Child of the 80s

Growing up during the 80′s left a deep impression on my life.  There are days I would give anything just to go back and experience it all over again. The music, the animated cartoons, the arcades, first dates, and the hours I spent trying to solve the Rubik’s Cube on the long bus ride home from school.  Looking back, it all seems like a passing dream. In fact, just the other day I was going through some old clips of Max Headroom on youtube wondering whatever happened to Matt Frewer anyway. I mean, is he still a card carrying cokeologist?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LKt7AJLIFL0

Okay, Trivial Pursuit time.  Do you remember where you were on these important dates?  Who could forget the events that took place on March 30th, 1981, the day a lone assassin went gunning for then President Ronald Wilson Reagan.  It was a time for America to pause and wonder as scenes from the aftermath flashed across every television screen in the nation.  Although, I must admit, the number one concern on my mind at the time was if they would ever put cartoons back on television.  Hey, give me a break, I was only 8 years old when it happened.  Later that year, on August 1st, a new revolution was started as MTV began airing its first series of music videos.  From Jerry Rafferty to Iron Maiden, everyone was jumping on the music video band wagon.  With Tron hitting theatres in 1982, Wargames in 1983, and The Goonies in 1985, it seemed that movies were finally starting to come of age.  Although, pictures like Fast Times At Ridgemont High in 1982 and The Breakfast Club, released in 1985, tended to paint a more realistic picture of what the products of public education were turning into than many would perhaps care to admit.  It has often caused me to wonder if this had anything to do with the trend towards organized home school alternatives becoming increasingly popular in the decades that followed the release of these theatre classics.

Then there was always the unique side to 80s culture.  Like, we can’t forget to talk about the cool words we were using.  Gnarly, grody, tubular, spaz, dweeb, Excellent, Bogus, Poser, and everything was totally this and major that.  With Ghetto blasters in tow, we tried our hand at break dancing and broke our necks skate boarding.  I even think I still have some stinky Reebok high tops around the house somewhere and possibly even an Ocean Pacific shirt or two tucked away in a box in the attic under a pile of parachute pants.  That’s just in case I need to go retro when making a fashion statement, you know.

In 1989, as the 80s drew to an end, I found myself reluctant to let go of a decade that defined the better part of my existence.  Now, 18 years later, I still find myself listening to groups like Duran Duran, Kajagoogoo, and Simple Minds  in hopes of conjuring up a glimpse of the past if just for a moment.  And though with each passing year the memories fade like the faint scent of Verve perfume left behind by a romantic love interest, I simply can’t deny that i am and always will be a child of the 80s.