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The Pope, an Old Couple, and Pele walk into a bar....

The big story regarding “valuables” happened recently and by now, everyone has heard about it. An older couple walking their dog in Northern California and came across a few buckets of gold coins from the 1800s. They’re worth around $10 million, and while they were smart in not saying who they are or where they live (don’t need a bunch of people showing up with metal detectors and shotguns!)…I think they should’ve been quiet about it all together. First, the IRS is already saying they’ll be collecting 50%. But…what happens if they find out a bank or mint was robbed back around that time? And the same amount of buried treasure is what was taken? I’m guessing those folks don’t just get to keep their treasure trove.

As somebody that is fascinated by autographs, I enjoy stories about finding signed things much more fun. That person cleaning out an attic and finding an original Declaration of Independence; or a woman finding a signed Beatles album in the garage that her mom got while she working on the Ed Sullivan Show, and she had forgotten it was even in a box of her belongings.

Another recent story got me thinking about people that collect autographs of religious figures. I would find it odd to ask the Pope or Dali Lama for a John Hancock, but suppose I might. You never know when you can trade an item like that for something in a genre you prefer.

The other day, Pope Francis was given a jersey by Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff. It’s a national team jersey that is signed by Pele – the greatest soccer player of all time, and also a ball signed by Ronaldo – one of the most popular soccer players today. The Pope joked that he might start supporting Brazil over his native Argentina in the upcoming World Cup. Ahh, bribery. What does their religion say about temptation?

Pope Francis has been a lifelong fan of the Buenos Aires club San Lorenzo, and actually has a decent sized collection of jerseys. The one signed by Pele is inscribed, “To Pope Francis with respect and admiration.”

The soccer ball was signed, “To Pope Francis, a big hug from your friend, Ronaldo.”

Rocker Rod Stewart, an avid soccer player, often kicks balls into the crowd during concerts. If only the Pope would decide to do this at his next speaking engagement. Come on! Isn’t it better to give than receive?

Tags: Dilma Roussett, Pele, Pope Francis, Rod Stewart, Ronaldo, World Cup, signed soccer ball

2 members like this

Comment by Chad B on March 9, 2014 at 6:57pm: It got weird, didn't it?

Comment by JOEY DALUCA on March 9, 2014 at 7:02pm: chaddy boy no i do not think it got weird. back in my day getting autographs to sell was weird. if you got an autograph you kept it until your friend stole it or you traded it for a pack of bubblegum. now a days if you aint selling the graph the punks make fun of ya.

Comment by JOEY DALUCA on March 9, 2014 at 7:03pm: hey stevie boy, i wrote my own blog earlier today but it hasnt posted yet. could you please approve it so it can go up. us old timers gotta look out for each other right.

Comment by Steve Cyrkin, Admin on March 9, 2014 at 7:09pm: Joey, sorry, but blogs aren't going through unless you're a staff writer, like Josh. We mentioned it on the main page. But post it as a discussion and it'll appear right away.

Comment by Chad B on March 9, 2014 at 7:11pm: Joey boy, what is the blog post about?

Comment by JOEY DALUCA on March 9, 2014 at 7:23pm: sorry stevie boy i didnt see that. ill repost it over in discussions. joshy here is a great writer. i gone through and read each and every one of his blog posts. you better pay that boy whatever he wants to stay and keep writing because im sure it brings alot of traffic to your website. ole joshy seems like a great man. you seem like a great man too ole stevie boy. runnin a website like this must take tons of work and you dont even make people pay to be members. chaddy boy, my blog post was about the olden days of autographs before youngins got involved getting 20 guitars signed and selling them on ebay. ole joshy boy agrees. stevie boy, is that a selfie you took for your picture. my granddaughter keeps telling me about selfies. they are when you take a picture of yourself. apparantly thats what all the kids do today take selfies and text and facebook. i dont have a facebook because i feel if someone needs to know when your taking a s*** you can write them a letter. i went down to my wifes canasta club and none of them knew what selfies were. i took a selfie with my granddaughter and she posted it to facebook i told her take it down and she said no it already got a bunch of likes. in my day if people liked a picture you took they told you to your face. anyways, i appreciate you letting me be a part of this site ole stevie boy. and thank you josh for the blog posts i look forward to a new one

Comment by Rick Meyer on March 9, 2014 at 8:00pm: If your blog post is anything like your responses thus far I'm sure our eyes will get sore staring at it.

Comment by JOEY DALUCA on March 9, 2014 at 9:17pm: ole ricky boy that is exactly what im talking about i served in nam so that you could even use the internet and you are being rude to me. your lucky that you arent forced to be a commie and you even have the right to type that without it being censored by the government. the least you could do is show some respect to me.

Comment by Steve Cyrkin, Admin on March 9, 2014 at 10:02pm: Joey is done with the al-caps, Rick. If he could write his posts longhand, I'm sure we'd have no complaints. Well...except that it seems like he got his vocabulary from the Navy. ;)

Comment by Rick Meyer on March 9, 2014 at 10:03pm: Joey, I did my fair share to earn my rights. I'm not piggybacking off yours. Just being truthful. Your posts are difficult to read. Sorry that bums you out.

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