Jaybird's Jottings

Book Review: The First Inauguration: George Washington and the Invention of the Republic

“Duty was for Washington never a choice.  It was the ingredient of his being.” —  “The First Inauguration:  George Washington and the Invention of the Republic.”

“About ten o’clock I bade adieu to Mount Vernon, to private life, and to domestic felicity; and with a mind oppressed with more anxious and painful sensations than I have words to express.”  - George Washington, Diary, April 16, 1789

 

I’m a brick building in Old Town Alexandria, located at a corner with Cameron Street, just a few steps from City Hall, a former tavern that gained in popularity in the late eighteenth century, a place George Washington stepped inside more than once.

Gadsby’s Tavern, right?

Most definitely.

But did you know that the former Wise’s Tavern at the corner of N. Fairfax and Cameron also fits the bill?

This thought popped into my mind the other day after I started reading “The First Inauguration:  George Washington and the Invention of the Republic.”  The author of the 2020 book is Stephen Howard Browne.  He is a Professor Emeritus at Penn State University and a scholar in the field of rhetorical studies and public memory.  Browne devotes six pages to Washington’s stop at Wise’s Tavern, the first of several on his way to New York as the newly elected President.

Alexandrians have known the basics of the story of Washington and the teary-eyed moments there.

A marker affixed to the building tells the reader:

“Here, on April 16, 1789, George Washington was for the first time publicly addressed as President of the United States the first and greatest of many distinguished successors in that high and honorable office. This tablet was erected in commemoration of this occurrence on April 16, 1932 in the bicentennial year of his birth by the Washington Society of America.”

Smith and Miller ("A Seaport Saga") provide a summary.   A group of Alexandrians feted their beloved neighbor that afternoon.  After 13 toasts were given, Mayor Dennis Ramsay read an address written by Colonel "Light Horse Harry" Lee.   

Reverend William McWhir, who ran the Alexandria Academy on S. Washington Street, recalled “a breathless silence fell upon the overflow crowd.”   Washington stood and said, “My kind friends and good neighbors, I bid you an affectionate farewell.”

Browne adds a greater understanding of the event as well the larger context.  Let’s take a look using his book and a few other sources.

 

Mount Vernon to Alexandria

Washington, along with Charles Thomson (1729-1824) and David Humphreys (1752-1818), left Mount Vernon around 10 am on the 16th.   On their 200 plus miles journey, they made stops in Alexandria, Georgetown, Baltimore, Wilmington, Chester PA, Philadelphia, Elizabeth Town, and Trenton.    

Browne writes:

“The trip would be punctuated by a series of remarkable performances, orchestrated rituals of affirmation.  Along the way, but hardly by chance, Washington catalyzed a kind of chain reaction, where many Americans, so different, so raw, could be reconstituted as one people all turned in the right direction.”

Alexandria was just a short horse ride from Mount Vernon.  Having gone to the seaport and points beyond many times, Washington knew the path like the back of his hand.   Part of the modern day equivalent is Route One, N. King’s Highway, and Telegraph Road.    

Alexandria was a town Washington knew quite well.   He assisted John West in the first survey, drilled soldiers at Market Square, rode off to war, attended meetings, served as town trustee, conducted business, visited friends, owned a town house, took in plays, worshipped at churches, danced at balls, picked up mail, watched ships launch, contributed to building constructions, and, in the end, was mourned by many.

The familiar surroundings in Alexandria surely comforted him as he rode in to town, but Washington felt the weight of uncertainty of what lay ahead as the newly elected President.   Before he left Mount Vernon, he wrote in his diary:

“About ten o’clock I bade adieu to Mount Vernon, to private life, and to domestic felicity; and with a mind oppressed with more anxious and painful sensations than I have words to express.” 

Washington was accompanied by two men.  Hailing from Connecticut, the multi-talented Humphreys had earned Washington’s respect.   As Mount Vernon points out, “An eyewitness to many of the eighteenth century’s major events, his life had taken him from New England to the courts of Europe.”  A graduate of Yale and AmRev War vet, Humphreys had spent 18 months at Mount Vernon and wrote a biography of Washington, the only one approved by Washington and published in his life time. 

Charles Thomson (1729-1824) had the distinct honor of notifying the President.  Thomson certainly knew the way to New York, as he had traveled from there to Mount Vernon to give Washington the official news.   

