What Is A Memory?

If you stop and think about it, our entire life is a memory; except the one second you are living in, right now. That sentence you just read? A memory. Some memories are good and some are bad. Some we learn from and some just vanish without a fleeting thought. But memories make up our almost our entire lives.

This blog is about memories. It’s about things that I did or things that happened to me that made some sort of impact in my life. I do this for me. I appreciate the readership beyond words. But this is for me, each and every post. When I’m feeling nostalgic, I just start writing – for documentation sake, but hopefully, as entertainment for you as well.

Memories fade as the years go by. Well, the memory itself remains; but the details (the when, where, and who) become a little hazy. We also tend to bend memories to our benefit over time. Not in a bad way, but in a way that helps the narrative of our lives flow smoothly over time. Small bits and pieces morph but remain rooted in the basis of the memory as a whole.

Memories are sometimes our only link to people and places from our past. This photo is from the public library I went to when I was a kid. I have driven by it but haven’t been inside in over 20 years. I’m certain that it looks different inside but my memory holds on to what it looked like when I was a kid. I can even smell what it was like back then. It’s a good smell.

I will never walk into this library again and check out a Lewis Grizzard book. Partly because I own most of them; but also, because books are so readily available through so many other mediums. I will never walk in and check out a VHS tape again. I will never go through the newspaper rack again. Unless something crazy happens, I will never have to use the microfiche either. But I can walk through that library any time I want, in my memories. And they will be good memories.

Here is the church I grew up in. The church was downtown, right on Main Street. It was a big church for a small town. It is where I would sit next to my GaGa during Sunday morning services. It is where I was baptized. It is where I played football in the big yard just to the right in the photo. I experienced RA’s, Youth Group, and Choir here. I haven’t been back inside this church since around 1999, when I moved. But my memories are strong when I ride by.

This is my middle school auditorium. It’s been upgraded in a major way and the school grounds are now home to the board of education. But I saw Okefenokee Joe here and saw him hold live snakes and alligators. And I saw Deputy Dawg here as he scared the bejeezus out of all of us with his speech on drugs and crime. I watched and participated in many events in this little theater. The picture looks nothing like the picture I carry in my mind. I will remember it how it was when I was 14, not 44. That’s what I mean by bending the memories sometimes. The room in 2021 is foreign to me. But I have my name written on the past of that room.

This high school has changed a lot since 1995. For one, it used to be Mitchell-Baker High, but now is just Mitchell County High, because Baker has their own school. But it was, and remains, “The Eagle’s Nest”. There are a TON of memories here – both good and bad. I grew a lot from 1991 to 1995. I grew even more after, but that 4 year stretch saw love, heartbreak, new friends, new enemies, playing it safe, pushing the envelope, and just about any other push and pull you can think of. I may never step foot inside that school again. But I think the halls would remember me if I did. I like to think they would. I know I would remember them.

This is just a front yard to many. But this is my front yard. This was the yard where everybody gathered to play kickball, football, and baseball. Whether it was Jason next door, Brewer across the street, or Jim and Rusty down the road; this patch of grass holds more memories than all of the other places combined. We battled on that grass. We ran in the “rare snow” on that grass. My brother jumped in his little pool in that yard. We hooked up speakers and tinted windows in that yard. I worked on Saturday’s with my dad in that yard. That yard is so special to me. When I look out at it, I see the ghosts of the past. That’s not an exaggeration. I can tell you where every bump and hole is in that yard like it is etched into my brain.

Without memories, we become empty shells, just trudging towards our end. Everything ends. It’s the cruel part of this mortal part of life. I’ll never see my Grandaddy again. But I remember going to Western Sizzlin and the Flea Market on Sundays. I’ll never see my GaGa again. But I remember sitting in her living room floor on a Saturday night, eating a bowl of chili. I’ll never play baseball in that front yard again with all my buddies. But I’ll remember a towering left handed home run that we lost to the neighbor’s dog for the rest of my life.

