Junk Lottery

As a kid, I figured I'd be rich by now from selling my baseball card collection or my old Star Wars toys. Somehow it never occurred to me that there were 10 million other kids with the exact same idea. Nor did I think to put any effort toward preserving the mint condition of the cards or toys. I might have gotten a few bucks for a Darth Vader in his original packaging, but collectors generally shy from action figures that have had faces mangled by BBs or their entire bodies scorched with firecrackers. Likewise, my cards might have fetched a nice return a few years ago if they weren't dog-eared and jelly-stained from trading sessions with grubby-fingered neighbor kids. I've given up on collecting, but the popularity of PBS's Antiques Roadshow suggests that some people don't outgrow the reluctance to throw away their old crap. The show will be here Saturday at the Dallas Convention Center, 650 S. Griffin St. The ticket application deadline has already passed and no tickets will be sold on site, but you could sit in the parking lot and guess by the demeanor of people leaving the center whether they've just learned their heirloom is a pricey antique or a worthless piece of junk (visit dallasconventioncenter.com). Oh, and if you're a ticketholder reluctant to give up your old crap (a term of endearment, really) or just a parking lot watcher, you can head over to Art Restorations, Inc. to get your antique spruced up and help celebrate the conservators 30th anniversary. Visit 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays at 7803 Inwood Road. Call 214-350-3485 or visit artrestinc.com.
Sat., June 28, 2008