If Only ....

How many times have you voiced this lament: "If only I had ... (fill in the blank)."

If only I had ... bought IBM when it was $10 .... grabbed a bunch of URLs before the Internet took off ...purchased that vacant lot where they built Target. You get the idea.

Here's one more: If only I had saved all those comic books I got as a kid. I could have that house by the beach.

But who knew my comic book heroes -- Superman, Green Lantern, the Flash, Batman and Robin, the Justice League of America -- would one day not only be worth their paper in gold, but also be the genesis for multi-billion dollar movie franchises?

Back in the day, you could buy them for 10 cents. I must have had hundreds over the years. Stashed in my closet, under the bed, in boxes. All neatly organized to make it easy for parents to toss out once you were gone. 

But I can't blame them. Kids cashing in soda bottles to buy the latest comic seldom think in terms of a future investment opportunity.

Makes me want to KA-POW myself.

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