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Another checklist, another chance to check in with some context as I'm composing these posts. I'm writing this on May 19th, the Tuesday before Memorial Day, and the post will be scheduled to publish in early August. The last time I drove to my office for work in Philadelphia was Thursday, March 12th. I stayed home the following day, and every day thereafter. My wife is teaching her classroom virtually and our two sons are completing their school work at home, occasionally participating in a Zoom session with their teachers and small groups of classmates. We've talked to our extended families over FaceTime and Zoom, attended virtual church sessions and my wife has helped organize multiple neighborhood food drives. We go for long walks when the weather is nice, and I try to relax at night by writing about baseball cards or putting together 1,000-piece puzzles. The boys are binging past seasons of the reality show Survivor. I've been posting a Beatles song of the day (including solo material) on my personal Facebook page, and I'm up to 68 songs from this daily diversion in my Spotify playlist as of this writing. I've tried meditation for the first time and I've discovered I enjoy it.
There are parts of our state, New Jersey, slowly re-opening but this brings me more anxiety than relief. My wife and I wear our masks when we're out running errands, but we see plenty of people who don't. We see groups of kids, clearly not from the same family, walking around the neighborhood or riding their bikes together. We've managed to block friends and news outlets spreading rumors or things that just aren't true, while relying on science-based news updates and coping with the knowledge this is most likely far from over. I know people who have caught the virus, or have close family members who had the virus, and all have fortunately recovered. I want nothing more than for things to go back to normal, but not at the expense of lives and people's health. I yearn for leaders who lead with empathy, truth and compassion. Just like everyone else, I have good days and bad days.
Baseball may or may not happen this season. If it does happen, fans won't be in attendance and there will be a strict routine in place for playing games in empty stadiums. Part of me is anxious to watch any form of Phillies baseball, but a bigger part of me thinks they should admit defeat, scrap the season and try again in February. So that's where I am right now, May 19, 2020, and I hope wherever you are when you read this you're healthy and safe and hopeful.
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| May 16, 2020 |
May 11, 2020 from Bowling Green, KY - Card #98
Having added the Al Downing (#598) card and a few others through eBay auctions, I continued working my way backwards looking for card #597, a Twins Rookie Stars card and the second to last card in the set. I found a copy in great shape and at a reasonable buy it now price from Blue Grass Treasures in Bowling Green, Kentucky. The seller had a few other cards available from the set and I pushed the buy it now button on those too, adding four total cards to our set from Kentucky.
Finding a mint, unmarked checklist from the 1960s feels like a major accomplishment so I'm happy to add this card to our set.
The Card
This is one of seven checklists to appear in the set, each marking their respective series. The sixth series in the set covers cards #430 through #506, or 77 cards. The fifth series checklist (#361) contained 78 cards. I wonder if Yogi Berra (#470) was a late addition to the checklist? I'm only suspicious as his name is the only name in the first column on the back not justified to the left, which makes me think it was a late insertion after another name was deleted.
At the time this card was purchased, we had seven cards (including this checklist) that could have been marked off - #437 Chico Cardenas, #438 Harry Walker, #450 Elston Howard, #474 Cookie Rojas, #479 Ken Harrelson, and #486 Angels Rookies.
Checklists
Previous Card: #442 Vic Power - Los Angeles Angels
Next Card: #444 Bob Hendley - San Francisco Giants
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