Reading List

So… What Do You Really Do as a Card Shop Owner?

“Don’t let making a living prevent you from making a life.”

John Wooden

People ask me all the time: “So what do you really do as a card shop owner?”
I usually smile, shrug, and say something like, “You know, buy cards… sell cards…”

But the truth? It’s a whole lot more complicated, and a whole lot more meaningful than that. Sure, there’s the fun part: opening boxes, sorting cards, talking sports, watching someone pull a monster hit. That’s the picture most people have in their heads. That’s the highlight reel.

But what they don’t see are the early mornings placing orders before the rest of the world wakes up. The late nights adding items to eBay until your eyes are blurry. The spreadsheets, the cleaning, the creative marketing, the surprise website glitches, and the constant juggling of inventory, events, and release calendars that never stop.

You’re the CEO, the janitor, the buyer, the cashier, the accountant, the TikTok intern, the customer service department, and the guy replacing the trash bags.

You’re the person who gets the call when someone finds a box of cards in their attic and wants to know if they’re sitting on a gold mine… or a box of memories worth $12. You’re the place kids beg their parents to stop by after school. You’re a treasure hunter, a hype-man, and sometimes the referee when two friends disagree on who pulled the best card from a box.

And there’s a deeper part to it, too.

You become a keeper of stories. Every card that walks through the door carries one — the father-son pack rip traditions, the childhood collections rediscovered, the quiet escape someone needs after a long day. You see excitement, nostalgia, heartbreak, and joy — all wrapped in cardboard.

Some days you wonder if you’re crazy to build a life around something as unpredictable as sports and shiny paper. But then a kid pulls their favorite player and lights up like the Fourth of July… and you remember exactly why you do this.

So what do I really do as a card shop owner?

I build a space where people feel something.
I protect a piece of childhood that refuses to grow up.
I help people chase excitement, even if it’s just one pack at a time.

And if I’m really being honest. Most people think I say sports cars at first. Then we have 30 seconds of awkward exchanges before I finally clarify: “No, no… baseball cards.”

And while running a card shop keeps me pretty busy, I still try to carve out a little time to feed the mind too. Here’s what’s been on my reading list lately.

Article (Local Communities): Deeply demoralizing’: how Trump derailed coal country’s clean-energy revival
Article: You’re Gonna Need This Now More Than Ever
Book (Just Started): In This Economy?: How Money & Markets Really Work by Kyla Scanlon
Article: Preserving Your Own Heirloom Recipes
Article (Pay Service too): How to Preserve and Share Family Recipes

Even Bloggers Need a Bye Week

“Believe nothing you hear, and only one half that you see.”

― Edgar Allan Poe

In sports, a bye week is built into the schedule so teams can rest up, recover from injuries, and make midseason adjustments — hopefully the kind that help Florida upset the #9 ranked Texas Longhorns. Go Gators! If you didn’t see me opening the blog with that one, then you don’t know me at all. I took my own bye week from posting last Monday, coming off my 48th birthday and one year since my father passed away. A lot of thoughts have been on my mind — most of which I’m still not ready to unpack — but someday. The good news? The bye week worked. I’m recharged and even made a new TikTok video for Lab 20 today.

On the home front, after coming off a PR the week before, Isabel has officially been placed on the injured reserve list. She’s rocking a walking boot for the next two weeks while battling tendinitis in her foot — tough break, but she’s handling it like a champ. Meanwhile, Caroline just wrapped up another season of cheering for youth football. Not sure who’s happier about that — her, or Mom and Dad finally getting their weekends back. To celebrate, we’re packing up the girls and heading to Disney for Fall Break. I know this will be just the recharge Sarah needs — overstimulating environments are her happy place. Looks like everyone’s getting their version of a bye week.

So that’s the update from the Sawyers sideline. I’m calling this upcoming Disney trip our official family bye week — some sunshine, too many snacks, and the kind of chaos that somehow resets the soul. Be on the lookout for one of my video recaps from the trip (because you know I can’t resist making one). In my next blog post, I’ll tackle a few questions I’ve been asked lately and share some thoughts I’ve been sitting on. But for now, let’s roll right into my reading list from the last two weeks…

Article: Strategic planning support helps popular Spearhead Trails chart its path forward
Article: The Long-Term Unemployed
Article: Blogging as an Exercise of the Brain
Book: The United States of Appalachia by Jeff Biggers

The Joys of Getting Older

“Whether you think you can, or you think you can’t–you’re right.”

