Wednesday, April 8, 2009

Over-Achiever-ing!

I received a box in the mail the other day from Avon, Ohio. It was from Kramer. Mike Kramer, DDS - aka "Achiever." I was expecting it, but only because in a recent email, he cryptically told of cards heading my way that needed a new home.

Inside the box, on top of the contents was a folded, hand-written note. The note began, "Hey Pal!" In my book, that is one of the greatest expressions ever formulated. Indulge me for a moment if you will. As a kid, my Grandfather on my Mother's side always greeted me with that exact phrase. It didn't matter if we had just seen each other the day before or if it had been more than a month. He used that phrase with each of his grandsons. As we got older and moved off, anytime we talked on the phone or went back to visit, it was always the same greeting: "Hey, Pal!" As far as I'm concerned, the box could have been empty save for those opening lines. There is no way Achiever (well, actually Motherscratcher - Achiever is the name of the blog itself) would have known that and I realize most folks are probably shaking their heads right now, but I appreciate the sentiment - for many reasons.

As it turns out, the note had more to say and again, it was cryptic: "...in here is one of my favorite sets. I think it could use a new home..."

And, so I set the note aside and looked in the box. Here is what I saw:

Hey, cool! Packs of cards! These will give me "APAD" ideas for a good while to come! Now, the funny thing is that the cards on TOP were the "MegaMetal" packs. My mind reviews the note: "one of my favorite sets..." Okay, that's cool, Achiever is sharing his MegaMetal cards. I can hang with that. I've actually given away MegaMetal cards in my "Trick-or-Treat" gifts before. I wasn't sure why these should find a new home at my place, since surely he knows they would be used in such a manner down the road, right? Well, I pull out the rest of the packs, and then I spy what it is he was referring to:


They look like 1975 Topps, right? Well, they are! The whole team set of them! Want to know something else? These are the MINI version of the 1975 Indians team set! HELLO!? This cannot be right. I open the plastic case and take out the cards carefully. I shuffle through them, and sure enough...


There are some amazing players in here: Robinson, Perry, Bell, Gamble, Carty, and the list goes on! There was also a 1989 Sportflics Greg Swindell card thrown in for good measure! Of course, one of the best "features" of the set he sent:

Yes, that's a marked up, marked on, crossed out checklist we got there! Homemade Tipton at your service!

Mr. Kramer, you went above and beyond your blogging sitename with this one! I can promise these minis will enjoy their new home among fellow Tribe cards! Thank you VERY much for thinking of me as you sought a new place for your favorite set.

Thanks, Pal!

3 comments:

  1. There is no better gift than '75 minis.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I'm glad you like the minis. I can't remember where or how I got them, but it was sometime during my first phase of collecting. I believe that those were supposed to pay for a Trans Am.

    I was actually going through my meager collection trying to find anything that I thought you might not already have. The first card I pulled was the Swindell. Then inspiration struck with the minis.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Killer gift! The '75 Topps set is still my favorite.

    ReplyDelete