Have you ever had something happen that seemed like somewhat of a bummer at the time, but in reality, turned out to be a good thing at that particular moment in time?

Along those same lines, have you ever had the occasion, where you think you're ordering one thing, but when it arrives, it turns out to be something completely different than what you expected? 

While it can be pretty frustrating, at least in this particular case, it really turned out to be better than I imagined.

Originally, I thought I was ordering a Japanese phone card of Yokozuna Hakuho.

Of course, you remember phone cards. They were all the rage in the mid-80's and 90's, those plastic cards abort the size to a credit card, which allowed users to make telephone calls using a pay phone. You would buy the card with X-amount of minutes on it. You would then insert the card into a public phone to activate it, or in some cases, you'd use the code on the card, once you scratched it off. If it was inserted into a phone, the phone would punch a little hole on the card to let you know how many credits you had left.

It wasn't long before phonecards were used as promotional giveaways, marketing incentives and charity fundraisers. Just put a picture on them, and they became collectible gold during this time period, Companies ranging from Disney, McDonald's and Coca-Cola, to IBM, Xerox, and New York Life have released collectible phonecards.

Once cell phones began to appear, the hobby quickly fell by the wayside.

As a servicemember, the cards especially came in handy. When I deployed to Germany in 1995, the local VFW, other veteran groups, and civilian organizations would purchase phone cards for us so we could stay in touch with our loved ones. You didn't have to worry if you had enough marks to make a call - you just used the card.

As for the phone card I thought I had ordered, in reality, turned out to be a collectible Japan Rail Railways Pass. Turns out that Japan's high-speed rail system, had also made collectible Sumo Rail Passes at one time.

After doing a little research, I also discovered these gems were also part of that collectible rail pass set.

Of course, I now have to try and track down the rest of these cards.

Hoepfully, that'll get me time to reorganize things and start blogging again.

Stay safe and careful out there.

 As a long-time sports fan, it's kind of hard to come up with "my favorite player." With so many great teams, and so many great players that have competed over the years, it's kind of hard to name just one or two.

For example, I was a huge Bart Starr fan growing up. Stan Mikita, of the Chicago Blackhawks, has to be one of my favorite hockey players. Being a San Diego Padres fan, there have been a few players I truly enjoyed watching play.

However, if I have to specifically name "my favorite players," of course, other than Starr, there is no doubt. That would have to be "My Two Tonys" - Tony Gwynn of the Padres and Tony Esposito, of the  Blackhawks. Unfortunately, Mr. Padre, a Hall of Famer, passed away all too soon at the age of 54, from salivary gland cancer on June 16, 2014 (my wife's birthday).

And now, the Chicago Blackhawks have announced that my other Tony, Esposito, passed away August 10, after a brief battle with pancreatic cancer.

Maybe it was karma, that my beloved Padres began play as an MLB expansion team in 1969. That was also the same year the Blackhawks drafted Esposito from the Montreal Canadiens for $25,000. He quickly established himself as their number one goalie, as  Chicago went from last to first, while registered 15 shutouts that year (yet a modern NHL record). By the end of that year, he would win the Vezina Trophy (top goaltender) and Calder Memorial Trophy (top rookie).

I became a hockey fan in the the early 70's in Davenport, Iowa. Late at night, when  atmospheric conditions were just right, I could just pick up St. Louis' KMOX FM-radio broadcasts of the St. Louis Blues Hockey team. They always began their broadcasts with the St. Louis Blues March, followed by "This is St. Louis Blues hockey."

At times, I could also pick up KSHE FM (St. Louis), as well as KAAY Radio's Beaker Street program, from Little Rock, Ark., but that's a whole 'nother story.

In any case, living in Iowa, it wasn't long before I became a Blackhwaks fan. A friend and I would pick one game each season to go to the old Chicago Stadium. He would choose games featuring the Flyers, Rangers, or Toronto. and I would select games with the Bruins, North Stars, or Blues. Neither one of us gave a damn about the Red Wings.

According to a release from Blackhawks Chairman Rocky Wirtz, "Tony's number 35 has long been retired, but his career with the Blackhawks actually encompassed two marvelous chapters. After all those years of making spectacular saves and hearing chants of 'TO-NEE!! TO-NEE!!' throughout the Stadium, he joined the Blackhawks as an ambassador. He was born for that role, too, as he reached out - whether by request or on his own - to fans, sponsors, and friends of our team. He rejected thousands of pucks in his first job, he never said no in his second job."

To this day, Esposito remains the all-time Blackhawks leader in shutouts (74) and career wins (418). His career record of 423-306-151 ranks 10th in League history, and include his seven consecutive seasons of 30-plus wins (1969-76). Like Gwynn, Espo's number 35 jersey was retired, in a Nov. 20, 1988 ceremony at the Stadium. 

Stats like that only demonstrate one facet of Tony Esposito - that of his competitive side, By the same token, how can you not like a player like Esposto, who was incredibly loyal and giving, an a genuine ambassador of the game.

