I made it down there today, and it was nice to be able to say hi to a few of the faces I remembered from my one Maple Leaf Sports trade night appearance a while back. Was also nice to meet (if briefly) a few more HIers...I can only imagine how many people I walked by or even talked to that were HIers without my even knowing it.
Going in, I tried to temper my expectations in my search for my Larry Murphy PC. I felt if I could find even 1 card off my list, I would consider that a success. I found none. Perhaps something existed in one of the many sorted boxes of stuff, but given the scarcity of the stuff on my list, I doubt it. Wasn't about to go through every box anyway to find out. I especially tried to make a note of dealers who carried ITG stuff and usually asked if they had anything Murphy that just wasn't displayed. Was funny seeing the bewildered looks on their faces when I did
Another former d-man named Larry, this one of the Robinson variety, walked by me on his way to and from the signing stage. I wanted to offer him a handshake, but when he was first coming in, his facial expression seemed more like he just wanted to get down to business instead of being warm and inviting, so I chickened out. When he was leaving, I thought that would be my chance to right my wrong, but he didn't waste time and was quickly escorted towards the exit, so again I opted not to intrude. Stupid Joe...be a man
All in all, it was a fun experience and nice to see the variety of stuff and all the goings-on It's always nice to see the fun part of the hobby like parents sharing it with their kids, etc. And watching HI's own Al 'Uhtred The Viking' diligently inquiring on behalf of others and their wantlists was living proof of the great people here in the HI community who do what they can to help each other. I had even tentatively asked Al myself to keep an eye out for me if I wasn't able to make it in, and despite his own big wishlist to sort through and his commitments to others, I know he would've tried to help me too, because that's how we roll here
Cheers to all for a good time, but jeers to those individuals wearing Vancouver Canucks jerseys. It was a good thing you fellows were wearing masks too so nobody could tell who you were. You may need to wear those masks permanently now to help you live with the shame of having appeared in public in Calgary with those horrible jerseys
-Joe Pawich,
The Larry Murphy Guy