Where was I?

Normally I'm pretty in-tune with what's going on in the sports world.

Whether it's checking ESPN.com or glancing up at the office TVs that are always tuned to ESPN, or a quick mid-day stroll through Twitter, not a lot happens where I feel like I'm last to know when it comes to what's trending in sports.

However, I felt like that with the passing of Al Kaline today, as I was stuck on calls all day and didn't see this until it was well into the news cycle.

Obviously Kaline was a legend of the game, and any time a legend passes, it makes you stop for a minute. While I have a few old Kaline cards, my favorite is definitely a TTM autograph on a Topps insert from 2012.

I don't love the insert itself. I've grown to hate the 2012 inserts. But that spring, Al Kaline was signing TTM autographs for $5, and while I usually don't send to guys with a fee, this one was hard to pass up.

I wish I sent it on a vintage card, but at the time I had just gotten back into collecting, and it's what I had in 2012.

2012. That was a long time ago. March of 2012, when I got this, was over 8 years ago.

While looking back at the post from 2012 here, it made me think back to where I was then in my life:

My son, now 8, was 3 months old.
I was still at my first place of employment. I'm on my fourth now.
I lived on the Upper East Side in NYC. Since then I moved to Hoboken, NJ, and then to my current town.
I lived in a rental. I've rented three homes since then. I now own one.
I was automobileless. I have bought four since (not all at once)
I had a cockapoo dog. I know have a bernedoodle dog.
I weighed about the exact same.
I had about 500 Tino cards.

Seems like a lifetime ago.

Thanks for a quick trip down memory lane, Mr. Kaline. RIP.