Needless to say, I have built up quite a collection of Tony Esposito cards over the years.

2008 Americana Celebrity Cuts Century Silver (S/N 11/50) (#89), 1970-71 O-Pee-Chee (#153),  2003-04 Parkhurst Original Six Cleveland National (S/N 8/10) (#97), 2013 Sportskings National Convention VIP (#VIP09), 2009-10 Upper Deck Champ's Red (#22), 2004-05 UD Legends Classics Silver (S/N 63/75) (#91).

Blackhawks beat writer Bob Verdi, quotes Tony's brother Phil in a recent story on Blackhawks.com, "Just so much fun to be around. Easy for me to say, because he was my brother," Phil said. "But ask anybody. Ask his teammates, ask his neighbors. Laughs, a few beers, and more laughs. 

"We'll laugh again about Tony, but not with him ever again. And we're not laughing now. Someday. But not now. Not today or tomorrow. So fast. So soon. Gone."

Like Tony Gwynn, Tony Esposito will be sorely missed in the Comatoad household. 

RIP TO-NEE!!

Stay safe and healthy out there.

Going through my myriad number of cards the other day raised an interesting question and one that I hadn't really thought much about - What's the oldest card in your card collection?

A great California-based blogger, Fuji, of The Chronicles of Fuji recently wrote about how he was considering purchasing a new toy, a 2021 Toyota Supra, his "holy grail" car. He said it's been 13 years since he purchased his last car and there are days when he's pumped and ready to buy it, while other mornings, he wakes up and thinks to himself, "This is a toy I just don't need."

I have to admit, I know exactly what those dark thoughts are swirling through his head, as our season of indecision occurred last February. It all began innocently enough when my wife and I began watching the half-hour show, Going' RV, on the Travel Channel.

According to their website, "Hard-working couples and families decide to ditch ordinary life for an adventure out on the open road. Take the ultimate ride as they go on a shopping trip to find their perfect RV. Whether it's upgrading an existing motor home, or going all out for a new one with all the bells and whistles, find out what happens when daring homeowners trade walls for wheels."

They take a tour through three different campers, whether a mobile home or pull-along, and then make a decision as to which one. They are then shown enjoying their first camping trip in their new rig. 

So, last February, we went to a local RV lot to price a Motor Home - we had no intention of purchasing one at that time. Both of our cars would be paid off in June, and that's when we thought we'd maybe purchase a camper.

After looking at a few RVs, we then saw this 28-foot, 2012 Thor Four Winds Siesta. It had been on the lot only a couple of weeks after the owner traded it in for a bigger outfit. Needless to say, it was love at first sight and after a few conflicted hours, we were the proud owners of a used RV, with only 19,200 miles on the odometer.

We're basically traveling within the state while we get used to it (my wife isn't ready to get behind the wheel yet). However, we do hope to hit Wisconsin's Door County before school starts in mid-August (I am a Packer fan after all), but we'll have to wait and see.

But perhaps the RV seed was planted even earlier, when I had the opportunity to actually have a beer with Cubs pitcher Rod Beck here in Des Moines.

Beck, who was on a rehab assignment in 2003 with the Iowa Cubs after surgery on his right arm, was living in a 36-foot Winnebago right behind the centerfield scoreboard at Sec Taylor Stadium. A buddy and I had heard Beck was living in an RV behind the stadium, so he bet me to get his autograph. 

Beck was very personable and even gave us a Coors Light as we talked baseball, his career, and how we was working his way back to the big leagues, while "waiting for the right fit." It was a great night and Beck was a great host and an absolute hoot.

So we now have the opportunity to visit distant sporting events, card shows, and perhaps even meet some of those fellow bloggers whom I've only seen on line, in person.

After all, this is now how we roll.

Stay safe and healthy out there.

 Whatever happened to the sports card industry?

Over the past few months, it's been getting harder and harder to find sports cards at your big, chain department stores. We still have a card shop here in town, but with my schedule, I usually can't get there before their 6 p.m. closing time. As my weekends are usually ear-marked with honey-dos, I usually  don't have much opportunity to shop then, either.

As for the local Walmart stores, all I find are empty shelves and a few collectible card games or comics. As for your local Target store, you can simply forget about finding any sports cards.

As for my Japanese baseball card collection, these 1993 Kanebo Gold Cards, produced by BBM, are much like the old, raised-surface 3-D, Action-Packed cards. These particular cards feature Tomonori Maeda (#005), Yonetoshi Kawamata (#036), Kaname Yashiki (#006), and Kozo Shoda (#008).

Rounding out my Japanese baseball cards are a 2000 Konami Field of Nine Yuuki (#64), 2013 BBM Mitsuo Yoshikawa (#169), 2016 BBM Rookie Edition Toyoki Tanaka (#47), 1999 BBM Hiroshi Shibakus (#187) and a 1991 BBM Yasunori Ohshima (#132).