When I was only 8 years old, I got my first pack of Donruss baseball
cards as an Easter present. This began what was to be a long obsession
with baseball cards.

Being only a kid, I didn't know much at all about collecting cards, or
even how to take care of them. I kept my first bundle of cards secured
with a rubber band and would tote them around in my pocket, or keep
them in a little box on my dresser. The idea of cards having a "value"
was beyond my comprehension. They were mine and I loved them all.

As my collection grew, I started keeping the cards in plastic sleeves
and binders. This was mainly done out of necessity rather than any
idea of protecing the cards. It was easier to look at the cards this
way, for one, and besides - I was running out of rubber bands.

When I was maybe 10 or so, I would ride my bike downtown and look at
the cards at the local card shop. This was probably when it dawned on
me that my cards might actually be "worth something". Using my
allowance, I would spend money on a card here or there, usually trying
to get an "old card" if I could. One summer I bought an entire box of
1990 Donruss wax packs, and opened them all in a flurry, hoping to find
some gems. Sadly, I didn't.

Then came the Beckett magazines, and the endless looking up and
dreaming of the value of my collection. Some of my cards were worth
something, but mostly all of them were commons. On top of that, few of
them were really in "mint" condition, or anything approaching mint.

And so, realizing my collection was worth very little, my interest
waned. I lost touch with the fun of collecting.

Now, with the Internet, everyone seems to be concerned with their cards
having a value. People even go to the trouble of getting their cards
"graded" to get the most money for them that they can. After getting
into the hobby somewhat last year (I'm 25 now), the whole hobby looks
to be just a big business. Greedy people trying to get the most money
they can for their collection, and being upset when their collection
isn't worth the money they had hoped it would. I'm as gulity of this
as anyone.

So I'm trying to find out what it was about the cards that made me
enjoy them in the first place. I'm trying to reunite myself with the
joy of collecting a card, whether it's worthy anything or not. I just
don't know if that's possible in a hobby where the allmighty dollar has
become so important.