Thomson also had a distinguished career.   Called “the Samuel Adams of Philadelphia,” he served as Secretary of the Continental Congress and prepared its Journals.   Thomson also designed the Great Seal of the US.

 

Wise's Tavern History

Currently home to a handful of small businesses, the tall painted-white brick building stands in the middle of a part of Old Town that has some of the oldest homes in the city.   This includes the historic John Carlyle’s grand manor (1753) and John Dalton’s home on N. Fairfax.   As founders, trustees, merchants, and more, both Carlyle and Dalton loom large in the early history of the city.   

The full details of the construction of the building are not known.  “A Seaport Saga” points out the building dates to c. 1777 and is one of the city’s oldest structures.   

An article in The Washington Post  (“Home for Aged Ready,” July 1916), reported on work that converted what had been apartments to the Anne Lee Memorial Home for the Aged.   It had about 30 rooms and operated until 1974.   

The building then became home to small offices.   Later on, one of them was Craig Keith Design.  I hold fond memories of spending time with this late, great gentleman, who helped me lay out my two self-published books.   Walking inside, I always enjoyed seeing two framed portraits of Washington.  I also let my mind wander and imagine what it was like on that day in 1789, a small step at the dawn of our democracy.

 

Tavern History in Alexandria

Although there are only these two survivors in the city, tavern history is rich in Alexandria.  In his article (“Major Andrew Ellicott and His Historic Border Lines”), William Buckner McGroarty points out in its early glory days, Alexandria was known for its large number of taverns. 

Smith and Miller devote a chapter to them and tell us there were about fifty by 1800.   They included the Lomax, Indian Queen, McKnights, Washington’s Tavern, Ship’s Tavern, the Red Lion, Rainbow Inn, and Union Tavern.   Their uses were many, including food, drink, lodging, stagecoach arrival and departure point, meeting place, civic gathering, social and political needs, musical entertainment, balls, coffeehouses, newspapers, and mail.

Washington went to Wise’s Tavern a handful of times.  Founders Online shows him likely dining there as early as June 19, 1784.    He also dined there on September 26, 1785 when it was ran by a Mr. Lyle.   Wise ran the tavern from January 1788 to December 1792.  He named it A Bunch of Grapes. 

Smith and Miller add that John Marshall (1755-1835), future Chief Justice of the Supreme Court (1801-1835) dined here at a dinner in his honor in September 1798.   

McGroarty tells us the Alexandria Lodge of Masons met at the tavern on occasion, with Washington and George Mason among the attendees.  Madison (“Walking with Washington”) adds to our knowledge, telling us Washington attended two balls there in 1792 and 1794, and dined there during a celebration of the ratification of the US Constitution in 1788.  He also stepped inside on July 4, 1799 as part of a review of troops.   

 

Major Andrew Ellicott at the Tavern

George Washington knew a little something about surveying, but in 1790 he handed the task of laying out the border of the diamond-shaped Federal district to Major Andrew Ellicott.  He directed Ellicott to include Alexandria in it.

McGroarty writes that in February, 1791, Ellicott (1754–1820), mathematician, surveyor and a close friend of Washington, took up residence at Wise’s Tavern.  Ellicott would later train Meriwether Lewis (1774-1809) in his preparation for the Lewis and Clark Expedition to the Pacific Northwest.

Ellicott, assisted by the African American and self-taught astronomer Benjamin Banneker, began the survey at Jones Point, the southern tip of the seaport.    Ellicott wrote his wife saying, “I have been treated with the greatest politeness by the inhabitants, who are truly rejoiced at the prospect of being included in the Federal District.”

On April 15, 1791, the tavern hosted Ellicott, District Commissioners Daniel Carroll and Dr. David Stuart, and others who toasted the first cornerstone for the new Federal district.   The party included the Mayor, Rev. James Muir, and members of the Lodge No. 22.   Along with the Town Sergeant, they and some citizens then walked to Jones Point and ceremoniously laid the first of what would 40 boundary stones.  Afterwards they returned to the tavern for more toasting. 

Note:  In his article, “Benjamin Banneker at the Survey of the District of Columbia, 1791,” Silvio A. Bedini writes that Banneker’s presence at the ceremony was not noted in press accounts, but “there can be little doubt that he was in attendance as a spectator.”

 

Anniversaries

There were a number of anniversaries of the first inauguration.   Browne covers the national ones in the chapter titled, “The First Inauguration in American Memory.” 

