I've got mail!

 

 

 USPS-delivered packages to my home have been sporadic in the last week or two as has been the case through most of the country.

 

Even though various package-tracking tools listed my packages as arriving by certain dates last week, I received no mail on Wednesday and no mail again on Saturday. A foot-plus of snow did land on the abode Saturday so that may have something to do with it, but that's a rather swift drop from that neither-snow-rain-nor-gloom-of-night promise I've been hearing all my life.

 

Obviously, postal deliverers have legitimate reasons for being late this season, this year. But it does get frustrating when an anniversary gift you ordered a full month before Christmas arrives three days after Christmas.

 

However, I wasn't too upset because today, I got mail!!!

 

I was thrilled. The mailbox was stuffed, because obviously my packages had been living in whatever abandoned weigh station was their home since before Christmas day. Card goodies from Jonathan arrived (you'll see those later), ebay shipments arrived, delayed gifts arrived.

 

Really the delays had been happening before the past week, which is why it was amazing any time any cards showed up this month.

 

Several days before Christmas I received an unexpected mailer from Bob of the best bubble. It included a variety of collection interests, across the board really.

 

Of course I focused on the Dodgers:

These were all needs. Not the most exciting of topics there, but don't worry, some of my favorites arrived, too.

 

It always means a lot to receive Hideo Nomo cards that I need, especially ones from his rookie year. One day I'll finally get them all.

 

The Piazza Collectors Choice card is not anything I've ever seen before and the same goes for the Gagne Easton/whatever-it-is card.

 

Bob also showered me with Dodgers minor league affiliate cards.

 

The best ones were a set from the 1987 San Antonio Dodgers that was completely new to me. Whoever heard of a 100 percent horizontal minor league team set?

 

Not a lot of players I know here, but I bet I've heard of more than you.

 

This set was produced/sponsored by an area card shop, which is why there was a message on the back of the main logo card:

 

 

My god, that's beautiful. I think I'm tearing up.

 

 Bob also ventured into other sports favorites, particularly old-school hockey needs.

 

 

Here is one of my first hockey team cards. It's also O-Pee-Chee!

 

Just a handful of Bills cards here (Go Bills! Tonight!).

 

Bob also sent some women on cards because they're so unfairly overshadowed by men on cards.

The random issuing of Jenny McCarthy cards in sets about 15 years or so is still pretty weird. Probably even weirder now.

 

I really appreciate the Tatum O'Neal card, as anyone who grew up when I did was a big fan. Just to convey another story about how old I am, I recently watched The Runaways movie on Netflix, about the Joan Jett-Cherie Currie '70s band. As I'm watching the closing credits, I see Tatum O'Neal's name scroll by. I didn't remember her in the movie and I assumed she was one of the band members who wasn't mentioned by name. Nope, she was one of the band member's MOM.

 

These are from a Sports Illustrated Swimsuit card set from 2003 that I knew nothing about and will now likely be a mild obsession.

 

Bob also sent me some of the Fleer Laughlin stickers from 1980 that I collected avidly that year. Interestingly, I have all the Dodgers-related World Series stickers from that year stored in my binder, but I was missing these exact three! Tremendous. (I'm ignoring the fact that all three of these mention Dodgers World Series losses).

Even more tremendous is Bob sent me some 1978 Fleer stickers that are so phenomenally '70s I can't stand it.

Hi-Gloss!!! These are the greatest items in that package.

 

And I'm so glad they made it to my house.

 

Let's hope the mail gets back up to speed in the weeks to come. I can't be returning to those pre-blog days when the mailbox was always boring.