Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

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A couple months back I saw that NBA All-time great Kareem Abdul-Jabbar would be signing autographs at the Puente Hills mall in an event hosted by Honabach and Sons. In a situation where I would have to drive 80 miles each way, I always have to make sure it's a player I truly covet or would add a lot to my collection.  With Kareem probably being a top 5 NBA player all time, I didn't think I could pass up the opportunity so I purchased tickets.  The day of the signing was this past Saturday June 24, so I made the trek up from Oceanside and got to the mall about 90 minutes before the signing was to take place.  Luckily, I had purchased the ticket right when the signing was available to the public, so I ended up with "VIP" tickets which in essence guarantee you a spot in the first 50. That meant I could show up to the event, pick up my will call tickets, then goof around in the mall until the signing began.
My son and I decided to grab a quick bit to eat, then got in line quarter to 12, which was fifteen minutes before the signing was to take place.  I snapped a photo from my spot in line;
If I had to guess, I was probably about 40th in the group with the VIP tickets.  The line on the opposite side of the store entrance had grown a lot by the time I exited the store with my autograph. It was probably 150 people strong at that point. To their credit, the organizers controlled the chaos in such a way that the line went smoothly, and within ten minutes I was close enough to snap a few photos of Kareem.
Next up was my son and I, and I had an 11x14 matte photo (with a dark background on purpose) ready to go.  I requested the HOF inscription, which tends to be my go to request.  I believe the photo came out real nicely.

After the signature had dried, I walked up to a (thankfully) very quick authentication line that Beckett was running, and they slapped the "Witnessed" authentication sticker on there.  After that, we were om the way home for a cool 1 hour and 45 minute drive in traffic.  Once I get this thing matted and framed, I'll put the photo of the final product on here.  Thanks for reading.

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