 

1839

The first (50th Anniversary) came in New York in 1839, the “first such celebration of Washington’s inauguration.”  John Quincy Adams spoke before a large gathering.

 

1889

The second, the Centennial in 1889, was the grandest of them all. 

The New York Sun splashed the headline - "The Centenary Spectacles Move Grandly On, Eleven Miles of Soldiery, Never A Muster Like This Before, Each Governor Leading the Troops of His State." 

The article said:

Broadway and Fifth Avenue were jammed by sightseers yesterday as no New York streets ever were crowd before. 

For that edition, pages 1, 2, 3 and most of 4 were entirely devoted to the story.

In a span of three glorious days, more than a million people filled southern Manhattan, including President Harrison, former Presidents Cleveland and Hayes.  Tens of thousands marched in float-filled parades down Broadway, “the greatest military display since the return of the troops to Washington, the greatest ever made in time of peace in America.”   

Visitors at the site of Federal Hall on Wall Street admired a thirteen and a half feet statue of Washington.  It was unveiled in 1883, but Browne tells us it was designed specifically for the 100th anniversary of the inauguration.

Browne’s scholarly analysis of these events is a great strength of his book.  “Every age is at once lapsing and emerging,” he writes.   

He also points out the ritual activities and pride in the past helped “ease the strain of political strive and accent common values, if just for that one long weekend.”   

 

1939

The 150th anniversary came in 1939. This was the dawn of some tough times for the country.  Browne writes: 

“At this moment as in no other, its people needed a ritualized affirmation of their collective ethos, of who they were and might become.  To these ends, the celebration of Washington’s inaugural address could serve no better, no higher purpose.”

Part of the events was a re-enactment of Washington’s journey to New York.  On April 14, FDR went to Mount Vernon to see them off and give remarks.   This led to speculation.  An article in The Washington Post was titled:  "Roosevelt Hint at Third Term Seen in Mt. Vernon Speech." 

In part of his address, the President said:

"the dangers that beset the young Nation were as real as though the very independence Washington had won for it had been threatened once more by foreign foes.”

There was also a re-creation.  On April 16, four white horses and a restored Van Rensselaer coach pulled away from Mount Vernon for the 233-mile journey.  The DAR sponsored the event.   After a short visit to the former Wise’s Tavern, the group went to Gadsby’s.  As done in 1789, 13 toasts were given.  Mayor Richard Ruffner read Ramsay’s speech.

The next day, the recreation arrived at the District Building in Washington in an “authentic eighteenth century carriage.”  A party that included Commissioner Hazen, American Legion Guard of Honor, and Ladies of the Grand Army of the Republic greeted them.  Denys Wortman portrayed Washington.     

The Washington Post pointed out some were disappointed that the recreation included visiting Washington, as George Washington had gone from Alexandria to Georgetown.   

Like in 1889, New York hosted events across three days with large turnouts.  On April 30, FDR ceremoniously lifted the lid on the World’s Fair.   

 

1989

Browne also covers the 200th in 1989.  President George Herbert Walker Bush was inaugurated on January 20, 1989.   He is quoted as saying, “I’ve just repeated word for word the oath taken by George Washington 200 years ago,” and that he used the same bible.   Browne points Washington would have been pleasantly surprised to learn that, after all, the republic for which he stood remained pretty much intact.

 

Other Events

An article in The Washington Post article reported the Washington Society of Alexandria unveiled the marker at the former Wise's Tavern building on Saturday, April 16, 1932.   A short pageant depicting the welcoming of Washington was part of the ceremonies.   Miss Katherine Meredith Reese, a great-great-great-granddaughter of Colonel Dennis Ramsay had the honor of unveiling.

Attending were E.W. Schreiner, John B. Gordon, representing the Mayor, D. Mauchlin Nivin, portraying Washington, Miss Nancy James Washington, collateral descendant of Washington, and Ashton Powell, descendant of Col Charles Simm, pall bearer at Washington’s funeral.

Also participating were members of the Mount Vernon Chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution, and the Colonial Dames of Alexandria.   William B. McGroarty delivered an address.   Gordon delivered the address made by Ramsay.  Nivin spoke the same words as Washington.

William L. Norford represented Charles Thomson.  Robert G. Whitton represented Humphries.  Ashton Powell represented the bugler who announced Washington’s arrival.

