“Oh no, I can’t let you do that.” “No, seriously man, give it to someone else, I’ve got more than I deserve.” These were two of my go to responses any time someone in the sports card hobby would attempt to send me a card, or multiple cards as a random act of kindness (RAK.) I know so many of us have a very similar immediate response when one of our fellow hobby members reaches out to us to ask for shipping information, or to ask if we have a specific card they’ve found and want to pass it along to us. I know this to be true, because not only was it how I reacted, it was the immediate reaction I was getting from so many people whom I wanted to send something to.

Not long after I found the hobby community on Twitter, I realized that all those Colorado Rockies cards hidden away in a white storage box, never to be seen or enjoyed by me, could bring me great enjoyment after all. Because I had met people in the hobby who loved to collect their Rockies as much as I love to collect my Reds. All the junk wax Don Mattingly and Rickey Henderson cards I haven’t looked at in 30 years, I’ve got friends in the hobby who would love those as much as I love my Eric Davis and Rod Carew cards. So from time to time, if I’m in a box looking for a card to feature on #WhyICollect, or even if I’m opening a pack of 2021 Topps, I will run across a card or cards and immediately think “That card belongs to Chris.” Or, “Heck, yeah! I’m sending that sucker to Tom.” The thought of sending these cards, (which are of little monetary value and no sentimental value to me) to guys in the hobby, whom I know will absolutely appreciate them, brings me tremendous fulfillment and enjoyment. It truly does. I recently pulled a serial #’d parallel card from a pack I opened, and I immediately got excited, because I knew just the person who would treasure having that card. So I packaged it up, and am sending it off to him. And that makes me so much happier that putting it in a storage box, or trying to sell it on eBay for $4.

I say all this to establish the following. If someone is proactively reaching out to us and telling us they really want to send us something, it’s not only okay to just graciously thank them and receive their generosity without putting up a fight, it’s just the right thing to do. We shouldn’t feel like we are receiving charity. We shouldn’t feel bad that the person is sending something to us that could go to someone else. We didn’t go seeking this out, they thought of us. They have this card and they truly and honestly will get fulfillment and happiness by giving it to us. So, we should let them.

I know this will be very difficult to do, because it’s still hard for me. The reason I chose this topic to write about tonight is, just a few minutes ago, someone messaged me asking my address because they saw something I had tweeted about a Fergie Jenkins card I had ordered showing up damaged. Their first thought was, “I’ve got a Fergie I can send him.” As I read his message, I began to type “oh man, I can’t let you do that,” but I stopped myself. Instead of hitting send, I deleted those words and typed “Man! Really??? Thank you so much!”

That reply did not come naturally to me, but I am really working on the ability to allow myself to graciously receive the kindness of others without putting up a fight.

Happy Collecting

Ché