OPINION - Camaraderie

So I was just wrapping up watching a movie tonight - decided to skip the Grammy's - and decided to check out the hobby boards I attach myself to.  In there was a private message from a fellow hobbyist who just wanted to take the time to say how much he's enjoyed looking at some of the cards in my Trevor Linden collection.

I can't lie......it made me feel pretty good.

It also made me think about the long journey I've taken to build my Linden collection up from a handful of base cards back 20 years ago to where it is now.  The thought of that spurred on many memories of the great stories and episodes that I've encountered to obtain some of the cards.  But mostly I've thought about the great people I've dealt with and gotten to know over the years.

Camaraderie is a big part of my collecting world.

It's easy to find those who have a bone to pick or a chip on their shoulder or a sense of entitlement when it comes to cards.  I feel sorry for those who feel the need to spew negativity on a regular basis. It's not difficult to find them....but often hard to ignore.

So it's refreshing to hear some positive words....a simple compliment, maybe the start of a back and forth dialogue.

In this era of online buying, webcast box breaks and cutthroat competition for the rarest of the rares out there, it feels good to just sit back and chat or head over to the card shop and shoot the "preverbal poo" with others or shake hands with someone I haven't seen in a while at a show.

At the end of the day, we all collect - and shouldn't we feel free to celebrate that, scream at the top of our lungs about it (ok....maybe that's taking it a little too far), you get my drift.

But I also think part of that camaraderie is listening.  Hearing what the person across from you has to say about his/her collecting world and taking a genuine interest in them.  Sure, some of it might be nothing more than "filler" for discussion....being courteous, but I like to think that if I'm really interested in what the other person is up to.....I'll be the one asking more questions than he is.

At the end of the day, this hobby is about having fun and relieving some stresses in our lives.  I see a number of people who look like card collecting is just adding to their frustration.

Camaraderie can help that.