This is where the blog and sports cards come into play. I can tie just about any memory to cards because they were a part of my life during all of the moments I mentioned above. We traded cards at school, I looked at price guides at the library, and we mimicked our favorite players in that yard. I even looked for cards on those flea market trips with my Grandaddy. And as long as I can tie those cards to the memories, I’ll have this extra link to my past. The cards remind me of other events that may have become otherwise hazy. And vice versa.

The set that has the absolute most memory power for me is 1989 Donruss. I’ve written about it here before but it’s time we had a little refresher. The set has gained a little popularity as the card market has turned some attention towards the Junk Wax Era recently. 1989 was a pivotal year in collecting because of players like Ken Griffey Jr, Randy Johnson, John Smoltz, Gary Sheffield, and others. And Donruss was the colorful alternative to Topps while Fleer was a drab gray and Score was all over the place. There was Bowman too, but it has its own little place in history. All of the sets are meaningful to me; but Donruss has a little extra pull for me.

The packs are some of the most beautiful pieces of wax I’ve ever seen. I recognize this more than I would recognize some of my family members that I haven’t seen in a while.

Believe it or not, one of the most memorable cards in the set for me is this Ron Washington. It is one of the least flattering photos in the set but one that always stuck out to me. As fate would have it, as of 2021, he is one of the most beloved Atlanta Braves assistant coaches ever!

The Wizard can be found with a standard base card and a sweet MVP card. These MVP’s are my favorites of the Donruss catalog. I still remember wanting to be as good at shortstop as Ozzie when I was 12 years old. He might be #1 on my bucket list of people I’d like to shake hands with.

If I wanted to be as good as Ozzie defensively, I certainly wanted to be as good as Tony Gwynn with the bat. He was one of the sweetest swinging hitters I’ve ever seen. He made us guys that weren’t the most athletic looking feel like we could make it too. And I mean that in the best way possible.

Eric The Red is another one of my favorite players from the 80’s. He feels underrated but most people from my generation still love him. I used to play with the Reds on RBI Baseball 3 just so I could use Eric Davis.

This one is for all the investors out there. This was our King in 1989. Sure, there was Ken Griffey Jr; but Gregg Jefferies was that guy that we were going to stock up on and hold for retirement. The career didn’t match Jr, but I will always keep every Jefferies I pull.

Another rookie that was highly sought after was Gary Sheffield. He started his career as an infielder but would eventually blossom into a big power hitting outfielder. He even made a stop in Atlanta for a little while. Always enjoy pulling Sheff cards!

This rookie didn’t get near the publicity of Griffey or Sheffield. In fact, Jefferies commanded more as well. But The Big Unit went on to have a Hall of Fame career as one of the most feared left handed pitchers in history. He made a habit out of making the Braves look bad.

Here is the big boy from the set; the most sought after rookie player from the Junk Wax Era, aside from possibly Jose Canseco. Ken Griffey Jr. was a favorite of every baseball fan in the late 80’s and early 90’s. There was nothing to dislike about The Kid, except for that appearance as a bad guy in Little Big League. I owned way more of these than I did the ’89 Upper Deck. But even this card has taken off in recent months.

Even though Griffey was the hottest rookie in 1989, the card that graced the front page of my binder in 1989 was this Jose Canseco. He was an absolute beast during the Junk Wax Era and I couldn’t get enough of his cards. I have always preferred the Oakland A’s cards, with this one being one of my favorites. I didn’t really like the 40/40 card that was included in the set. It didn’t really look like Jose to me.

I will never open another box of 1989 Donruss “for the first time”. But I’ll never lose the memory of the first year that set flowed through my hands. The images, the border, and the packaging will remain crystal clear in my mind’s eye. It may ride a little wave of popularity in the hobby with eyes going back to that rookie class. But it’s always been popular to me. It has always had meaning for me. I feel like it knows me. It knows that my feelings for it are pure. I’m not here for the PSA 10 Griffey. I’m here for all of it. It’s a part of my life and why I write this blog. One day, my mind may not be able to retrieve all of those memories. But this blog will remain (hopefully) and the things that I write about will always be something I can reach out to when I need that punch of nostalgia.

J-Dub