This isn't Goodbye.

Many of you have noticed that my posts here on 20 Years Before 2000 have not been as frequent as they used to be. It's not that I've lost my love for retro goodness or that I've lost my passion to write about the good ole days, it's just that life has been getting busier as my family grows and I find less and less time to give to this site. I can't believe it's been about 7 years, over 1,000 posts and hundreds of thousands of views since I started this! I've met some great people and I will continue to add more, but it will just be sporadic or if something truly amazing happens to me or the retro community. I thank you all for your support and as the title of this post states, This isn't goodbye...

Wrapping Up Christmas 2022

Now that I am a parent Christmas is mostly all about making the kids happy and helping Santa get them the toys that were on their list. There is nothing like seeing their little faces light up on that special December morning...even if it's at 4am. I guess that's karma, but every year I still look forward to unwrapping my own gifts from my kids & wife. They always do a great job of getting me some sweet presents and this year they did not disappoint. I know it's a little late but let's look behind the wrapping paper and see what goodies were under the tree for me in 2022!

"The Last Folk Hero" and packs of sports cards

I have been a huge fan of Bo Jackson since I opened a pack of 1987 Topps baseball cards and found out that I had scored his "Future Stars" card. You know the one I'm talking about. The one with the sweet woodgrain border featuring Bo in the outfield. Once I found out this book was released a few months ago, I had to read it. I have read the great book "Bo Knows Bo", so I am interested in seeing how this book advances the story and digs into the folk hero that is Mr. Vincent Edward "Bo" Jackson. In addition to this book, my wife picked me up a few packs of baseball and football cards. My favorite out of the packs had to be the Wild Card Garrett Wilson Rookie Card. He has been fantastic for my NY Jets this year and I hope to see his continued success in years to come.

DC League of Super-Pets and The Goldbergs Season 5 DVDs

Myself and my wife took our kids to see the DC Super-Pets movie back when it was released in theaters in July 2022. We all enjoyed the movie, and I can't wait to re-watch this one at home with the fam. The Goldbergs is one of the rare television programs that the whole family will sit down and watch. The first few seasons were the best and, in my opinion, captured what it was like growing up in the 80's. My kids chuckle at the jokes, and it gives them the opportunity to ask me and my wife about the things that happened during the best decade ever!

Masters of the Universe Mad Libs and Power Rangers: Battle For The Grid Switch game

Oh man, does my family enjoy Mad Libs! I'm sure everyone reading this has taken part in some crazy Mad Lib sessions and we all know how much fun they can be. The fact that this version is Masters of the Universe related makes it all the more fantastic. We've already done a few and if you are a MOTU fan, I highly suggest picking this up and taking part in the most powerful Mad Libs in the Universe! I was in my teens when the Power Rangers became a huge phenomenon, but my younger brother was big into the Rangers, so I have some fond memories of playing in some epic battles with him and his action figures. I had heard this game was pretty great from some hardcore Power Rangers fans at work and when I saw it at Walmart for under $20, I picked it up. I gotta say, I played it last night and it is so much fun! There are so many characters to choose from and the story mode is actually pretty dark. Power Rangers fans need to give this game a try!!

Hickory Farms Beef & Spicy boxed set

My wife picks me up one of these boxes of meat & cheese every year for Christmas. I don't know about you, but I love getting snack foods on Christmas. My Dad used to stuff our stocking with everything from Slim Jims to microwaveable Pork Rinds and that's where my love for salty snacks on December 25th started. I am so glad that my wife continues this tradition for me every year.

World's Smallest Blind Box figure

I was really surprised to find this in my stocking this year. I had never seen these blind boxes in stores, but my wife did and thought I would appreciate them. She was right! These blind boxes give you the chance to score a micro figure of either G.I. Joe, Ninja Turtles, Transformers or Masters of the Universe figures. Of course, I was hoping for a Turtle, but I was not disappointed with the Battle Cat that I received! These are no cheap Dollar Tree figures. These are fantastically sculpted; have points of articulation and you can even remove Battle Cat's armor! As a bonus, each blind box contains a micro comic and a magnifier so you can read the books. If I see any more of these in the wild, you better believe I'll be picking them up!

NECA Black & White Shredder figure

I received the NECA set of 4 Black & White Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles years ago as a birthday gift from my wife, so when I saw that NECA was releasing a Black & White Shredder to compliment those previous TMNT figures, I immediately added it to my "Want" list! Unfortunately, NECA made getting this figure a bit of a hassle. These were part of the "AutoT" series of figures. In order to get your physical Shredder, you needed to go to Walmart, find the AutoT package, buy the code, go to a website, enter the code and then wait weeks for NECA to send you your figure. Pretty convoluted, but well worth the wait. This figure is amazing, and I was happy to finally receive it on Christmas morning. One cool thing about the AutoT experience is the fact that everyone has the chance to receive an autograph from TMNT co-creator, Kevin Eastman. I did not get one of these randomly packed autographs, but hey, at least there was a chance.

Playmates Toon Turtles 4-Pack

I never had these Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles figures when they were first released back in the 80's. By that point I had already amassed several variations of each Turtle, so getting these was not high on my priority list. Man did I miss out! I love the action features on these figures and the retro packaging really takes me back to perusing the toy aisle at our local department store, Toys R' Us, Child World or KB Toy store. The commercial for these toys really shows how cool they actually are! You can view that below.

It was another great Christmas filled with family, fun and of course presents. I hope you all had an AWESOME holiday and look forward to the new year. Thanks for reading!