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1. We could not roll down all four windows from the drivers side door.
Remember having to hand-roll down windows with a crank handle? What about the really old beast cars that the window would stick in the down position and you would be using ALL your arm muscles to roll that window up in a rain storm. I'll stick to my automatic windows... thank you.
2. Two words: AQUA NET.
If you don't know what the "wave" is in hair styles, this is going to blow your mind. Girls would actually force-ably hold up their bangs (and only their bangs) in a high curl, looking like a wave. It was hideous. You were super cool if you could get your bangs up six inches high or more and hold them with copious amounts of hair spray.
3. Finding your song on a tape was a NIGHTMARE.
Our kids do NOT know the struggle. You waited, and waited, and waited for that new Air Supply tape to come out. (Dear kids post 1990, tapes held music, they were kinda big and clunky, like a small VHS. If you don't know what a VHS looks like, then, well, you are on the wrong post). You would eagerly pop your tape in and fast forward through the songs you didn't like to get to the ONE song, you babysat for ten hours to purchase. Then you would stop the tape about where you thought the song was, and crap, too far, so you had to rewind, then you would rewind too much and have to fast forward just a little more and THEN you listened to the last ten seconds of the song you don't like so that you could hear your favorite song. CD's and MP3's have really changed life. One click, that is all it takes to listen to your favorite song.
4. Coffee to-go meant precariously holding a ceramic mug in the car.
Starbucks? What Starbucks? Oh, yeah, in Seattle... We didn't have drive-through espresso stands. We made coffee at home from something that had caffeine in it and was held in large metal cans you had to use a can-opener to get open. The large flat, sharp lids doubled as a guillotine. Then, you used a regular, old coffee pot and put in a ton of cream and sugar to pallet the brown sludge. But if you drank coffee in fifth grade, you were something.
5. AM/PM 32 oz plastic reusable cups were the best thing ever.
Okay, so I am from California. If you don't know what this is, I will explain, AM/PM is a gas station chain that has a large retail footprint area. They also had awesome cups with foam insulators. You could use those things for YEARS before they died. However, the little straw protector was always lost in days. It was tragic.
6. Cartoons were on Saturday's only.
PBS gave us Seasame Street, Mr. Rogers Neighborhood, and 3-2-1 Contact, which were all geared toward kids and had a learning element in them. They were NOT cartoons. Cartoons are mindless, funny, and gave us an escape from learning. Smurfs may have cost IQ points. Nonetheless, our parents could hold it over our heads if they got up early enough on Saturday's. No chores, no cartoons... for seven WHOLE ENTIRE days. Now, we have 30 stations dedicated to children's programs and cartoons. Our kids can watch the cartoons we missed (like season 2 of He Man) on demand. They can also watch Thunder Cats whenever they want. We had to wait for that. That's why people 30 and over are SO much more patient than the younger generation. We. Had. To. Wait.
7. When something was "viral" it was BAD.
I watched the entire "Mindcraft Style" parody of Psy's "Gangham Style." It was terrible. Some things were funny, but seriously, w...t...? Ditto, "What Does The Fox Say?" Not that bad music was in shortage, but we had ONE music video station (VH1) and the video's were at least interesting. Not that I was allowed to watch it, but come on, I did go to my friends houses... Things now get popular not because they are good, but because they are REALLY, REALLY, bad. Why does Tosh.O make so much money? Because he finds the horrible, video's people upload and he presents them. All of us need therapy to wash the images that should have always stayed in the "home video" category. Classy, funny home video's could be enjoyed in the company of Bob Saget and found once a week on "America's Home Video's." Not that I don't love watching some clips of youtube, but on the whole, one line from the era is definitely true..."Don't quit your day job."
8.Our parent's didn't know where we were 60% of the time.
I had a blue banana seat bike that would take me over to Cricket's, Christina's, and Nichole's house in about 20 minutes. I would ride all year long because it was SoCal. I didn't have to report to my house by noon, my parents didn't have their parent's home number and I was free. I could go home and eat lunch during the summer, or I could have dinner with a friend. I had to be home by dark. That was the only restriction to freedom. Unless I said I was going to stay with a friend. Then I could have been in Tijuana for all my parent's knew. Now, I know where my kids is 100% of the time. Those kids are low-jacked. He has a cell phone and had better answer it when I call. No excuses. This is probably a bad thing. I should trust him and let him be free like I was, but then again, there are so many weirdo's...
9. We didn't play video games because we were BUSY.
Between roller skating, bike riding, hiking, and going to the mall, there was a lot to do. It was awesome if one of your friends HAPPENED to have a Nintendo, but most of them didn't. When we did play, we hated missing the mushroom, because if you missed that power-up, the rest of the game was RUINED. I couldn't play half the video games my kids play because a)I don't have time, and b)I don't care. I am still busy. I have a business, house, blog, write, kids, husband, and a HUGE garden. I don't have time to play video games. I am thankful that I didn't get used to having one of those devises when I was a kid.
10. This one is yours... what do you miss about the 80's? Comment below. I can't wait to hear other people's perspective :). Have a great weekend!
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