― Henry Ford

What do you know — I actually kept my word and posted on a Monday like I promised. As I sit here with watery eyes after yet another chalazion surgery (our best count says number six), I find myself reflecting on the joys of getting older. In my teens and twenties, whenever a baby boomer would tell me, “Just wait until you’re my age,” I’d roll my eyes and think, yeah, right. Now, hanging on to my 40s for dear life, I realize they weren’t so far off. These days I avoid anything spicy or tomato-based after 6:00 PM without a bottle of Zantac in reach, I’ve got two anti-inflammatory diet books on the shelf, readers scattered across the house and shop, and I rarely make it past halftime of an 8:00 PM kickoff without nodding off. The older I get, the more often I hear (and repeat) the same phrase: “It sure beats the alternative.”

Getting older isn’t always glamorous — the surgeries, the medications, the readers stashed everywhere — but there’s a strange comfort in it too. Each wrinkle, each early bedtime, each “can’t eat that anymore” moment is just proof that I’m still here, still moving, still part of the story. The aches and adjustments may not be fun, but they remind me of the life I’ve lived and the people I get to live it with. And honestly, that’s a joy worth holding on to.

Article: Students from Appalachia should see the world
Article: Colleges Are About to See A Big Decline in Applicants
Article: Are we living in a black hole?
Article: How Your Brain’s Nightly Cleanse Keeps It Healthy
Article: The Hot Investment With a 3,000% Return? Pokémon Cards
Book (Just Started): American Nations by Colin Woodard

Another 3 Year Return Post

Good intentions are the seeds of greatness, but they only grow when watered with action and consistency”
― Manuel Corazzari

Hey everyone — Josh here. With all the best intentions, I had expected to start posting on a regular basis on this blog to keep you up to date with what’s going on in my world — and to that extent, I’ve failed. I’d promise to do better, but let’s be honest… my track record isn’t great. That said, almost three years to the day of my last blog post, I give you the latest installment of the World of Sawyers.

A lot has happened in the last three years. We now have one child graduated from college, one a senior in high school, and one still plotting to take over the world — but now in 6th grade. Sarah’s real estate business? Well, she’s amazing at her job, so same update as last time… but stay tuned for 2026! Lab 20 Sports Cards is still trucking along, and I’m about to hit year five of making this my full-time gig.

In the last three years, the world has gone from baking sourdough like it was an Olympic sport to arguing about AI like it’s our new robot overlord. Gas prices became a horror story, TikTok “death scrolls” replaced small talk, and everyone suddenly swapped their 401Ks for FanDuel parlays. Basically, we’ve all aged a decade, but at least cassette tapes are making a comeback!

Thank you for being part of this — whether you’ve been here since the start, came in recently, or just stumbled in. Having a creative home matters. I hope the next post isn’t three years from now, and that you catch me next Monday with some random thought, crazy life story, or just a boring list of what I’ve been reading lately. So without further ado, here’s my weekly reading list:

Article: I built a business plan with ChatGPT and it turned into a cautionary tale
Article: The GOP megalaw threatens a flooded hospital’s future
Book: Tower of Basel by Adam LeBor
Book (Just Finished): James by Percival Everett
Article: $50M in disaster assistance available to SWVA business owners, residents impacted by Helene

Posting – Crushing It!

So only 3 plus years have gone by since I last posted on this site, so I would say that is the definition of crushing it. Life, right? I’ve had the best intentions of posting weekly, monthly, or at least once a year and then time just gets away.

A lot has happened in the last 3 years. We have one child in college now, one in high school, and one plotting to take over the world while in 3rd grade. Sarah’s real estate business is still growing and she has started building her own team. During the start of COVID-19, I got a wild notion that it would be a great time to go into business for myself full time, and we have been living the dream of getting Lab 20 Sports Cards off the ground.

Hopefully, this is a fresh start and I’ll continue with a weekly frequency of posting updates and can get into more details of some of our adventures. Until then here’s what I’ve been reading this week:

Till next time! Feel free to share with me any great books or articles that you’ve been reading as well.

What I’ve been reading this week

A long break from the blog, but here are some articles I’ve been reading this week:

Where did Gen X go?

