A Child of the 80's

Ok, so I'm, like, not creative. So sue me. But in all the reminicing and all the hype that the past decades are getting lately(because, face it, the 90s suck!) I decided to be one of the many to speak out in favor of the best time there ever was- the eighties. Because, afterall, I'm one of the best examples of an eighties child there is. Yes, that's me: Kate, lover of Scottish culture, Highlander Obsessee, and Child of the 80's!
 
Television was Really tv

I lived for Saturday morning cartoons. I'd wake myself up early in the morning, around 5 or 6am, and walk so quietly down the stair, so as not to wake my parents up- I'd even skip over the fifth-to-last stair because it creaked. With my favorite pound puppy under my arm, I'd relocate to the basement and turn on the tv. Thos only thing that was on so early was "Little House on the Prarie" and though I loved the books, I usually ended up falling asleep during it until 7 or so. Then came the good stuf.
There was He-Man and She-Ra. There was My Little Ponies. There was GI Joe. There were the Wuzzles and the Montgomery Moose's Get Along Gang. There was Scooby Doo(and no Jim Carey). There was Winnie the Pooh. There was Slimer and the Real Ghost Busters and Loony Toons was still only Bugs and Daffy(no little Tiny Toons or Anamaniacs). Inspector Gadget. Care Bears. Gummy Bears. The Fragggles. The Muppet Show. Muppet Babies. Smurfs. Pound Puppies.
I remember watching the first night of TGIF ever. And I remember faithfully watching it every night from then on... until it got bad. Full House. Perfect Strangers. Growing Pains. Small Wonder. Punky Bruster. Facts of Life. Head of the Class. Family Ties. I should mention Three's Company but I won't cuz I hated it
I cried for Skippy when he found out he was adopted... and for Alex when he found out he wasn't :) And I'm probably the only one who sat surfing the internet and exhausting all it's search engines in attempts at finding out what the 'P' in Alex P. Keaton stood for.
There was the Electric Company. Square One(Mathnet was the best!). Seasame Street(before there was an Elmo to bother tickling). Mr.Rogers(my second father). Not to mention the wonderour 3-2-1 Contact and it's Bloodhound Gang which I always wanted to be part of. And the characters of Zooblie Zoo were my best friends.
Trix were for Kids who Played with Real Toys

I had legos. Not the elaborate sets of today, but the simple police car. The packaging station with it's cool sliding door. The fire truck, the windmill, and the ground-breaking space vehicles. There were transformers, and evil decepticons
I had transformers- which were really more than met the eye. Only three, if I recall- an airplane, a trian, and a color-changing something or other. But there were no decepticons so that made my playing a bit harder. But I had My Little Ponies in every size, shape and form from the sea ponies I played with in the bath tub to the little babies I tucked into their cribs and prams with their bottles.
I had a Barbies and Cabage patch Kids. I had a rubix cube. I had Hungry, Hungry Hippos and Mouse Trap. Thre was Clue, Monopoly, Trouble, and Uno was still fun.
Little Golden Books and Highlights were as big as Disney(which didn't suck, either!).
Movies were Things to Cherish

Movies of the 80s entertainted but also taught us a little something about ourselves. For me, they taught me a lot mroe than I thought I could ever know, especially when I look at them now. Go to my movie page to find out more about my favorite movies from the 80s: Movies
I remember the second time I saw The Breakfast Club. No, I don't remmeber my first, just my second and every time after that :-) I had been sleeping over at my friend Melissa's house- we must have been in the sixth grade, I think. We were sitting and eating breakfast that Saturday morning and her mom was making the best panckaes, regular circles with two small circles sticking out on the sides- she called them Mickey Mouse pancakes with good raeson! We were flipping through the channels(literally flipping, this was before we all had remotes) and came across the movie. I recognized it right away and so did she. I said it was the movie with the five different kids in detention and she seconded my point, giving their personalities and the ending, though we couldn't remmeber what the name was until the commercial- we were watching it on Paramount 20 in the years before it became the horrible UPN network, and the name of the movie was said by that deeply familiar voice "The Breakfast Club" we both yelled "That's it!" and dissolved into laughter, discussing our favorite parts... though neither of us could recal when we'd first seen it. Perhaps I was just too young. Perhaps it didn't make an impression on me the first time. Or perhaps we children of the 80s were born into something deeper and more controlled than we thought. Perhaps the wonderful Breakfast Club is a thought processed into our minds before birth, so that we can live and grow with its lessons in mind... so that we can see the true natures of everything in a way other generations cannot. Or perhaps it was just a huge, funny coincidence.
Music was Actually Music

I have nothing against rap and techno... but come on, now, who are they kidding? In the eighties, songs meant something. They had words, notes, beats, and you could actually dance to them without looking like you were having an epileptic attack.
I was enthralled by the soothing familiarity of Boy George and entranced by Dexie's Midnight Runners. Springstein was a God and Madonna a Goddess(before she did techno meets Loreena McKennit). I did the Egyptian, the Locomotive, the Monster Mash... and laughed at the pathetic attempts at dance seen in the "gidget" surfer movies that reran every Sunday on the Paramout station before it became UPN.
The music videos and the songs of the 80s said something. They were soft, usually a little blurry, but made their point known. Eternal Flame was my life blood. Hold On by Wilson Philips was my soul.
I wanted to have Mickey. I wanted to be an Angel Centerfold or a Lady in Red. I came from the Land Down Under. I partied with Cool and the Gang. I wanted to be Eileen. I wanted to let go of all 99 Luft Ballons. I laughed at people who actually dialed 867-5309... but didn't admit to anyone I had done it, too... just to see...
Guns N' Roses was actually alive and kicking. The New Kids were a passing phase, not the butt of all jokes. Micheal Jackson was still black.
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