Part 3 - How do you know you are hooked on collecting?

Matthew Adamic grew up collecting. He is shown here in the early 1980s
with his parents, hobby pioneers Jerry and Lynn. The family has
attended nearly every National Sports Collectors Convention together.

Click on photo to enlarge

Bob Tryon wrote hobby humor stories for Baseball Hobby News in its early days. Most of his September 1979 "Hooked on baseball cards" story ran here on October 12 and 13. We asked a few blog readers to come up with examples that go along with Tryon's theme. The major contributor was Matthew Adamic, an ecstatic Texas Rangers fan, who can't wait for the World Series to begin.

By MATTHEW ADAMIC

You know you are hooked when . . .

you spend more time on eBay searching for "treasure" than you do
keeping up with the news and weather.

you're thinking about having kids and wonder where the children will
sleep, since the second bedroom is your personal museum and storage
center.

you see a great home run hit, and instantly think "I wish I'd caught
that ball," followed by "I wonder if I could obtain that bat. Or that
uniform. Or both."

you've had business cards made that highlight your collecting
interests, which lead to negative cash flows.

you drive long distances to meet strangers in the hope that you can
leave their house with a trunk full of dusty objects that you spent
your entertainment budget on.

you become overjoyed at someone writing his name on a baseball.

acquiring pieces of cardboard with pictures on them gives you an
endorphin rush akin to shooting heroin.

you save baseballs from games you played in.

you have every baseball glove you ever used, except for one that was
lost in a move and another that was stolen.

Other contributions:

Rich Klein, Plano, Texas:

you have to explain to your wife and mother-in-law that the Nora Roberts novels take up too much space but your baseball cards need to keep growing

you try to explain to your wife why old pieces of cardboard with pictures of men in baseball uniforms talk to you.

Frank Barning, Las Vegas, Nevada:

you think that Mantle, Mays and Aaron are the Holy Trinity.

visiting the Topps factory is at the top of your Bucket List.

Bob Tryon, Elizabeth, New Jersey (from September 1979 issue of Baseball Hobby News):

you tell your father, "Please don't take away my cards, hit me with the belt instead."

you remove the Playboy centerfold from your bedroom wall and replace it with a picture of Don Mossi.

you have never known that MINT is something you eat after dinner, or something you freshen your breath with.

you tell your wife that either the cards go or she does, and you tell her to be sure to leave her new address.