No, I didn’t find one of these in the attic.   Note the word “reprint” under Honus Wagner’s name.  But if I had found an original, appraised at PSA MINT 9 (almost perfect), it would be worth well into eight figures.   I did however spend the past few years collecting some of this set of 100 year old baseball cards, originally distributed in cigarette packs from 1909 until 1911.     The closest I got to the famous Honus Wagner card (The Card) were PSA rated 5 versions of Ty Cobb and Cy Young.   My interest was in the history of each of these old timers, and in the beautiful artwork involved in the production of these cards.  Amazingly, the bright colors used have not faded with time, and the cards remain absolutely gorgeous.

I just finished selling my collection of over 70 cards, and unlike many collectibles of the past generation, I actually made a little money on the hobby.  But as they sat in my office, viewed less and less each year, I realized that one of the neat things about aging is the opportunity and desire to try new things, and to engage in new activities.  Thus, the 100 year old baseball card adventure comes to a close, hopefully to be replaced by something new and exciting that I have not yet discovered.      WHAT THE HECK !

The Supreme Court this week began debate whether same sex couples have a constitutional right to marry as they open arguments in  Obergefell v. Hodges.  An unexpected twist, however, occurred early in the discussion over whether the 14th Amendment requires states to issue same sex marriage licenses, a twist that in my mind far overshadows the question of gay marriage. When asked by the Justices whether religious universities that offer married housing  would be required to provide such housing to gay married couples, or risk losing their tax exempt status, U.S. Solicitor General Donald Verrilli ducked the line of questioning several times before admitting that “I don’t deny that it is going to be an issue”.

As I’ve mentioned several times in this blog, I do not care what people do behind closed doors.  It’s none of my business. I’m not the judge.  But please , please , let’s not blatantly mess with biblical law mandating marriage between men and women.   Our society is so afraid to step on anyone’s toes that we let minority opinion holders, and their aggressive lawyers, to dictate serious  changes in our culture.   In this case, it boils down to the rights of gays who want to marry trumping the free speech rights of religious institutions to express and behave in a way consistent with their religious beliefs.  What happens next ?  Assuming the Supreme Court gives the middle finger to the Bible, and makes the oxymoronic gay marriage the law of the land, what happens when a gay couple comes to my church, or thousands of other churches adhering to biblical principles of marriage, wanting to be wed ?   Hmmmm !  Do the churches lose their tax exempt status as they exercise free speech ?                           WHAT THE HECK !

On the checklist of events that signal the erosion of societal freedom,  restricting the ability to move money beyond borders, and controlling speech,  are at the top of the list.   And Americans are just letting it happen.   WHAT THE HECK AGAIN !