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| Baseball was my life from 1979-1982. I played, watched, followed, and fantasized. Listening to Phil Rizzuto and Bill White Yankee game radio broadcasts, I imagined myself a big league ballplayer as I played pop-up with myself in the backyard. An offshoot of this mania was baseball card collecting. I couldn't get enough of it. Every time I found myself with 27 cents I was off to the candy store to buy another pack (25 cents plus tax). I chewed every stick of stiff sugarcoated gum, too. No wonder there were times I had more cavities than teeth. My dentist, Dr. Mitzner, was also our landlord at 215 Atlantic Ave. in Blue Point, NY. He must have made a load of dough off of us--especially me and my rotten mouth. I was a good patient, quiescent. He used gas, which I loved. It was a win-win. Anyway, these cards followed me through 5 subsequent moves and all the way into adulthood. I held onto them thinking that maybe I'd reproduce and pass them on, but now I'm pretty sure that's not going to happen and anyway I became disaffected with baseball as a whole in 1994 when a players' strike led to the cancelation of the season--and just when the Yankees had their first shot at the pennant in years. So, here they go! It's time to say goodbye to childish things. (I did, however, keep a small collection of 1979 cards notable for their facial hair. Maybe someday I'll scan and post them here...) |
