Merkle's Boner

In honor of 6-4-2's daily birthday posting please see above my only Fred Merkle baseball card. It is a strip card from circa 1919 and is called W514. It's not the most attractive card or the best conditioned card. Nevertheless, it's a very unusual card.

These cards came in horizontal strips of typically 10 or more players side by side. Fans would cut the cards along dotted lines to make individual cards. Most of the artwork is much like the one above. They are a bit drab and not very good. They seem to never resemble the player at all. Strip cards in general were produced from the 1910's to the 1920's. Over the years these type of cards received very little respect, but has seen a small resurgence in interest over the past several years. From a cost perspective, they are very affordable compared to tobacco or candy issued cards.

Check out 6-4-2's post for historical background of the long forgotten "Merkle Boner."

An Early Christmas Present for my Family

This past week I've been MIA from this website primarily due to a brand new addition to my family. Check him out above. On Friday afternoon my sister gave birth to their 2nd son, Mr. Tyler Alexander Star. Aint he a beaut!

It was a ruckus and crazy week.

On Thursday afternoon, last week, I offered to help out my sister and brother-in-law by baby-sitting their oldest son, Trevor, while they headed out to a doctors' appointment. Trevor is 21 months old, and, as you can imagine, he is a hand-full. He will scamper around the house running from one toy to another- almost in a schizophrenic rage. He'll drag me along by grabbing my fingers. He is just so excited about playing with Uncle Ernest.

Anyway, Thursday baby-sitting went just fine. No hitches and no problems. Trevor and I had a great time.

Then, later that evening my brother-in-law calls and ask me to spend the night. Since most of our family is too far away I am the most logical person to spend the day with Trevor when the new child is born. Apparently, my sisters just knew that Friday would be the day and they feared having to call me at 3:00 AM to come over. So, I slept on a guest bed.

6:00 AM comes around and a knock on my door wakes me from my slumber. "Ernest, wake up! We are going to the hospital." I wipe the sleep from my eyes, focus my vision and jump out of bed. The day would start off with nervous parents heading out of the door and a waking child wondering, "why is Uncle Ernest here?"

We have a busy schedule. First breakfast, then playtime. My sister lets me know about a video that Trevor adores. Thankfully it's "The Polar Express" and not "The Wiggles." They drive me crazy. Lunch, playtime, then nap time fill up the rest of the morning. In the afternoon, Trevor is awake and snacks and play dominant our time.

During Trevor's nap I get word of Tyler's birth and rejoice with Trevor when he is awake from his afternoon nap. "WooHoo!" He is healthy and complications are minimal.

Anyway, my folks head into town later that evening, driving in from Las Vegas after hearing about the news, and my full day of baby-sitting is over.

If I may add, this was the first time I had the opportunity to baby-sit for a full day. And ya know what? It is hard work.

By the time I got home I was dirty and sweaty from running around. I had food all over me. I must have smelled like a horses behind. I was more tired that I could have ever imagined.

So, during this holiday season I would like to pay special kudos to all of those folks who stay at home with their young children. You should all be given medals.

UPDATE: OK. I'm getting a little crazy here. Check out the pic I made of Tyler at Times Square.
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