The calm before....

We all have been through that weather pattern - the eerie quiet, the gentle wind, the slow darkening of the sky. Just before that downpour hits, the wind howls and all hell breaks loose, it's peaceful.

When I look to the west, I see this on the near horizon:

If you look close, there are dozens and dozens of envelopes and 8 of the UPSPS mini boxes. Also in there is a small 200 count box. That is Hurricane Wes about to strike my land locked city. Well, maybe Tornado Wes. Hey - why don't we name the big tornadoes?

Sorry, I am getting off track. That box (and another envelope) will be the focus for the next.....oh let's say 14.2 years or so. Until then, let's see the calm front ahead of the heavy rain.

Like Allen and Ginter. Nothing that will knock you off your feet, of have you holding onto a lamp post so you don't blow away. A&G is innocent. The very cool Roger from Sportscard Mask-A-Rade helped out my 2014 need with a large drop of cards. I know people have talked of past years and the horizontal cards in A&G, but this year's design helps make them work, in my opinion.

And not just base. This year has some nice insert sets. Anytime you feature a plane with the D-Day paint job on it, it's a good day.

This may be my favorite insert set, though. Love old stadiums. I hope the do a part two in 2015, because they forgot Comiskey. Appreciate the help, Roger.

Considering what I will be showing from the box, you wouldn't think these are calming cards. They all fit into needs, though. Everyone's favorite Dutch (except Nigel's) Jeroen sent a nice envelope filled with Sox.

Good ol' One Dog in the middle. And I think I am maybe one or two cards short for the '12 minis. Here's the higlight.

Before the EPL hit NBCSports, before La Liga, Serie A, Liga MX and a few others, I used to catch the Dutch Football league (Eredivisie) on cable. I saw Ajax, PSV, Vitesse and many others each week. It was a great time to watch soccer, even though I think I was underemployed at the time. BTW Jeroen - I didn't know you were a keeper for Volendam. :) Thanks for the cards, bud.

Alright. The clouds are really rolling in, and the temperature dropped a bunch in the past 20 minutes. Let me better head for cover before tomorrow starts, because a storm's a-coming.

Sunday SIL: revealing a dark secret

Before I start, I was hoping to get more on my little tease from a couple days ago. Nothing yet, but I am working at it and should talk more about my ideas and plan later in this week. All dependent on one person - I hope they don't screw it up! :)

So instead, let's talk about our past. We are who we are based on what we have experienced, what we have done (or failed to do) and how we have interacted with people, and the planet for that matter, along the way. We have the ones we love, that know all about us - the ups and downs, the bright and the dark. We have our friends, who know much, but may not know the whole story, if they even knew the tale. And we all have that hidden secret. For it to be revealed could be the end of us.

In that same token, the dark secret could be a "really, you hyped this post up for a paragraph and that is your big frigging secret? What site's next on the blog roll?" confession. And I guess, that's actually what this is. I can play it all I want, it's really just a great, proud part of my life that looked really awesome on my resùme for a few years.

That little piece of laminated paper is about the exact size of a baseball card. It is just what it reads - it's an official's pass into the old Chicago Stadium.  The date is accurate; it is 27 years old. And no, they did not misspell my name. See, for 7 1/2 years, I was a mascot for a professional sports team. I was Stanley Sting.

Stanley was a 6' 6" tall bumble bee that supported the 1981 and 1984 Soccer Bowl champion Chicago Sting. I was paid $35 bucks for a game or a public appearance. When I think about it, though, I was paid to act like an idiot. It was the greatest 7.5 years of my LIFE! The professional players I met and hung with. The celebrities that I had my picture with. The autographs I signed. Interviews in paper and magazine. Love from fans old and young. Season tickets, as well as comp tickets if I wanted a couple. It was the life of Riley. BTW - that isn't me in the suit above. No, this is 16 year old me with the suit (hey - that hairstyle was in.....shut up!!!)

Hey baby....let's pollinate!

There you have it - my big secret. What's yours?