Why the 80s was the best decade to grow up!
Anyone growing up in the 80s knows both the horror and the challenge of learning your favorite cassette tape had somehow come unraveled while in your boombox.
Stop….. if you are reading this and reading this post and among the Millennial or Gen Z generations, cassette tapes were the pre-XM radio/Spotify/Pandora/iPod and by far less kool version of vinyl where you could listen to your favorite tunes with a device popularly as a "boombox” which looked like a clunky/boxy small appliance that was a staple in any kid/teenagers room in the 80s. In our garage, I kid you not, we still have a working model of this very dated small appliance that manages to pick up local radio stations with the sound quality of a muffled tin can. Ahhh….nostalgia. The mixtapes….. ahhhh….the mixtapes. Ask your parents if you are too young to know what these are/were. I wonder how kids today really know if someone is into him/her without the exchange of the beloved “mixtape?”
With all the archaic technology, I still content this was the best generation to grow up!
From our simple family-friendly TV shows like The Facts of Life, Family Ties, The Wonder Years, and Growing Pains to the risqué at the time shows like WKRP in Cincinnati, One Day at a Time & Three’s Company with their innuendos that were mostly subtle but interesting enough to appeal across generations, the viewing was predictable and mostly light-hearted.
The music…… ahhh the music. I watched a documentary series, an anthology of sorts, through the decades of music. It was the filmmaker’s assertion (and my full agreement) the 80s offered the widest array of musical styles (some of which were new) than previous decades and future ones as well. Popular radio stations (you know, before we all had XM radio and Spotify which allows us to select whatever music we want to listen to at any given moment) provided you with an array of music genres from hairbands (not my favorite), to 80s disco (Kool & the Gang is timeless), to pop music like Michael Jackson & Whitney Houston to the newer genre now known as hip-hop or rap music. Radio Stations belted out the expansive musical styles from The Beastie Boys to Journey to the Beach boys to Bob Marley and everything in between. While all of these are excellent choices that came from the 80s, my heart and soul will forever be changed by the alternative classics like the B-52s, The Smiths, The Cure, The Smithereens, The Psychedelic Furs….. the list is endless.
And the movies……. While there are so many classics to choose from, the collections of John Hughes films will forever be a staple and the gold-standard in our home. Despite the unfortunate reality of some of the films not necessarily aging as well in the PC culture that now exists (I am not discounting this as some of the comments are arguably offensive and slightly cringe-worthy watching through a more evolved set of eyes and perspective) the innocence and light-hearted nature of the shows with perhaps a subtle lesson on tolerance and finding your tribe continues to show through all these decades later. I am able to share these timeless films with my now young adult sons and say…yeah….that was the 80s. Awkward. Simple. Sometimes tacky. But always unique.
The clothes. The hair. The politics. The AIDS epidemic. Inflation. And countless other notably awful things came from this generation, and yet the simplicity of it remains with me and I’m certain my fellow 70s/80s kids. Our greatest fears at school were being jammed in a locker (is that even possible?) or starting your period during chemistry class, unprepared. There was no cyber-bullying, because yeah….there was no “cyber” anything. We did not have cell phones to communicate with our friends ad nauseam throughout the day and night with meant we actually needed to pick up the landline that hung in our kitchen to talk with our friends or make arrangements to visit them in their parental home. We did not have a million different coke flavors which meant…oh no wait, I drank Diet Dr Pepper even back then. I know….it’s poison…don’t judge me. There were no school shootings, no concert shootings, no…. mass shootings of any type. We had not had 9/11 yet so air travel was much simpler and carefree and mostly exciting rather than a means to an end. We politely disagreed with our family members at holidays over politics rather than refusing to see them because of differing political parties. Times….were simpler.
When I was thinking about writing this post, I was reminded of my Thursday car rides with my beloved late-Grandmother in-law. Those who have been reading my blog for a while now remember her as I referenced her “Driving Ms Gloria” or the Adventures with hanging out with your 90+ grandmother-in-law. I was thinking…did she feel this same way about her generation? She grew up in the Depression and had a really difficult life, at one point living with a friend’s family because her family was poor and couldn’t afford to support all the children. And yet, when she talked about scrounging up enough coins in her pocket for her and a friend to split a hotdog in the city, she did so with a smile on her face, a clear representation to a time of fond memories and nostalgia. Maybe that is all it is….each generation remembers the good parts and lets go of the challenges? Maybe that is a human way for us to stay grounded and keep the light and fondness in our hearts?
Each of us can focus on the light, or the darkness of our existence. Each day it is a choice. Good and Bad, Evil and Angelic. Lightness and darkness always exist. It comes to what feeds and and what we want to take with us into our future that can define who we are & how we show up for the world.
May you all be blessed or lucky enough to have memories of your childhood, that bring a smile to your face no matter how much time has passed. May you remember aging is a privilege offered to a few, growing up is a decision you can opt of if you choose :) #childatheart
Peace……
