Vintage Fridays: Brooks Robinson, 1975 Kellogg's 3-D #18

Finally, we've come back around to the awesome side of weird. Later-career Brooks Robinson gazing out at you from a 1970s-themed future.

In the immediate future, I'll be attending a card show in Valley Forge. Why else would a self-respecting 28-year-old bachelor peel himself out of bed at 6:30 AM on a Saturday? Thankfully, I won't be the one driving. It's in everyone's best interests, particularly the other drivers on the road.

I know that a lot of collectors have an attack plan when they go to card shows. They come armed with want lists and priorities and a laser focus. Me? I'm not nearly that organized or attentive. There are cards everywhere, as far as the eye can see. I'll goggle over a display of beautiful tobacco cards that I could only afford if I were paid by the word for my blog entries. My thrifty urges will lead me to a 4,000-count box of dime cards and I'll get lost in it for an hour or two. A table full of marked-down fair-to-good 1953 Topps will reach out and grab me. I'm usually happy with my purchases at the end of the day, but they comprise a motley stack of cardboard. It's no wonder I haven't completed any sets in the last few years.

I am actually going to equip myself with want lists tomorrow, and I've given myself a firm spending limit to ensure that I don't have to sell my organs on the black market at the end of the month. I'll still probably veer far off track...but that's half the fun of collecting.