In his article, Charles M. Shepperson noted that the events of April 16, 1789 were one of the most momentous occasions in the history of Alexandria, but that little had been written about it.  He gave a brief history of the tavern, pointing out that John Dalton had built it. 

Dalton built and lived next door, a house still standing.  His will of March 9, 1777 revealed the building still under construction.  His two heirs were Jenny, who became Mrs. Thomas Herbert, and Catherine, who became the grandmother of Miss Ann Pamela Cunningham.   Wise succeeded George H. Leigh, first tavern keeper. 

 

Conclusion

Browne’s book includes 13 illustrations, a real plus.   

In the end he asks, "Had Americans grown tired of it all?"

For Alexandria, we bet its citizens will always have fond feelings of that first stop of Washington’s journey as President of the United States.   

And planners, take note. April 16, 2039 is a Saturday…

 

 

 

 

Geddy Lee's New Book: 72 Stories

“I’m now passing some of my treasures on to younger, more enthusiastic collectors, but until then I’ll remain extremely proud of the vast collection I built with the help of my buddy from the Midwest, and I don’t regret a penny or second I spent getting to the heart of what the great game of baseball means to me.”  — Geddy Lee, 72 Stories

 

Sad words across the baseball world, the season is over.

Fans, however, will continue to connect to the game they love through a number of ways, including books.   On deck and holding promise as something very special is a new book by Geddy Lee.

Having published "Geddy Lee's Big Beautiful Book of Bass" (2023), and his memoir, "Geddy Lee: My Effin Life" (2023), word is filtering out about his third book, titled "72 Stories.”   

Rush Backstage describes Lee's book as: 

At 160 pages, this cloth-bound coffee table book has Geddy Lee telling the stories of some of his favourite items from his extensive baseball memorabilia collection. This limited edition book comes enclosed in a cloth-bound slipcase.  Also included with this edition is an exclusive Geddy Lee baseball, custom-made for this project.

Lee’s baseball credentials are rock solid.   He was first turned on to the game in the 70s' when he began watching Cubs' afternoon games on TV when Rush was on tour.  In the first half of the 80s, Lee began to drop hints about his affection for the game.  Inside the band's tour programs he wrote about his equipment, referring to a favorite bass guitar as a “Most Valuable Player.” Frank Thomas of the White Sox seemed to be one of his favorite players.

In 1982, Rush released Signals, their ninth studio album.  The liner notes contain the positions the band and crew played during games of softball.  Geddy is credited with holding down the pitching duties.  Included in the Thank You section is a tip of the hat to Warren Cromartie, the Montreal Expos, and Intellivision Baseball.  Cromartie acknowledges his friendship with Lee in his book, “Slugging It Out in Japan.”

In addition to being a fan of the game, Lee also has an interest in baseball history.  There is a photo online and in his new book that shows him in one of his rooms, adorned with his baseball photos and memorabilia. 

Lee has attended and kept score at countless Blue Jays games, taken in games at other ballparks, sang the Canadian national anthem at the 1993 All-Star Game in Baltimore, thrown out first pitches, gotten to know players, played in fantasy leagues, and provided commentary on The Baseball Network and ESPN.    In 2008, in a great act of philanthropy, Lee donated over 400 baseballs signed by Negro League players to the Negro League Museum in Kansas City.

As part of their promotion for the book, Rush dot com has suggested Lee is "the sport of baseball’s de-facto Rock and Roll Ambassador." (Sounds good to me).

They have also published a sneak preview, including photos of three pages of text.   I have transcribed them and provide it below.   

Have to say I almost didn’t do it because despite playing around with font increase, the text is slightly blurry.   But it was just enough.

I also wondered what Geddy and the Rush Backstage folks might think about me putting the words on the web.   I feel they would be ok with it, it’s positive publicity, and for the record, I bought his book!

Anyway, enjoy.   And any errors, of course, are mine.

(Note:  A regular version of 72 Stories will be published in May, 2025).

 

John F. Kennedy

As a boy raised in Toronto, so close to the US border, I was deeply affected by American television.  In many ways we all watched the world unfold through America’s lenses.  I clearly remember John F. Kennedy‘s assassination and two days later on Sunday morning in our living room, seeing Jack Ruby shoot Lee Harvey Oswald - live on TV!  The events of that time are so burned into my memory that when I came across a Christie’s catalog with the ball you see here with April 10, 1961, written in pink and “Good luck!” in green I flipped out! 

