Do you remember what it was like to buy your packs of cards when you were a kid? For a moment I do remember the smell and the powdery taste of the gum Most of all I remember the excitement of a buying a new wax pack or the chance at a pack from a fresh box of cellos... For me, I guess I enjoyed it so much, I still buy packs from the 1970's almost 40 years later.
Back in the day, we had 3 places in the neighborhood that sold packs. They are all gone today. Two were local candy stores which sold wax and sometimes cello packs and the third was a corner "Five and Dime" that sold rack packs. Looking back on it, I doubt any of them ever had more than one box for sale at a time, but it seemed like they had an unlimited supply.
Over time, we found a fourth place that was just outside the neighborhood but also sold cello packs. We would alter our walk home from school just to check and see if they put out a fresh box and see if there were any Yankees, Mets or All Stars showing on top.
As a kid, I absolutely loved rack packs but they were generally too expensive for me. If I had a dollar, I felt like Richie Rich and would usually spend it all on packs of cards. I can clearly remember the feeling of anticipation when you walked into the candy store... you were generally with a friend and you both bought packs. Once we paid, it may have taken 3 seconds to rip open what we purchased. Of course, we would finger through them and provide the verbal commentary for each card - "got, got, need, got, got", etc. Then you inevitably had a craving to buy more. Sometimes we had some loose change and would have enough to pool together for one pack that we split.
Other times, we simply flipped the cards. The way we flipped was to match colors - we used to call no fades or shades, meaning that the colors had to be a dead match. Sometimes when we had a group of kids, we would "scale" the cards against a wall. We would line up about 6 feet from a wall, and then sail or flip a card to a wall. Closest to the wall would win. If you had a fresh pack, you would generally have the upper hand as the cards weren't dinged yet from hitting the floor. I guess this was early exposure into aerodymanics.
One thing was certain, we hid the cards while we at school, otherwise the teachers would take them from us. I had a nun who instituted a "buy back" program after she took the cards from us. If we made a donation to the Little Sisters of the Poor of something like 10 cents, we could get "a stack" back.
I could go on and on... from putting the cards in the spokes of our bicycle tires to leaving your cards in your pockets and having your mom throw them in the wash, but let's here your memories.
