A Longtime Friend

The older I get, the less social I am.  Sure there was a period in my life when popularity was important, but once I got into college everything changed.  The switch from quality over quantity was made and I've never looked back.

As a teacher, I meet new people all the time and it's important for me to play the game and interact with other teachers, administrators, and parents.  But anyone who truly knows me... understands that I prefer small social gatherings with close friends over big functions like dances, weddings, or parties.

That's one of the reasons my buddy Cody and I get along so well.  We both taught at the same elementary school back in the early 2000's.  We were part of a big group of young teachers that enjoyed hanging out together.

But life happens.  We grew up and most of us went our separate ways.  Some transferred to other schools in our district, others moved out of the area, and a handful left the profession altogether.  As a result many of us are just Facebook friends these days.

Cody was one of those teachers who moved out of the area and switched careers.  However every year he comes back to the Bay Area to visit family and friends... and every year we go out to dinner at The Drying Shed.

This year he brought me a bag of ALF trading cards:

Now Cody isn't exactly a big time card collector like some of you.  He's just the biggest ALF fan I know.  So before we look at some of the cards he gave me, let's take a peek at part of his collection:

He has ALF wall decorations, plushies, figurines, and trading cards.  He even has Gordon Shumway plastered all over his refrigerator:

As you can see, like many of us... he has a sentimental soft spot for nostalgic stuff from our past.  Except instead of hoarding baseball cards and sports related memorabilia, he collects ALF, Winchell's, Fotomat, and Baker's Square related items.

At the same time, he does have a collection of non-sports cards including Happy Days, Mork & Mindy, and of course ALF.  He gave me a nice Series 1 starter set:

There were plenty of duplicates, so if anyone else out there is interested in building this set... email me your set needs.

Okay... let's take a look at some of my favorites from Cody's bag:

1987 Topps ALF Series 1 #27

1987 Topps ALF Series 1 #36

1987 Topps ALF Series 1 #39

1987 Topps ALF Series 1 #19

Thank you Cody for these awesome ALF cards, but more importantly for being one of my longtime friends.

Happy Saturday and sayonara!