"Kickin it Retro Old School"

This morning's Wall Street Journal, "Care Bears' Second Act, Revived on Kitschy T-Shirts, Many 1980s Icons Discover They Still Have Toy Appeal." I'm officially old enough that cultural phenomenon of my youth are now legitimately "retro." YIKES! No longer does "retro" end at the 1970s with those bell bottoms; Care Bears, Strawberry Shortcake, My Little Pony, Smurfs, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles of the eighties are now retro as well as being "ironic," "sardonic," and here's a shocker, "kitschy."

Next time I'm home, I'm scouring the house for my old Strawberry Shortcake sheets and my "distressed" (Read-rusty, old, & when was your last tetanus booster?) Holly Hobby lunchbox. I've already appropriated my vintage Raggedy Ann & Andy sheets and if Hot Topic would only market them as the next cool "kickin it retro old school" trend, I'll be cooler than their punky tween customer base. They've retooled Strawberry Shortcake and her friends eschewing their traditional pinafores for comfortable overalls. True to the original, they've maintained that artificial, but oddly pleasant perfumed scent. [Laurel is a huge Strawberry Shortcake and Care Bears fan, I'll bet she still has her collection of Care Bears...now's the perfect time to sell those "vintage" dolls on ebay and fund that European vacation.] As for me, Hello Kitty and her friends harken the fondest memories from my youth. According to Wendy, the cool grad students carried Hello Kitty pencil cases...the only thing separating me from those cool grad students is, well...grad school.

Note to MGDub...I'm not sure if "Apple Dumpling" is a member of new Strawberry Shortcake & Friends cast, at least I haven't seen Apple Dumpling as of yet.