Awesome All-Stars

Gosh, when I was a kid I loved these cards. Anytime I could scrape together a couple of bucks I would grab my bike and ride to the nearest Del's Lemonade for a slush and a pack of Awesome All-Stars. In fact, sometimes the spokes on my bike's back tire were fitted with a playing card and a clothesline pin to generate a motorcycle sound. At least it sounded like a cycle to me.

I'm not really sure why these cards were sold at Del's Lemonade, but that's where they seemed to be. None of the local pharmacies had them. They had my comic books.

The cards were loaded with terrifically freaky images of monsters playing baseball. My brother and I and my friends all traded baseball cards and then, eventually, we were trading Awesome All-Stars. Oh and remember the nifty stick of pink gum. If you ever get an old pack today, the gum is still there and you can still eat it [at your own risk of course]. Throw the gum to the ground and it shatters like glass.

Anyway, I loved these cards and you can still find them at the odd antique shop, collectible card shop or ebay.

I haven't been overly prolific in writing of late unfortunately, but some time at the very end of March I took the reins of a baseball team in town. It was a little unexpected. I was reluctant because it was the bigger fields and I didn't think I would coach any more. To my relief it has been a hell of a lot of fun. Our team is a mix of middle school and high school kids and they are a blast to coach. It's all good fun and refreshingly the boys are generally respectful and keep things loose by confidently performing well on defense, offense and pitching. Thus I've been spending a good deal of time at practices, games and e-mails. I will say managing a team is a balancing act. Thus, the reason for my lack of posting for awhile and this Awesome All-Stars turn of nostalgia. Keep your fingers crossed for the coach.