Memories - Good & Not So Much

With a little extra time on my hands and about to lose the ability to use one of them for a while I have been clearing and cleaning the attic of old unnecessary papers. I have a feeling Uncle Sam will not be auditing my 1982 tax return anymore. My shredder is finally getting some heavy duty use.

But not everything up there is destined for the garbage. In fact there are quite a few memories to be relived.

For example I found, naturally many items from my kids' early days. I will not embarrass them by listing these here but you know what they are. We all have or had them.

I also found several magazines and newspapers from historic times both good and bad carefully stored and sealed in plastic bags. If plastic really does have the life expectancy the environmentalists tell us then those papers are here for the long haul.

Also hiding in a box in a corner was a plastic bag of sports memorabilia. Along with many old Mets ticket stubs I found one for the third and clinching game against the Atlanta Braves on October 6th 1969. The win sent them into the World Series and baseball history.

But that was not the most interesting piece of paper or cardboard that emerged into daylight from the musty surroundings of my attic.

Goosebumps on my arms and perhaps a few thoughts about E-Bay or dare I say Sotheby's came to mind as I pulled from the plastic bag the 50 page; 50 cent "Official Program" from game 5 of the 1956 World Series between Dem Bums from Brooklyn, the Dodgers and the hated Bombers of the Bronx, the Yankees complete with the 'penciled in' score card and the ticket stub.

In case you are not a baseball fan or a historian the filled in scorecard for the Dodger side of the game shows twenty seven men coming to bat and twenty seven men being retired in order by pitcher Don Larsen. The last man to come to the plate was outfielder Dale Mitchell pinch hitting (that's a joke) for pitcher Sal Maglie. This feat is known as a perfect game and to date it is the only one ever pitched in a World Series.

(If you would like a better view of any of these photos click on them and enjoy.)

As I said earlier some memories are not that great. You see I was a Dodger fan but luckily I decided not to burn the items and spread their ashes over the Bronx. I believe these things could someday be worth more than my kids' art work! We'll see.