So about a month ago I got a call from a good friend of mine. She wondered if I still had my viola. Fortunately for her, and you know this if you read my last entry, I had un-traded my viola and had it back up for trade. Her son plays in a VERY prestigious strings group at his High School and knew someone who was looking for a nice viola that would take her to musical places she had never been before! We set up a time for this lovely young lady to come try it out and ¡VOILA! (pun intended) she fell in love with it. It made BEAUTIFUL melodies and WARM harmonies... It didn't matter that it was missing a string and hadn't been played in 6 months... it was MUSIC! She had to have it. She looked at her mom with her big blue, brown, green or hazel eyes and said, "What are we going to trade the big man?" Mom thought for a second and said, "I think I have the perfect thing." I let her take the viola home. She called me up the next day and told me that she had talked to her husband and despite his war against the idea, she had convinced him to trade me some of his sports memorabilia! I had no idea what it was or what it could be worth so I visited with him for a while and came up with an awesome combo.
When my dad was a wee lad, he was all but aware of the value of things... If he could get his hands on it, it was a toy :) Dad if you're reading this, I have no hard feelings toward the story I'm about to tell. My dear sweet granny, in her younger years, owned several rental properties in Alvin, TX and the surrounding area. She had one house in particular that has become a topic of conversation on numerous occasions throughout the years. I don't know how it happened... I don't know why he chose this particular house, but my guess is that he knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that the house he was about to rent from my sweet little ole granny would someday be the center of a great tale of tragedy... Who is this man, you ask? Let me ask you a question... If the Ryan Express was comin' down the tracks, would you get out of the way? Who had the most epic knock out on the mound in the history of MLB? Who can have delivered to your house a perfect steak in under 20 minutes? If you guessed Randy Johnson...! You'd be way off... If you guessed the absolutely wonderful, incredibly talented, house-hold name of Nolan Ryan...!!! DING DING DING!! You'd be spot on! Nolan Ryan rented a little house at the end of a cul-de-sac in Alvin, TX. It was the early 80's and he was playing for the Houston Astros. He had been in the game professionally for some 14 years and was about to hit the highlight of his career playing with the 'Stros! I'm a little shaky on the details, but Mr. Ryan and his wife moved out some time after their stent in Alvin, but it's what they left behind that is the real story. In a box in one of the rooms, there was about a dozen soft leather, perfectly unscathed, ready for the display case baseballs, several of with a genuine Nolan Ryan signature inscribed right in the sweet spot. These were discovered by my dad and his brothers when they were in their teenage years and knowing the little information about baseball that they did... get ready for it... they played with and destroyed every...single...one...of those baseballs. Let us take a moment of silence for those, the fallen pieces of baseball history ......................................................................... ..................................................................... ok. When our family realized what they had had their hands on, the ridicule began and has never stopped! So, Nolan Ryan's name then became a topic at the dinner table, family get-together's, and whenever else we could squeeze it into conversation.
So when the opportunity came to trade my viola for MLB memorabilia, I had no option other than to trade for a select pair of pieces. Here they are! First, I chose a 1970's Topps Baseball Card in one of his most famous and coveted poses. It has DNA Authenticated Signature on it and is in a hard plastic case for safe keeping. Secondly, I chose an autographed baseball from around 2005 that also has authentication documents.
The total value of these items was around $400! If you're thinking I got the raw end on that one think again. Sometimes you have to trade down so that you can trade up big! I am going to take a short break and when I post my next blog you'll understand why I made the swap. I had the perfect person in mind to get me to the next level, and sure enough... It happened. STAY TUNED TO FIND OUT WHAT I TRADED MY NOLAN RYAN BALL AND CARD FOR!!