To us Canadians, JFK was a hero, larger than life, the ultimate good guy cut down in his youth. It was a naïve perspective, but a child’s one in a more innocent time, when we weren’t really shown the flaws of our leaders the way we are today.  (Remember that movie about his torpedo boat, PT 109, showcasing him as a war hero?) So, when I saw that I could actually purchase a ball that he signed after throwing it out at the start of the 1961 Major League season, that was just amazing.

To me, there was nothing more American than a ball that represented the USA’s National Pastime, signed by an actual president.  Selfish as it may sound, it was a way of owning a piece of American history —  as if you can “own” history!  It set me down a road of obsession with first pitch baseballs by Presidents.

The original letter accompanying in that ball (which also has Lyndon Johnson’s autograph) says, “This ball was caught by me (White Sox outfielder) Jim Rivera, on opening day 1961 between the Washington senators and the Chicago White Sox.  I had met President John Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson, then Vice President.” 

Decades later I was leafing through another catalog and saw advertised a first pitch ball from opening day 1961, Washington vs. Chicago White Sox, signed by John F. Kennedy, and I was like, That’s impossible. I own that ball!

Then I did some research and discovered that being a true Democrat he threw out not just one ball, but in a sense of fairness an opening pitch to both teams.  (In point of fact, the tradition in those days was s a double toss, one for each team.)   

Kennedy threw that one out to the Senators.  On the receiving end was southpaw pitcher Harold Woodeshick, who trotted the ball back to the newly minted Commander-in-Chief for an autograph and “To Harold Best Wishes!”

Kennedy attended all of the Senators’ opening days between 1961 and 1963.  The third ball was not a first pitch, but from Opening Day 1962, thrown to the Senators’ then coach and manager Mickey Vernon. The ball was in the family’s possession until Vernon‘s daughter Gay put it up for sale and I bought it.  It’s one of scant few signed by President Kennedy with distinct provenance. 

Finally, we have another first pitch ball, this time from April 8th, 1963 (the Senators first game in DC), which Don Leppert caught in a free-for-all.  According to the umpire Al Salerno, after the opening ceremonies, President John F. Kennedy threw in the first ball, which Don Leppert caught.  I asked Don for the ball and he threw it to me while I was standing in the runway.  A short time later, when the President was leaving, he most graciously signed the ball for me.

 

George Sosnak

The Sports Collectors Digest describes George Sosnak as a man “with a passion for baseball but not the athletic ability to make it fly professionally.   He was a soldier, construction crew man, donut maker, recreation park supervisor, and even had a cartoon hour for children on TV, but was forced to give it up as his paintings began to take up more of his time.  Despite his lack of athletic skill, he became an umpire, starting in the military in Germany after World War II, and rose through the ranks before settling in with the Pioneer League and later the Three-I League, but his dreams of becoming a Major League umpire never came true.”

This self-taught “accidental artist” started out when he was umpiring a game in 1956, and a fan asked him if he could paint her favorite player on a ball.   Sosnak obliged (he apparently always obliged). Every one he’d paint was an homage to baseball players or politicians, bad boys, fans and Presidents in some way connected to baseball, among the forty-odd Sosnak baseballs I own (Cy Young, Bob Feller, Mickey Lolich, Billy Martin, Roberta Clemente, Babe Ruth…) one of my faves features a woman named Dickie Stanky in various golf poses — it was commissioned by her husband, journeyman middle infielder Eddie Stanky, in celebration of her numerous golfing achievements. 

Early on, Sosnak’s works were simplistic, with maybe just a team’s logo on it, but then he started completely filling up the panels.  Every single detail from the box score of a particular game would go on the ball, as well as paintings of the scene — of the player in question, maybe the fans, even the stadium.  In my view they’re superbly detailed, tremendous examples of American folk art, and for the same reason he’s slowly become revered by collectors as feverishly as me.

The story behind the Kennedy ball is that he sent it to the White House, explaining who he was and asking JFK if he would mind signing on the sweet spot so he could paint around the signature.  On October 1st, 1962, Kennedy’s personal secretary Evelyn Lincoln returned a letter saying, “Dear Mr. Sosnak, the President was very glad to autograph your baseball.  P.S. I’m also returning your dollar bill.” (Sosnak had included it to cover the postage.)  Incidentally, the “WINNIE” written in Sosnak’s hand was his soon-to-be wife.

