Burbank Pickups Of The Month Part 2: Sets!

Burbank has been a huge help with my set chasing, especially 90's.

But, it as also helped me with a newer set as well.

My chase for the 2011 Topps American Pie base set continues. I have gotten really far, but still missing some important pieces such as the Kurt Cobain card. I now have every card that Burbank has to offer for my set help for this one, I will have to look elsewhere for more help on completing this.

Added this Sanders to my Dream Team chase.

I thought from a distance about chasing this set, but, not as cool once I got it in person. They are also numbered.

3,2,1 Inserts....except these are the holofoil parallels of those. They are much sharper, not that the basic insert looks too bad either.

This Kerry Collins serves as a dual PC item.

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Thoughts on today's mail day is welcomed below!

September 11th 2001

September 11th 2001 was one of the darkest days in U.S. history that still lingers for some even today 20 years later.

I am sure we all remember where we were when the events of 9/11 took place.

I had the day off from work and had slept in a little bit until 9 am because I had stayed up late the night before playing video games knowing I could sleep in. I had just gotten up to do my morning routine which is shower then turning on the radio to jam while I make breakfast. Except when I turned on the radio that day, there was no jams playing so I changed the radio station multiple times and I kept getting this odd CNN feed. I sat there and listened to it for a few minutes pondering what was happening and whether it was just a storyteller day on the radio. I was young and foolish. When I realized that something was actually happening, I turned on the TV to confirm my fears. I saw devastation and sadness and simply could not believe my eyes.

I sat there and watched as more attack reports came in with more devastation and sadness. I watched until I couldn't watch any longer as my emotions got the best of me. It had hit me hard and I wanted answers and wanted revenge to those who did us wrong.

I am glad we got the answers and those who did us wrong got what they deserved.

 

In the 2011 Topps American Pie base set they included a base card on September 11th that I grabbed. Not as a memory of that day as it still plays in my mind, but as a memory to those who were lost and those who lost their loved ones and it stays a reminder that we never know what each day will bring, make the best of every day.

I would like to ask anyone currently reading this right now to take a minute out to say a small prayer for those lost that day. If you are not the praying type, just give them a moment of silence. And now I simply want to request you to hug a loved one and tell them you love them.

Thank you.

Irene

10 years ago today, we experienced a weather system like no other in my lifetime of 38 years here in my small state of VT.

A weather system that caused massive flooding and damage throughout the state.

That system, Hurricane Irene.

Of course by the time it reached us inland after landing for it's 9th time in the Brooklyn/Coney Island area, it no longer had it's Hurricane status (it was a 3 but came up the east coast and weakened in the colder water) but it packed more than a punch. I, at the time, brushed off the idea of having such a system here. Didn't think twice about the damage it could do until I was driving in it.

My wife had just gotten out of the hospital in NH and we were released the day the storm came. The hospital did say that we could stay a little longer if we chose to do so, but said they were no longer responsible for us if we did. So we figured if we had to take care of ourselves anyway, might as well do it in the comfort of home.

Let me tell you, I wished we had stayed.

On the ride home, we saw water across roadways, branches everywhere and winds you could feel make the car move. It was predicted we would get 3-7 inches of rain and up to 45 mph wind speeds which probably doesn't sound like much to those of you who live in Hurricane areas, but here, that's quite a bit.

The scariest part of the trip was trying to come up our driveway. We have to cross a wooden bridge at the end of our road to make our way home and the water had almost reached the top of it. Picture driving your car on a surf board down a lazy(but raging) river. That says a lot for a usual low riding brook that you can see the bottom of. So we said our prayers, cried and crossed that bridge safely. It's a good thing to, within an hour it had not only surpassed the bridge but had flooded the lands and road around it.

I wished I had saved some of photos to my phone to share in today's post of what that looked like. It was mind boggling.

When I saw there was a card in 2011 Topps American Pie that featured the storm, I had to snag it.

 

Despite those memories never going away.

That day, almost every stream and river in the state flooded. Houses floated away, 100 year old bridges fell to their demise. Cemeteries near water were torn apart with loved ones having to figure out who was who. The storm decimated roads and costs for the state were close to 200 million to fix the overall damage. It was a lot of damage in a such short amount of time.

I look at the storm as a lesson, don't ever underestimate the power of weather.

Summer Of Wes Card #67

June 26 1963

On June 26, 1963, President John F. Kennedy delivered his greatest speech at the Berlin Wall.

Today, on June 26 2020, I deliver one of my coolest relic cards in my collection.

In 2001, Topps released American Pie product that was a hybrid baseball/non-sports set designed to captured the essence of America at the height of the Baby Boomers Era of the '60's and '70's where a lot happened.

The product covers a lot of events, musicians and athletes of the time. 

There was some big names to chase across the board with relics and autographs as well including this unique relic of the Berlin Wall where John F. Kennedy spoke.

Great design and really cool relic

Here is a closer pic of the relic up close. Just some crumbs from the Berlin Wall. Makes you wonder how you acquire such relic to use for the cards.

The Kennedy is the cheapest of all the relics included and most can be found for well under $10. Which for me owning a piece of American history for that price I will take all day. The other relics are of musicians and those go for $50 and up. Boxes of this product still hold a heavy price of $150 and up.

How many of you have seen or own one of these? What was your favorite moment of the 60's and 70's?

