Cards And Kooks

Sunday December 14th, 2008 - Milwaukee, WI/Kenosha, WI

Up early to head to Milwaukee today for the monthly sports card show at Gonzaga Hall. If I can hit it at least every other month I do because it’s just plain fun. It’s a place to hang out with people I’ve known for twenty years or in some cases longer and escape problems for a few hours. All that matters is looking at, talking about and buying and selling cards.

I still love the fact that Gonzaga Hall is a time warp. The same group of people set up at the same tables each month and have been as long as anyone can remember. Then there is another group of the same people who show up and try to pry cards loose at cheap prices.

It’s a constant battle of give and take and wheel and deal and it’s really fun to me. I love to dabble in it occasionally and that’s what makes it so much fun. If I had to rely on it as a main source of income I’d be broke by now. There’s a lot more to it than one may think.

Everything is that way. At one time I thought about being a full time sports card dealer in addition to being a full time road comic. I would set up at card shows by day and be on stage by night. I would find myself rolling in cash and life would be easy. Then I woke up and saw how difficult both pursuits are and realized that hauling cardboard wasn’t for me.

Comedy still is the best job ever. No inventory other than a clean shirt and maybe a few products to sell after the show. No equipment to haul like a band and no ring to have to be setting up and taken down like when I promoted pro wrestling shows. Comedy is the best.
I’m glad I chose that over being a sports card dealer because that’s a business that really gets crushed in a bad economy. Nobody NEEDS to buy a Michael Jordan rookie card. It’s a luxury that not everyone can afford and it’s also an item that doesn’t appeal to everyone.

It’s a hunk of cardboard. What can anyone do with it other than look at it? And it can be destroyed by fire or stolen and it can’t be used as currency either. It may be ’worth’ a big price but that’s only if another person will pay it. It’s all a gamble and that’s why I’m glad I just hang around it as a hobby once every month or two. I don’t have to worry about it.

After the card show I hung out with my cousin Brett and had dinner at Famous Dave’s. I admire how Famous Dave has built his business and if I can use any of his ideas for my Uranus Factory Outlet business I’ll give him full credit. He’s got his business plan down.

Then it was off to WLIP in Kenosha to get the Mothership Connection back on the air. I had to take last week off but this week it was time to start over. The on air cast continues to change but that’s how it is on a once a week show where nobody gets paid. I get that.

I still love doing the show though. I love the topics and it’s fun to delve into things like ghost haunting and UFOs and anything else like that. I wish I could find a way to make it pay off financially and maybe I can in the future but for now it’s just another fun thing to stretch my time even thinner than it already is. If nothing else at least I do what I enjoy.