine that can kind of smell the car. Yeah, and that was in there. Yeah. Well, Mike Penny says, you know, chromium itself, as a community has and then you add something that's other chemical, there could be a reaction.

It may not even be an immediate reaction. It may be one of those over overtime things. And so I'm just not my thing when I've seen like the you know you're on Facebook and you see the ad forum, I just I just skip it. It's it's I mean, you know, I'm not going to go to that extent.

I mean, these guys are setting up at shows too, and people are bringing their cards up to these tables and having these folks work on their cards if you will, you know. And well, you know, I share that I bought a couple of cards that were they were apparently removed from a scrap book and the glue was removed, and eventually the stain came back and they were graded. When I first got them, they were graded and the back was nice and clean. And after about five six years now the stain came back and that grade on that card is not what it is now.

Yeah, so I'm kind of stuck with him because I don't want to sell them because they're not going to grade what the Great says anymore because the state kind of came back. So you just never know what happens over over the years. Yeah, you can't. And some of these, like I'll show you this one.

I just happened to have it right near me. This is from Jefferson Verdicck scrap book. And it's an old eighteen eighties, honest card. It's an actress card eighteen eighties, but it's from Jefferson Burdick used to glue his cards into a scrap book.

So look at the back. They got it one. It's an SGZ one. I knew that going in.

It's not you know, for this, it's just a kind of a cool conversation piece. But there's there's the back of that card, you know what I mean. So you know that's that's you can't get that stuff off, you know, like you said, maybe even if you got it off for a moment something, it's it's almost impossible. I don't want to.

Say, you can only get it off of some type of chemical. Soaking water is not gonna do it. Yeah, yeah, yeah, So not my stuff, you know, not my thing. I don't partake in that.

I know. You know, I've I've had I don't want to say debates or you know, I don't get too worked up about it. But people say, John, you know, they restore uh, you know, paintings in the art world what and and it's looked at as a beautiful thing and a good thing. And but these are two different things that you're comparing Apple starages, you know what I mean.

So so I just I don't. I don't buy that. And if the art world accepts that, then that's there, that's their space. I just don't think that.

I think the majority of hobbyists don't accept trimming and altering. Yeah, there's gonna be a few, right, because they're gonna benefit from that. Sure, I approve, Yeah, restored, but you know it is marked as restored, so you know that's fine if you want to do it and say, hey, you know I restored this card. As long as you people know what has been done to that card, that's fine.

You know, if it's been true. Agree with a c you agree with dis Orlando. I think if you ask from the general population, you asked one hundred hobbyists, if you can trim an out your card and make it better, do you consider that acceptable and legal? I would say minimum seventy people would say no, and then whatever that maybe more. Yeah, I don't want it.

I wouldn't want yeah, no, No, So I want the card as it was how it came out. You know, someone are going to be minimum size and that's the way they were cut from the factory something like that. Fine, you know my fifty two mantal is minimum size and that's the way it came out. That's the way it is and confirmed by SEC.

So that's okay. But I know it it's trimmed and they try to sneak it in as not or something like that. If you're going to start cutting cards and rolling cards out to flatten out with creases and make make the cards stock, at that point, to me Orlanda, just reprint the card if you're looking for like, you know, what's what are you doing? Like you're changing the composition of the card. You're you're thinning the the original card stock.

You're not that, Yeah, you might at that point just make a reprint and then and make it a perfect yeah, because that's how I look at it. You just alter it that much. So I think we're both waving the same pennant there, all right, So let's not let's yeah, go ahead, I'll let you. I went first last time, you go first, I'll go this time.

So I've got a stadium club. I'm a big stadium club. I love stadium Yeah boxes, yeah, I still have there and I just got to pull the pack out of it and see what we got. Here the sweetslund of cellophane.

Yeah, we got Chris Jane upside down. You got Jeff Ballard. Yeah, that was one thing with Stadium Club. They like alternated him every.

Other thing, kind of Ron Robertson. We got Jeff Brandson. I love these pictures though, in these cards. Yeah, the photography is.

Yeah, is the best. Cory Snyder Awkwards, Glenn Davis. And Kory Snyder cards are like you're a magnet. For Greg Vaughn is a pretty good hitter.

But yeah it's Floyd Bannison. Got Bobby Wicked. Yeah, his son. You might have heard of his son.

He's not doing too bad. And I like these because you know they've got their rookie cards on the back. Yeah that is that is pretty cool. I always thought that was uh Leo Gomez.

Bob is up sick. Yeah, he didn't play very long. You got the club membership. You can mail it in and get your little club membership.

I've got Dave Martine now the manager. I got Tom Eden pack again. Glenn Davis. Wait, what is that when you and I think that's.

This is the third one you pulled. You've had one in every pack so far. I know, I got Joe Hess kicked, and I've got Steve Howe. Oh yeah, eight chances to come keep coming bad.

All right, open open that last one down this last week. It's a hockey pack. There you go, the first year of Stadium Club. You're still You're still going to get a Glenn Davis card in there, somehow, some way.