The Gibson ball celebrates him winning the Cy Young Award in 1970.  Every centimeter is filled with his career statistics.  It’s staggering to hold in your hand.  I had the good fortune to meet Bob Gibson at a St. Louis Cardinals anniversary dinner, which was a thrill because he was one of the great pitchers of my youth.  He was a fierce competitor with a vicious, intimidating stare on the mound.  In 1968, he posted an ERA of 1.12, which is as minuscule as it gets (and in those days, pitchers threw way more innings than they do now).  He thirteen shutouts that year, the third longest scoreless streak in Major League history, finishing the season with twenty-eight complete games.  That’s just unheard of today.

One unfortunate thing is that Sosnak would occasionally trace over signatures, effectively harming their value — but he did so naively, underscoring the fact that for him the pursuit was never about money.  There are stories of his setting up booths at baseball card conventions, where he’d paint anybody any ball for a hundred bucks!  Despite all that, auction prices of Sosnaks continue to rise.  Most importantly, what you’re left with is the impression of a very sweet man who desperately wanted to connected to baseball — and managed it in a gloriously roundabout way.

 

Continuation of talking about J.W. Jones

… bringing back players into the Majors (No, they weren’t especially motivated by a sense of racial injustice, but rather to help turn their flagging post-war tickets sales around, tapping into an abundant source of impressive baseball talent, expanding their audience and, as it happened, integrating the sport, simply made good business sense).   It was a moving and immensely informative visit for me, but I was dismayed that J.W. and I were pretty much the only visitors there, and as we left that gem of a place, I feared for its future.

That concern lingered with me for months, so I suppose it was meant to be that later that same year, J.W. came across an auction lot containing a quantity of signed baseballs from a range of Negro League players.  Individually, the signatures were exceedingly rare, but almost impossible to find in such a large grouping.  J.W. suggested that acquiring the lot would be an opportunity to show support for the museum in the form of a donation, which immediately resonated with me.    

Looking more closely at the auction catalogue, we found that the collection had been divided into three lots of approximately two hundred signed baseballs each.  On the day of the sale, I was en route from Milan to Oslo near the end of the European leg of our tour, and what with the time change, couldn’t get in front of a computer or phones, so I asked J.W. to bid on all three lots.

As I described earlier, we were usually in constant contact during bids, especially when prices were rising stratospherically, but since I was unavailable this time and he didn’t feel comfortable spending my money too freely, he set himself some limits.  When I got off the plane, I learned that even without those limits, he’d succeeded in purchasing one of these lots — two hundred and thirteen single-signed baseballs.  Pretty darn good, but compared to what I’d have had to pay for that many Major Leaguers, it struck me as shockingly undervalued and I immediately regretted not given him free reign to buy all three lots.

When we received the baseballs and saw what good condition they were in, I asked him and the auction house to see if the other winners might sell their purchases to me.  We reached a deal with one, a fellow representing William “Judy” Johnson Memorial Foundation, for two hundred more baseballs, so the donation would now total over four hundred.

In the meantime, J.W. had contacted Raymond Dorwell, the curator of the Negro League Museum, who said he’d be delighted to accept such a gift.  On June 6th, 2008, I was invited to a small but heartfelt unveiling ceremony and was very surprised to see my name in the middle of the display, now billed as the Geddy Lee Collection.

I had not intended for the donation to draw any attention to myself, but I reckoned that if it ultimately drew baseball fans from the world of rock and roll and helped keep the museum’s door open, that would be very nice indeed.   In the end, I’m proud to have played a part — with full acknowledgement of J.W.’s role — in memorializing the history of the game I love.

I spent close to three decades collecting baseball ephemera with the help of J.W. Jones, so it was a terrible blow to me when he passed away, and it took the heart out of the hobby for me.  In fact, I have not bought a single baseball item since.  I’m now passing some of my treasures on to younger, more enthusiastic collectors, but until then I’ll remain extremely proud of the vast collection I built with the help of my buddy from the Midwest, and I don’t regret a penny or second I spent getting to the heart of what the great game of baseball means to me.

To come clean, I should tell you that the day after a truck carrying all those precious memories pulled away from my home, my wife Nancy ventured into my office and said, “Wait, I don’t get it… It doesn’t look like they took anything away!”

Busted!  I guess she never knew just how much I really had.