I am sure you who read this column have no doubt noticed recently I’ve been a day late and a dollar short, to torture a metaphor. A couple weeks ago I mentioned Maddie and Tae, a singing duo advertised at the Fairgrounds, and as I didn’t know the names and assumed others wouldn’t either I wrote that I would check them out and let you know. In that same issue there appeared a colorful full-page ad telling you all about Maddie and Tae.
I mentioned the newest mural in town, citing how it was done by Brenda, who is from a Greenfield family I grew up around, and once again photos and words about that mural appeared in that same issue, on the front page no less. Most recently it was a brief synopsis of last weekend’s ballet only to read a far better one by Director Jan, this time with photos on the front page and the back page.
Therefore, this week I’m changing my game plan (another tortured metaphor) and will write about something I am going to do; sometime.
I am going to venture over to the seaside city of Pacific Grove, where I will head to a business on Cypress Avenue just off Lighthouse Avenue. Let me tell you why. The back story is this: when my lifelong friend Earl died last year his “stuff” was in the control of his cousin from Georgia who enlisted my help cleaning and sorting, after which he let me have a couple items that included a rubber band wrapped deck of baseball cards. Now I have not collected baseball cards since somewhere around 1963, but because Earl was such a rabid fan (Go, Giants!) of all things baseball I thought these would be cool to have. That stack of cards sat on a shelf gathering dust for seven or eight months before I finally came to the realization that as a fan Earl would have wanted those cards in the possession of true baseball fans, so I looked for a way to make that happen.
A quick online search listed a sports cards business over in Pacific Grove. I sent the cards to the owner, Anthony by name, and a few weeks later was informed the cards, around 35 or so in number, were worth a few bucks at best. (Had there been any monetary value it would have gone to Earl’s Greenfield “family,” let Jim and Joanne to use it to spoil their grandchild.) I trusted Anthony’s appraisal and then he said it was his way to slip an extra free card or two into card packets sold to youngsters. A very nice gesture. I told him the cards were all his and that was, I supposed, the end of it until a few weeks later I saw an article about Anthony and his card sales business in a local publication.
My landlord, Robert, is a route distributor for the Monterey County Weekly, so I get one hand delivered and usually give it a look; in the April 11-17 issue there was a photo of Anthony in his little shop in a feature story with a byline of Dave Faries. Mr. Faries wrote an excellent piece and I hope he won’t mind me using his quotes because the story of this little sports card shop is both sad and uplifting, with uplifting winning out.
Their unborn child had a serious heart condition and after traveling thousands of miles to specialists, in March of last year Anthony and his wife lost their son at only two days old during a second corrective procedure. And that is sad. It is surely hard for any parent to lose a child, even the very elderly, but for any parent of young age it can be devastating. It is an unfortunate fact that more than a few of us here in the Valley know parents who have buried a child, in some cases more than one, and as survivors they know what Anthony and his family experienced. Before the birth of the infant boy, with hope in his heart, Anthony desired to open a card sales shop, something he could share with his son.
In August of 2023, with stock purchased from the estate of the previous owner of the shop and with his wife and daughter and father helping with some renovation, Anthony opened the doors of Sharp Corners Cards and Collectibles, a tribute to his infant son. In the article Anthony’s words are quoted, “This shop saved myself and saved my family.” I cannot think of anything more uplifting than that.
On March 24 and 26, the birth and death days of the infant boy, also named Anthony, young fans are given a free pack of cards, each packet’s contents unknown until opened. Because his parents also lost a son soon after birth, I like knowing Earl’s cards ended up in the hands of some young baseball fan; he would have liked that. I’m not sure how many of our local young sports fans collect cards and other collectibles, but for those who do, or for parents who wish their kid to become a collector, then Anthony is the person to see. You’ll find him in his little shop at 205 Cypress Ave. in Pacific Grove, a place honoring the memory of a little boy.
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I want to take a few words to mention just how coverage appears in our two Valley papers. For the most part, the words are written by Ryan Cronk. You know the name, as he is the managing editor and the only full-time reporter on staff. Ryan is good, but he cannot be everywhere news happens. Thusly, the King City Rustler and the Salinas Valley Tribune depend upon parents, organizers, teachers and others to supply photos and information to bring you an issue each and every week. So, lend a hand.
Take care. Peace.
