After being at the hospital with my father for most of the day to find out he had fluid build up in his heart and lungs it made me realize what is really important in life. I have enjoyed my 20 years of collecting which was only made better thanks to Al Gore inventing the internet Right now spending time with him is more important (hopefully several more good years *knock on wood*)

It allowed me to find a good site like this and a great magazine like NSU.. I've enjoyed talking, trading and at times fighting with some of you. I might be checking in from time to time to see what's what in the hobby and hopefully you the collectors I hope it stays stong and flourishes..

Thanks for all the great times.. Jim Streich

Jim....
Nothing but well-wishes will be sent to your father and your family

Best wishes Jim, see you when you pop back in sometime.

Hope you will come back in better times, best of luck to you and your Dad.

Best wishes, Jim. Family then trading cards is always the correct priority.

Jim, you don't have to be collecting actively to remain a part of our community! Please take care of family and yourself, but whenever the urge to chat with crazy people could offer a break from the rest of life, you know where to find us.

Best luck to your Dad! These days there's a good chance for years of positive results, and he's in a lot better position with an advocate who knows what to watch, and who can help the (sometimes less than perfect) professionals.

Jim,
I understand your frustration, but try to keep your eyes on the positive people here (and of course elsewhere). You acknowledge that such individuals do exist, and that alone is a very good thing. It is very likely that people who seem to be constantly miserable on this board probably aren't a lot happier in "real life", and it may well be that their larger problems spill over to this board. Even so, that doesn't mean that their troubles have to become yours.

People that feel the need to constantly tear things down on this board (and others) unfortunately do tend to stand out, but a little perspective is all you need to not allow them to put a damper on your enjoyment here.

This doesn't mean that everything is perfect and there's never anything to complain about, but those who can't find at least some positives with today's card releases aren't looking looking for them.

Just think of a daily newspaper. Those tend to be filled with stories or woe, but that's only because the more sensational stuff is what sells newspapers (well, used to, anyway).

My point is, for every murder, for example, there are thousands of cases of people not only not hurting one another, but actually doing kind things for one another. These are generally not reported, but they ARE happening, constantly and all day long.

There's still joy to be derived from this hobby, or else people wouldn't participate in it. I read posts on this board for a long time before I ever chimed in on anything. During that time (and since, sadly), I saw posts from people who seemed pathologically driven to deride other post-ers and products. But ultimately, I decided it would be worth it to me to read things I found distasteful if only to get to the postings of even one person who shared a similar positive view about this hobby I still find to be a lot of fun in after 30 years.

Indeed, I would be happy to be the ONLY person here writing about the many pleasures of card collecting, which make me all the more glad that I am not.

Anyway, don't let the pointlessly negative types bring you down, and I hope we'll still hear from you from time to time.