AUTOGRAPHS AND SIGNATURES

I don't know why people put such an emphasis on autographs of celebrities. Besides the value. But just what is it that drives the autograph market anyhow? And what does all this have to do with the picture on the left?

I'll answer the second question first. Both of our young adult children (there seems to be an oxymoron and a paradox in those three words) have good penmanship. When they want to. You'd never know it by their doctors-like signatures.

I've kidded them about it, mildly scolded them ("if you're going to sign something, why not let people be able to read what you've written?") But like lots of other fatherly advice, it has fallen on deafened ears. So their signature look like the photo on the left. Actually worse than Willie May's autograph which reads "June Mop" to the unknowing reader.

Strung over three houses, we have quite a few autographs of famous people, mostly baseball players though I did get one of George Bush when I met him in MTV when he was Veep. Lots of Hall of Famers. I've never sold one though Cardinal Coach Jose Oquendo thought our six-year old daughter was collecting and giving them to me to hawk. He was right about the first two, but I've never even traded them to others.

What do we do with them? Nothing. I don't even know where some are though I could put my hands on a big book containing several. So why did we collect? What was the point?

Well, what's the point of any collection? It gave us something to do. It gave us good times together. It gave us common interests to share. When we look at them, it gives us memories. And, I suppose, that's why it was all worth it.

I still wish my kids, who aren't kids anymore, would take just a little more time to express some pride in their signatures. After all, we would have been disappointed to get any more "June Mops" when we were collecting.