Chopped Memories

On Valentine's Day, I offered up several Kellogg's cards in need of a home. The Card Chop's Steve Cornell bravely laid claim to a card which resulted in our first trade.  I'm slowly working on team sets so he lent a helping hand:

1978 Topps - hard to believe I didn't already have these cards.  In general, the 70s are my favorite decade until you hit 1977.  I'd entered junior high in mid-year 6th grade after a sheltered year and a half at Christian Heritage Academy.  I felt lost and was truly a misfit.  I'd always made friends easily and couldn't understand why I wasn't accepted by my new peers.  This was the year I became a wallflower.

I hid between the pages of teen magazines and books. School became a place to prove myself.  If the other kids didn't like me, it would be because I was the smart kid.  4.00 straight A.   Wrong-o.  My strategy backfired.  I became the teacher's pet. Now they wanted to beat me up.   In 1978, they tried.

A girl my age but a little smaller, punched me.  In all my life, I don't think there have ever been so many eyes focused on me.  Quite a crowd gathered around to watch the fight. This episode probably began my long streak of disappointing others.  As she waited for me to throw a punch or tackle her.....I....did.....nothing.  I stood there, staring right into her eyes.  She said something like aren't you going to fight back?   No.  I was not.  Little did she know, I was used to being knocked around. 

I ran into her a couple years later when she was transferred to my high school...into my home room class.  Oh goody.  I had settled into my wallflower life  - and did manage to remain mostly unnoticed all throughout high school - and here was my recent past sitting right across from me.  She approached me one day only to ask if I remembered that afternoon she punched me. Uhm, well of course.  She said she'd never been so scared in her life when I didn't hit her or defend myself.  It wasn't what she expected.  She never bothered me again.  And I resigned from my position as teacher's pet.

 

Steve's a mad man.  One look at his blog and you'll surely agree.  I hadn't expected to take a trip down memory lane, nor to share this story until I sat down at the keyboard.  The cards are wonderful and my 78 set is complete but for a Lou Whitaker rookie card.  I have Jack Morris, Parrish and the Molitor/Trammell rookies.  Steve threw in a few extra niceties, including a 78 Bucky.  I love me some Dent!

                                                                     April 10, 1979 issue