If I do, I'll eat the gum the last time. All right, let's see who we got out of here. We got Randy Moeller. Have fun with some of these names.

Oh god, Rick tres Truss, I've got oh no John, Oh nick O Jack? Is it o Jack? Yeah? I pronounced it. Yeah, I've got todd ellis Steven, Stephen Morin. You forget this guy. Mike Crush announced that.

That's Oh, this is the kind of like a little insert card which says to get a hockey book. It's got like a little comic. I've got Peter In, Stephen Matteo. Oh, here's the name I know, rug Aron Tugna, the me, Tri Christoph, Christophe Christish, Joey Kosh.

He's a ranger. He was he was a fighter. He was kind of one of the enforcers and Dave. No Gretzky out of that.

No Gretsky, No, no, no luck. You didn't get a Glenn Davis. And all right, I want to I'll close it out with an eighty seven down us here. I opened one of these a few shows back.

It was one of the I probably jinked myself. It was one of the worst eighty seven Donors packs I ever opened. So, yeah, we'll see, we'll see. Puzzle piece Tommy Hurr, Rick Suckcliffe another Willie Upshot pulled him in the the other pack man.

This is the same as that eighty seven tops pack Mark Bailey, who I pulled in the other What happened to? Yeah, here's Tony Phillips Bob Shirley. Real quick story with Bob Shirley. I'll make this fast. He was the pitch here he is as a player for the Yankees.

He was a pitching coach for the Syracuse Chiefs back when I played high school here, and we had a practice at where the Chiefs played, and he actually threw our team some batting practice. So I actually got the hit off Bob Shirley. I'm back in eighty nine, if my memories right. So a couple of years after that.

That's probably one of his last cards as a player. Milk Thompson. Oh, here we go, not the next card. Even more so Frank Viola, one of my favorite guys man, one of the greatest hitters ever lived.

Tony Gwynn. There you go, Chicken there. Yeah, Dave Kingman Kong played for the metsman years. I watched him.

They'd lose and he'd hit two home runs. Yeah, Chuck Finley, not Glenn Davis, but Storm Davis, raffree Al Ramirez, Yeah, another Hall of Famer, the kid Gary Carter. And last but not least, Alan Anderson. So at least this beat it beat the other eighty seven down respect.

I opened about a month ago, so I won't complain. I won't complain too much. I don't know. It's always fun to have rip that And remember, you know that was eighty seven.

That was fifteen year old ripping nose. And here we are thirty seven years later doing it, doing it again, you know, and you never know. It's it's it's always fun. And uh, you know, there are some cards in there, you know, in the eighty seven's the bonds.

He could have hit the bonds, you know, so Maddex's potential in the he sets it. They were so huge, you know, all of those cards. I mean they had what seven hundred cards per six seven hundred cards? Yeah, they forget about that. Yeah, it was tough to get a good yeah, you know, to get the consekos out of it like that.

Yeah, no doubt. Well, Orlando, we went, we went five minutes over time. I'm not watching the clock when when you're on and uh, listen, I know I speak again for for a lot of people. You know, this was a blast man.

It's it's good to see you. Uh here, we're sixty days away. I'll see you in person and give you a big call. I'm sure, and uh you know, and and we'll have to share things we pay towards the back end of the show.

I'm always I either get something early or or or at the last minute. Never it never in between. It's one or the other. It's usually later than earlier.

So last year I did a better job. I went in there to get a time siver rookie, and I got it on my second day there. And I always feel like, even though it's pressure we put on our own selves, I always feel like I'm under the gun like to get. Now, I kind of go to the Nash to get one or two bigger type cards, you know, bigger.

Everyone's definition a bigger. You know, it could be different. For some it's a hundred bucks, for some it's a thousand bucks. Whatever it is.

No one's wrong, no one's right. It's just whatever budgets allow discussionary income. But last year I did a little bit better job than the previous year. So yeah, a lot of times, you know, you don't want to rush it.

There's gonna be so many dealers and see cards there. But if you find the right one, that the one you really think is a good the right one for you, you know, go for it because it may not be there when you come back. Yeah, yeah, see, I like I like to I sort of like to walk around as much as I can first and check all the cards and the prices and make notes like hey, that's table one eleven sixty three hazard for this, you know, but like you said, on certain cards, if it's a tougher, harder to find card and you like the price, you might not want to wait. So it's a good piece of advice and what kind of we'll kind of close with that, but Orlando, as always, it's it's great to see you.

We'll see you back on Hobby Hotline. Uh not tomorrow, but the following week. I'll actually, well we'll be back together. I'm hosting that that episode, so we'll do this different show, but we'll be back on the air again.

And I know you're you know your own stuff. So awesome seeing you, man, and. Thank you, John, appreciate you having me on. I always enjoyed talking.

We could talk for hours. Yeah, we could do with three hours. We would have fun. I don't know about everyone else, but we would enjoy it for sure.

So all right or lay no, thanks Budge, take care.