In the late 1990s and early 2000’s, I couldn’t pick up a newspaper, magazine, or flip on a new cast and not hear something about the slacker generation know as Gen X. We came after those baby boomers and were going to be the end of the world with our laziness and video game playing. Well now, those members of Gen X have hit their mid 30’s to mid 50’s and amount to a large amount of the productive workforce today. Is it just me that see the coverage of Gen X has fallen off the map? There are always discussions about the Baby Boomers and how they are going to put a strain on healthcare or the new kids on the block, aka the Millennials and how they are soooo cool. After a little digging, I did find a Washington Post piece on how we are making our mark in the world. I guess when you are in the mortgage refinance and mini-van part of your life, it just isn’t as sexy to cover as much.

Thanks to all of you all that have been sharing articles with me. It makes my day when someone is thoughtful enough to send a good read over my way. Here are just a few:

Have a good week!

SWVA, Appalachia and Facts

Working on a longer post that still needs some development and more thoughts, but I wanted to share some of my weekly readings. I love politics, and Sarah makes fun of me all the time for watching Meet the Press. Many times I’ve seen talking politics on social media go wrong, and as a rule I try to keep my mouth shut (which I sometimes break), but saw this interesting article on Americans ignoring facts. I don’t see this as a left or right issue, just one when we get our mind set, it is very hard to keep an open mind:

As a rule, misinformed people do not change their minds once they have been presented with facts that challenge their beliefs. But beyond simply not changing their minds when they should, research shows that they are likely to become more attached to their mistaken beliefs. The factual information “backfires.” When people don’t agree with you, research suggests that bringing in facts to support your case might actually make them believe you less.

In other words, fighting the ill-informed with facts is like fighting a grease fire with water. It seems like it should work, but it’s actually going to make things worse.

Even more than politics, I love Southwest Virginia and the Appalachian region. So anytime I can read some article about the history of the region, economic development, or some hillbilly hit piece on how uneducated, impoverished or any other stereotypes “big city” journalists write, I must consume it. Here are a few from this week:

Also started The World Is Curved: Hidden Dangers to the Global Economy by David M. Smick. Only made it to chapter 1 so far, but very interested to read after some time has played out since the book was written.

Oh in other news I saw a deer today

A post shared by Josh Sawyers (@jsawyers) on Mar 12, 2017 at 3:46pm PDT

Have a good week!

Frickin Laser Beams and Breaking the Law

I’ve been lazy this week and only posted once, so on this Friday’s installment of What I’ve Been Reading, I better bring it. I’m pulling out Lasers, Tim Tebow, and incriminating stories of my youth. To get started, let’s make sure everyone is awake with the perfect cup of coffee. It is good to know with my $24.99 Mr. Coffee maker I’ve been doing it wrong for all these years. No wonder I’ve never been a morning person.

How about a bird bath in Montana where the water is so toxic that they are thinking about protecting birds by installing lasers and propane canons? It seems that open pit former copper mines and birds don’t mix too well. Last year over 3000 Canadian geese died when they landed on this body of water during their migration. Pretty bad when a mini Star Wars missile defense system has to be installed because the water is so polluted.

Now on to a more positive note with a story about Tim Tebow, wait we’re going back to a negative note as ESPN blast him for trying to give baseball a go. I get it the odds are stacked against Tebow ever seeing the field in a Major league game, but when this is the message he is able to deliver I don’t know how any of this process can be called a failure:

Hometown gets some great coverage in this article from New Republic, and a good interview with the owners of my favorite brewery in town.

“St. Paul embraces new ideas,” Jennifer Bailey says. “We’re not just sitting back and saying ‘Well, we live or die with coal, and we’ll just turn into a ghost town.’ No, we’ll make a way.”

Virginia just made it legal for robots to make deliveries. This is where I incriminate myself, as I’ve been making deliveries with the Sear’s Catalog Omnibot as far back as 30 years ago. It started out with trips from my bedroom to the kitchen requesting soda and snacks to be placed on the Omnibot’s tray, and then returned to my room. There may have even been some trips made outside to other homes in Rolling Hills back in the 1980’s. If you have any old grainy VHS footage please destroy as I’m not sure what the statute of limitations is on illegal robot deliveries.

A little bonus for you since college football is only 174 days away now. Time to put everyone on notice in the SEC after almost 10 years reports are the Gators might have not one but 3 QB’s next season. You heard it here first Gators 38 – Vols 17, back to being Gatorbait in 2017.

What I’ve been reading this week

TGIF, and what a beautiful Friday it has been, mid 70’s on February 24th is a true gift. I rode the bike to the post office at lunchtime in shorts and flip flops. Can’t say I’ve done that often in Winter.

Some good reads from this week:

And a little string therapy to wrap up the week: