A Card Collector’s Worst Nightmare

This is a TRUE story about an event that happened to me in the summer of 2006.  This single event culminated in me purchasing my own house.  This event was so terrible that the apartment complex let me out of my lease…
 
One summer morning, I awoke and began my daily workday routine.  I took a shower, shaved and got dressed, then headed to my kitchen for breakfast.  Entering my main hallway, I noticed the air was thick, hot and humid.  I immediately thought I had left the balcony door window open all night, which I tended to do, and the North Carolina summer had invaded my apartment.
 
I looked at the balcony door and it was closed, then I heard a dreaded “drip.”  I turned and headed down the hallway to the second bedroom, then felt the carpet squish beneath my feet.  I looked up towards the ceiling and could see water streaming on the plaster.  Then a drop hit me on the head.  It was HOT.  “Oh no,” I muttered and burst into the second bedroom.  The floor was wetter in there and the ceiling was alive with water.  My attention immediately turned to the closet, which was where my baseball card collection lived and where the hot water heater was located.
 
I flung open the door and water was streaming everywhere.  I looked at my water heater and everything was intact.  In fact, I had prepared for this very tragedy and had encased my water heater to prevent a catastrophic rupture that would soak my cards.  Turns out, I didn’t plan for the water heater upstairs failing…
 
I knew it was a possibility, but every water heater I had seen in this complex had a tub and drain beneath the water heater, so I wasn’t overly concerned about a spill upstairs.  It turns out, which is why I got out of my lease with a little cash in my pocket, was that the water heater upstairs did not have a tub and drain as required.  To make matters worse, the girl who lived above me , beastly little thing, was out of town for the week.
 
I started for my front door to get management and was met by my downstairs neighbor who was irate at me.  Apparently the water damage was bad in his apartment, two floors beneath the leak.  We made our way to management, who finally turned off the water to the leaky apartment.  All the while, I was frantically moving 5,000 count boxes out of the closet at a manic pace.  All of the cards were moved to my room at the other end of the apartment.  Damp and wet boxes were dumped on my bed.
 
Amazingly, 5,000 count boxes can absorb a LOT of water, so most cards were saved.  I still lost more cards than I care to remember, but I consider myself lucky, as junk wax was stored closest to the water heater.
 
Enjoy the car(d)nage…

If anyone needs some GI Joe or Star Wars toys, drop me a line!