I Remember…- SOL #20

I saw this YouTube video posted on a friend’s wall. It’s all about the things that kids born in the 50’s, 60’s, 70’s, and 80’s did back then that nowadays people freak out about….yet somehow we survived! 🙂 It got me thinking about life ‘way back when’ (you know, in the 80’s).

I remember growing up with ONE phone in the house. It was mounted on the wall in the kitchen, and it had a 20 foot-long cord attached to the receiver. I remember twirling the cord while I talked so much that I was a) tangled up by the time I was done or b) the cord was so knotted that my mom got mad and made me untwist it. If you wanted privacy, you stretched it as far as it would go, held the receiver really close to your mouth, whispered, and hoped for the best.

I remember playing outside til dark, the sun serving as our watch. I remember hearing mom yell down the street, “Dinner time, come on home!” I remember a time when the neighbors looked out for us kids, and when we were up to no good, we knew our mom was going to hear about it!

I remember getting in trouble at home if I got in trouble at school. The worst thing ever was your teacher calling home to tell your mom or dad something that you did wrong.

I remember cassette tapes. I remember recording songs from the radio so that you had the latest and greatest Billy Ocean or Richard Marx single. I remember calling into the radio to request a song or participate in a contest. I remember busy signals. Man were those annoying!

I remember getting a portable CD player in middle school. I was one cool kid! I remember buying a CD case so I could listen to my CDs without having to carry it. Think fanny pack! Not a good look, but hey, it was the 90’s. I remember going running with my CD player attached to my hip only to realize that running made the CD skip, so I would reduce my speed so I could jam out to my Ace of Base or Hanson CD. Yes, I said it. I listened to Hanson as a kid.

I remember living BEFORE the Internet was invented. Man am I old! 😉 I remember getting the Internet in high school. We had one computer in the house. In my parents’ bedroom, and was only available at certain times. I remember the dooo-dweee-ooo-dweee-ooo sound of our dial up Internet trying to connect. I remember mom getting mad when I tried to connect when she was on the phone. One phone line, remember? I remember waiting FOREVER for a page to load, but not getting as impatient, because that’s just the way it was.

I remember Napster and the land of illegal downloading. I made so many mixed CDs. The quality wasn’t great, but hey, it was free!

I remember getting our first gaming system, a Super Nintendo. I can still, to this day, be taken back to my youth whenever I hear the Mario Bros. theme song. I remember having to share TV time with my brother, fighting over whether we should play Yoshi’s World or Street Fighter. I remember watching my dad play Nintendo. I still chuckle when I think about how any time he made his character jump on the screen, he’d move the controller and his leg. As if that helped! 🙂

I remember going to the public library. The smell of old books, the thrill of getting my first library card, and sitting on the carpet, surrounding myself with books. Those were the days. I love a good library. Wish I had one nearby.

I remember when a candy bar cost $0.45 and a piece of bubble gum was a nickel. I remember riding my bike to the 7-11 to buy a slurpee and some candy with my friends. The independence I felt was such a thrill!

I remember nights at the baseball field, watching my younger brother play tee ball, and eventually little league baseball. I remember all of us kids running around like we owned the place, which we did. I remember Big League Chew and snow cones, frito pies and hotdogs. I remember whispering about crushes and cheering on our friends.

As I look back on my youth, I have fond memories. While I can’t imagine life without technology now, I’m kinda glad I grew up in a simpler time. I think my childhood was better for it.