A couple of months ago, my grandmother passed away. While I will always miss her, I know that she lived a full life, was beloved by many, and that when the time came, she was ready to go. I took a trip out to California to see my family and pay my respects, and to celebrate the love and joy she gave us all. While I was out there, my parents gave my wife and I some things, like some old Hallmark ornaments and other memorabilia. Among them was a ziplock bag that my mom said was filled with some old cards and other stuff pertaining to my birth. I figured it was meant to compliment my baby book given to me a couple years earlier, so when we got back I just put it in the storage unit and left it there. Then a couple weeks ago I was digging through it looking for something and I found the baggie. I'd forgotten about it and set it aside to look through it later that evening. So sometime after dinner, I opened the bag and took a look. A lot of it was cards from when I was born, signed by a lot of people I've never heard of. But there other notable ones I will share later. The big thing I wanted to show you all is this:



I found this between the thick stack of cards. I had no idea my parents saved these and after looking through them I knew I had to share them with you all. I'm not going to be as wordy this time, as I think the pictures will speak for themselves. But I'll throw in my two cents worth when I can. Let's get to the valentines! First, the pop culture stuff. We'll start with Nintendo.



Mario is representing Super Mario Bros 2, and since Link is jumping, I'm guessing Zelda 2 is also on display here. I remember before playing it, I thought the little white enemies were goombas.



TMNT, baby! Leo was (and still is) my favorite, so I think it's awesome I have an old valentine with him. As for the monster, I don't remember his name, but I know it was a popular toy in the 80's. Feel free to help me out with that in the comments section.



Ah, Garfield. Garfield and Friends was a Saturday morning staple for all of us who were kids back then. Good times, and lots of laughs.



California raisins, and Barbie's main squeeze. Need I say more? Let's move on to some Disney.




Donald and Scrooge, two of my favorite Disney characters. Sweet!



Rescue Rangers! You know, I think I remember seeing the box for these cards in the store. It also makes me wonder which ones I picked out...





Representing Sesame Street, we've got Gonzo and Rowlf. They wrap up the pop culture cards. Now let's get to the generic sets.



Look at the innocence on display here. It's just a dinosaur cutting valentines and a teddy bear. It's childhood; precious, plain, and simple. Don't see this kind of stuff anymore.



Again, just sweet and child-like. All of these cards were blank on the back, except where each of my fellow students signed their name. This one with the pink dinosaur though...check out the back of it.

See what I mean? Simple childhood silliness and innocence. Just two more now.





Ok, I realize Ziggy isn't exactly generic, but still. It's great to look at these again. I just wish I could remember more of the class that gave them to me...oh well. That's it for the valentines. But I had a couple cards I wanted to show you before I call it quits.



Check out the portable cassette player and the old-school calculator!



Though I hadn't seen it in years, I remember this card. If you read my last article, you know I love me some Ducktales. While the front of this card is cool, the inside isn't ducktales-ish at all.



It was a game to find the stuff that doesn't belong in the picture. A fun card for the little kid I used to be.







Talespin! This one was a typical card, but at least it kept it's theme throughout. Here's a couple Garfield cards.





Along with some CareBears and Cookie Monster.





The iron-on decal from the Carebear card has long since been removed. And for some reason, the cookie monster card was just the one half of it. I've got one more to show you.



Here's an example of something you don't see any more. Probably because some overprotective parent would get offended by the "fatty" food. Anyway, I know a hot-dog, coke, and fries is a weird idea for a card, but I like it. Plus I just like the way it's drawn and there's something about it I find comforting for some odd reason.

And that's it. Those old valentines were a rush for me, but like I said earlier, I knew right away I had to share them with my fellow retrojunkers. I know I usually provide a lot more personal anecdotes and things, but in this case I just didn't have any. Still, I hope they have brought a smile to your face and brought back some memories of your own. Until next time, stay retro folks. Thanks for reading.