Autograph Of The Week:Wilmer Valderrama

I have seen/heard Wilmer in a lot of TV over the years, but nothing compares to his role as Fez in That 70's Show. I watched it back in the 90's in my much younger years but didn't really appreciate it until I was an adult, especially now.

Every weekend on Laff, a television channel, they re-play all of the episodes so I get the chance at a good laugh which can be needed in today's trying times.

Also, Wilmer has been on one of my favorite shows the last few seasons in NCIS playing special agent Nick Torres. It took me a little while to like his character, but it has grown on me and now I am a fan.

For some reason or another while playing on eBay, a sponsored ad for an autograph card of his popped up. At first, I had no idea he had autograph and then I knew I had to have it.

After some back and forth with the seller, we finally came to a price agreement and I landed this one pretty affordable compared to others.

It's a 2001 Topps American Pie autograph relic.

Card back with info about Wilmer.

By the way, I typed this up at the end of March so if this doesn't publish before the NCIS season finale, I don't know what could have happened to his character since NCIS is really good about hiding their plans for the finales.

Another autograph on the way next week!

BASEically Awesome Part 2: 2002 Topps American Pie Spirit Of America Part 2 Vol. 3

Here is the final part of the three-part series of 2002 Topps American Pie Spirit Of America BASEically Awesome.

Today, we look at American Treasures. Names that all of us will never forget for many different reasons.

This part of the set covers cards 116-150. 

You will find American Treasures such as the one and only King Of Rock And Roll, Elvis.

You know what kinda eyes she has....

President Gerald Ford not hiding anything

And Bill Clinton taking a ride. Yes, this one could leave to many puns and I have a few myself. But, I will leave it to your imagination.

Overall, a fun product and should be easy to build with it only being 150 cards. I think I am close, but still missing a few. I would have to check.

Let me know your overall thoughts on this product and this part in comments below.

BASEically Awesome Part 2:2002 Topps American Pie Spirit Of America Vol. 2

You witnessed Volume 1 yesterday with the baseball player portion of 2002 Topps American Pie Spirit Of America, but to me that was only a third of the slice of pie.

Today, we take a look at cards 51-115. Well, not all of them. Some to give you an idea of what this set was made of.

Yes, baseball is known to most as America's Game, but there is so much more of America that this product covers. Cards 51-132 covers Courage, Innovations, Perseverance, and American Treasures that wraps up and shows us how great America truly is.

Cards that showcase Courage from wars battled like Vietnam and the Gulf War

And courageous people such as Rosa Parks and Buzz Aldrin.

 

Innovations such as crayons and

 

 innovators such as the great Thomas Edison make an appearance in here as well.

Perseverance like the Statue Of Liberty and Battle Of Midway make their appearance as well.

And American Treasures such Mt.Rushmore and of course Bazooka Joe, it is a Topps product, make an appearance as well.

Like I said, this set has a lot to offer and a lot of fun to view. Not to mention a lot of proud history.

Up next in the set is.......oh....I won't blow it. Come back for Volume 3 tomorrow!

Thoughts on Volume 2 are welcomed in comments below.

BASEically Awesome Part 2:2002 Topps American Pie Spirit Of America Vol 1

A couple of weeks ago, I post a Wrappers Of Collecting Past segment on 2002 Topps American Pie Spirit Of America and mentioned how I wanted to show some of the base cards off because they are BASEically Awesome. Well, I broke this down to a three-part series this week since the base set makeup is build that way to me.

Most of the time this series will focus on base sets that capture the action on the field with it's photogenic moments, this time, they just capture a bit more than that. They capture baseball history and history itself and I totally bought into it.

So let's take a look.

The first 50 cards of the base set are baseball players.Not just any players, legendary players on the field.

I found it cool to see Willie Mays in a Mets uni, not something you see too often anymore. I had to brush up on my baseball history a bit to see he played for the Mets after being traded from the Giants at the tail-end of his career for 72-73 seasons.

I am always excited to add a Jackie to the collection. Gotta love Reggie's shades. Really brings out the pic.

And some throwback uni's and a Brock not in a Cards uni is also a different site. Unlike Mays, Brock started out with the Cubs but was traded in 1964 after the Cubs got tired of waiting for his development. I bet now they wished they had given him a little more opportunity. I guess it was all apart of the Cubs curse.

 

Seeing the throwback uni's, some of the greatest players in a different uniform and the overall design of the product is some of the reason they are BASEically Awesome. You will have to stay tuned to see the rest over the next two days.

Thoughts on Volume 1 are welcomed in comments.

Wrappers Of Collecting Past:2002 Topps American Pie Spirit Of America

In my third post of Wrappers Of Collecting Past, I take a look at a product that offered a little bit of everything. Like a big ole piece of American Pie. Funny coincidence...

Today's pack is 2002 Topps American Pie Spirit Of America Baseball Edition. There were 7 cards in every pack from a variety of things. Baseball, politics, celebs, you name it, it was in here. You could also find some unique relic cards of those items including ones from the great Elvis.

 

As for my memories with the product, I actually never opened any. I did however pick up a nice box lot of them at a yard sale. All base, but they were fun and something I am going to showcase in a three-parter in my BASEically Awesome series.

Let me hear your thoughts on this product and any fond memories you may have of it in the comments below!

CAPTION THIS!!

This is a fun card...let's put a caption on it!

Here is my caption:
"Bill takes his horse Monica for one last ride"

There's my caption, let's hear yours! Keep it clean and no language please!