"We all have our hobbies."

That was the response that I gave to an elderly gentleman back in 1999.  My best friend and I were waiting on line outside of the Ziegfeld Theatre in New York City.  A new Star Wars movie was about to be released for the first time in sixteen years.  The elderly gentleman was with his wife, and he asked me what we were all doing on the sidewalk.  After I explained our purpose, he said, "They should get a giant cage and lock you all in it."  After I responded to his insult, I did not ask him what his hobbies were, nor did I care.  Perhaps he collected coins.  Maybe he had an impressive book of stamps.  As long as he was not harming anyone, it did not matter to me.

I grew up in Connecticut.  My father enjoyed fishing and hunting.  When I was young, he would bring me along with him.  Sometimes it would take three or four hours to arrive at our destination.  We would wake up early and travel to Quincy, Massachusetts to go fishing.  Or we would travel as a family to Vermont for a hunting trip.  Those were his interests, and he wanted to share them with me.

I recently had a conversation with a friend who is an in-person autograph dealer.  He explained to me that his father collected autographs as a hobby, and that he would bring him graphing when he was young.  Sound familiar?  That is what fathers and sons do.  They spend time together, sharing the same hobbies and interests.

Now it is my turn to reciprocate.  Five years ago, I attended a comic convention with my father for the first time.  It was a relatively small venue called New England Super Megafest.  It was very exciting for me to share my autograph hobby with him.  We met Lee Majors and Lindsay Wagner, and planned to attend again in the future.  We have been returning ever since.  It has become a tradition, and he has joined me when I met such personalities as Meat Loaf, Ray Park and Sgt. Slaughter.  He would also join me when I commissioned comic artists.  He seems to have found an appreciation for my hobby.

Even a relatively small venue such as New England Super Megafest can present quite a few challenges for autograph collectors.

Last August, my father attended Terrificon with me.  It was his first exposure to a large comic convention.  Large crowds and long lines were the theme of the day.  We waited for hours on the CGC line, and I could see that he was getting tired.  I told him that I did not need to get all four of the autographs that I had planned to get that day.  "I want you to get them all," he said.  "We need to be patient.  Just like when we used to go deer hunting."  As we were leaving, he said, "I'm glad you got all the autographs you came here for."

My Meat Loaf autographed Bat Out of Hell album (top) and Jose Delbo Lone Ranger commission (bottom).  My father was with me on both occasions.

We often face criticism from people who simply do not understand our passion for collecting autographs.  There is no need to explain our hobby to them.  It is not harmful to anyone.  And if you are ever questioned by a person who simply does not understand, you will know exactly what to say.

"We all have our hobbies."