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Autograph Collectors Support Group

My wife called me an "autographaholic" this morning. Is anyone else suffering from this illness? Perhaps we should create a support group.

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Permalink Reply by Pete Bendu on November 6, 2014 at 7:01pm

You guys just don't know the definition of addiction.

November 6th is the 310th day of the year.

Since January 1st 2014 I have added exactly 571 autographs to the collection. 7 more are on the way.

and a deal has been made for 3 more, delivery and payment are forthcoming.

Now that my dear fellows... is addiction.

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Permalink Reply by Bradford on November 6, 2014 at 7:03pm

Poor poor Pete. My condolences to you and yours...ha!

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Permalink Reply by Ian Baldock on November 6, 2014 at 7:07pm

Holy mackeral, we gotta get you in stat. However you are my hero. Are you married?

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Permalink Reply by Pete Bendu on November 6, 2014 at 7:15pm

I am indeed. My wife and I have an agreement.....she doesn't bother me about the graphs and I don't bother her when she wants to donate money to the Casinos here in CT.

The other factors that make it work are that the graphing doesn't cut into our time, and no funds come out of the money we budget for bills and living expenses.

It works for us.

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Permalink Reply by Ian Baldock on November 6, 2014 at 7:43pm

Very nice! Quite honestly I would have sworn you were never married or divorced! Way to go!

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Permalink Reply by Mike Shepherd on November 7, 2014 at 2:21am

Poor Pete. Hang in there. Help is on the way.

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Permalink Reply by Peter Lougheed on November 6, 2014 at 7:24pm

I think we could all work together to kick this awful addiction.

Admitting we have a problem is the first step.

Nah, that sounds like too much work.

Now I have to go and do my evening eBay searches before I go to sleep.

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Permalink Reply by James on November 6, 2014 at 9:31pm

YES, I have a problem. AND I don't care. ;>)

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Permalink Reply by Cogo on November 6, 2014 at 9:38pm

Haha, I love this! Got my vote for the Thread of the year award... :-)

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Permalink Reply by Josh Board on November 7, 2014 at 12:24am

These are some of the 12 Steps:

Admit you are powerless over autographs. Try to stay out of the section of Staples that sells Sharpies.

A Power greater than ourselves can restore sanity. That power is security, telling us “They aren’t showing up for another hour” or “They aren’t signing autographs, so go away.”

Make decision to turn our lives over to…the celebrity whose autograph we want. Offer said celebrity your baby to look at, or your kid to shake hands with. They don’t turn down an autograph when a young tyke is in tow.

Make searching and inventory of your….autograph collection and who will be in town in the future.

Admit to others, the nature of our wrongs. That you stepped in front of that 8-year-old fan that was holding a baseball, so they’d sign your 8x10 first. The time you lied to that autograph dealer, telling him, “Yeah, he was here earlier but left in a limo.” And when that autograph dealer leaves, and the person you wanted shows up….hang your head in shame at what you did.

Remove all defects of character…and defects from the signed piece. The smudge that the Sharpie made because the celebrity touched it accidentally after signing it.

Humbly ask him to … take a photo with you. It’s good proof your signatures are real, and it’s nice to have a photo with your idol.

Your direct actions injured others. That time you pushed a kid over to get to the bus and get that signature.

Prayer and meditation, to improve your chances of getting that signature of the person you’ve been a fan of forever.

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Permalink Reply by Josh Board on November 7, 2014 at 12:28am

In all seriousness...my girlfriends over the years, have all thought I've had a problem. Yet each one, was given proof I wasn't an autographaholic. For example, the girlfriend that made me leave while waiting for Roger Daltrey (The Who). He showed up 10 minutes after we left, and we had only waited there 40 minutes.

The time a bunch of San Diego Chargers showed up at an event, and I didn't care about getting signatures...or the time I played basketball, a few weeks in a row, with Charger stars Doug Flutie and Junior Seau, and never entertained even asking them for autographs (as I didn't want them to not look forward to our hoop games).

Most recently (today!), I was going into the TV studios to film my movie review. Hall of Fame running back Marshall Faulk was going to be in the studio, and I knew I could meet him and get an autograph if I left the house 30 minutes earlier. Yet I didn't worry about it and got there at my usual time (I missed him by 2 minutes). Yes, I had a ticket stub for him to sign, but...

A true autographaholic, would have had the shakes after missing that guy!