It all started with a box of trading cards I bought many years ago and never unwrapped. Then somewhere in January or February of 2025 I unwrapped a packet and found his trading card. I right away said “What a good looking fellow” and that led me to start browsing articles about him.
All that I read online said something positive, although some carried a deep sadness — because back in the early 1900s there was what they called prejudice, and some of the stories I read geared toward his skin color. I do understand that part because I am Asian, and in my family alone my three siblings have darker skin while my skin is lighter.
I became very interested to know more about Duke’s history. I was so smitten by his look that it became reason enough to make a decision to blog about him — even though I did not own any ephemera of him at all.
The following day I was already scheduled to go thrifting. I went with hope but no luck finding anything connected to him.
Then something shifted.
I talked to him silently — like he was standing right there beside me in that aisle. I said, “Ok Duke, you have to help me find something of you so I can start my blogging.”
All of a sudden my head turned to the right.
I spotted a Life Magazine Limited Edition featuring athletes of the past era, sitting in the center of the magazine rack, surrounded by other magazines. There were people standing nearby but no one had picked it up. As I moved toward it they quietly stepped away — as if they knew it was not meant for them.
As soon as I got it I opened a page. The first thing revealed was Duke. He was leaning forward, weight on his hands, head tilted in my direction — almost like he had been waiting to be found. I whispered, “Gosh, I never expected to find a picture of him.” I felt that gratitude rise up quietly and I said, “Thank you.”
I was convinced in that moment that I was being guided. This was meant to happen. And right then I knew I was meant to blog about him.
From that day forward — now more than a year since my first Duke blog in March 2025 — everything I have collected of him or about him has not come by accident.
The universe, Duke himself, or both have provided each piece in the most amazing ways, and every single one of them has its own story of how it arrived.
That pattern does not end here.
Come back every Saturday and I will tell you how each one found me.
