Four Baggers and Foreclosures

Happy Thanksgiving. I'm thankful for a lot of things... And ranking high on the list of things I'm thankful for is abandoned gas stations. I don't know why, but I just love them! I'm also thankful for Wasted Quarter!  So to continue the grand 25th Anniversary WQ Celebration, I present another re-written and updated chapter from the unreleased "Coon Rapids Issue". This would have slotted in as issues 62-65, and was intended to have been printed in 2008. But it never was... Here is a (mostly) unseen front cover mock-up for thoughts of the last gasp of a possible printed Coon Rapids based issue of Wasted Quarter, when I thought I may print it in early 2016: But enough of that...  Here is a new combination of the old story of Bunker Lake Blvd, wrapped in the new story of the latest former petroleum dispenser to achieve Four Baggers immortality: Andover Convenience! Originally built in the late 1990's as a Mobil station, to accomp

The news just came across MLB Trade Rumors that Joe Mauer has retired. Which kind of stopped me in my tracks.  That chapter of Twins history has ended.  And I guess I haven't been fair to Joe Mauer over the years... That Mauer announced his retirement is hardly a shock. Twins fans knew it was coming, with how he wrapped up the final game of the Twins season. Much to everyone's surprise, Mauer came out in full catchers gear to start the 9th inning. After catching 1 pitch from Matt Belisle, Mauer left the game. Likely the final appearance for Mauer as a player. A dusty Mauer McFarlane sits between stacks of Twins Albums. The final layout of New Baseballcardland, has yet to determine plastic Mauer's permanent home... Just as I had collected nearly every #1 Overall Pick, since the late 1980's, collecting the Twins shot at #1 Overall was a no brainer. I started buying Mauer cards as soon as they hit the market after his drafting... A 2002 Bo