Theme Week: Better Know a Blogger (David from Tribe Cards)

Welcome to "Better Know a Blogger" Theme Week (week 2) here at Nachos Grande.  About a week or so ago, I put out a call to any interested bloggers to answer a short questionnaire that I had prepared.  The goal of the questionnaire is for all of us to get to better know some of the various personalities on the blogs!  I hope you find this Theme Week as much fun as I did - and hopefully you'll learn something about your fellow bloggers as the week progresses!

1. Your name (or alias):  David “davidinark” Henderson
2. Your blog website:  Tribe Cards
3. What kind of collector do you consider yourself (team collector, player collector, set collector, etc.). Why do you collect that way?

Team collector (Indians), though I do collect players who are not Indians and players who were once Indians at some point.

4. In your opinion, what could the major card companies (Topps, Panini, etc.) do to make your style of collecting better for you?

Go back to the basics. Create a non-insert 660 card base set on regular card stock. Or, ink out deals with cereal, etc and bring back oddball cards.

5. What is your favorite part of your collection?  This could be one specific item, or a binder of cards, etc.

My favorites are the oddballs – Pacific Die Cuts, Food cards, MSA, discs, etc.

6. Most of us have a favorite song that we like for no good reason – heck, it might even be embarrassing.  Do you have a favorite baseball card that might fit that bill?  

Believe it or not, one of my favorites (and most hated at the same time) is the Score Doug Jones “Flaming Balls” card. It is wonderfully awful.  

7. If you were forced to part with your entire collection except for one card, which card would you keep?

Man, I would have to say the “Kimaloo” Jim Thome sketch card I have. It was the first card anyone did specifically for me. I don’t even know if she still blogs or not, but she is/was one of the best.

8. Many of the blogs (including my own at times) seem to decry Topps’ lack of vision and creativity.  Can you think of something creative that could be done for an upcoming card set?  

See answer #4 above. Dump all the stupid patches, autos, swatches, etc. Work on a cool design and just do what got you here.

9. What is your profession?  How did you end up there?  If you are in school, what do you plan to major in and/or what job do you hope to get after graduating?

 I am a Technology Director for an educational service center in Hope, AR. I had worked for a different education center in Arkansas and took a job as the Distance Learning Coordinator where I am now. The Tech Director at the time and I swapped roles after visiting with administration a few times regarding services, skills, and desires. 

10. What is your favorite place that you’ve ever visited?  Why?  

Chicago. I have been several times, during one I met Ernie Banks and was filmed in a Bill Engvall DVD and watched a Cubs/Indians game at Wrigley. How can you complain about that?

11. Many of us have favorite foods or customs that are somewhat local to where we live.  Do you have any such things that you particularly love?  A website link to specific products would be spectacular.  

 I grew up in Pittsburgh, so I am very partial to chipped ham sandwiches, jumbos, and a host of other treats.

12. Do you have any other hobbies besides card collecting?  

I love computer gaming, especially 1^st person shooters. 

13. Tell me something interesting about yourself (that we haven’t covered in the first twelve questions).

I’ve held roughly 40 different jobs so far in my life. I’ve worked on the bottle line at a Virginia Whiskey Company, served as a consumer relations liaison for Channel 7 in Little Rock for a time, and cut my teeth in networking while serving as the Human Resources Clerk for a Youth Residential Treatment facility. I’ve worked at Target, been a radio DJ, worked at Mickey D’s and Pizza (at the same time, no less – my wife refused to ride in my car). I am quite literally a jack of all trades kind of guy – always willing to learn some skill or figure out a solution to some problem. Oh, and I run this crazy little card giveaway in which each year I add components to the game (this past season, the giveaway was tied into a fantasy baseball season using OOTP).

As always, a big "thank you!" to my volunteer David!  I loved David's answers as he hit on a number of interesting topics.  First, I think I have to start with his choice of "one card to keep."  That Thome by Kimaloo is a fantastic piece of homemade cardboard goodness - and it's definitely something that could never be replaced.  Therefore, I think that's an excellent choice of card to keep!

I also love how passionate David is about the oddball cards - I too have an unhealthy love for such things (including almost all things Pacific - the one company that turned oddballs into mainstream cards...at least for a few years)!

Finally, I found David's list of previous jobs to be quite impressive - my list of former jobs is incredibly boring compared to his!  I also have to give David a special shout out for his wonderful baseball card giveaway.  I've been lucky enough to participate in it the past two years and it's a lot of fun, though I can only imagine how much work it is for David!

Thanks for helping us get to know you a bit better, David.  And, as I said all last week, there are still more bloggers yet to be featured here!  By my count, we have at least one more full week's worth of bloggers that I will be showcasing...so stay tuned for more!