Mrs. Nurse Boy here.
The other day we found ourselves at a local used bookstore. While the kids were digging around for bargains, I took notice of all of the VHS tapes that were for sale. Dimples quickly asked why anyone would buy a VHS tape when they could buy a DVD. (He doesn't even know about Blue Ray... shhh.) My first thought was they were cheap. My second thought was that they reminded me of my childhood. As I walked around the stuffed bookstore I found myself digging through records (Yes, VINYL), 45's, and even... wait for it... 8 tracks!! My dad still holds his 8 track collection dear. I don't understand it but, as I find myself growing older, I am guessing it must have something to do with his childhood.
All of this had me reflecting back to my childhood. The days were much simpler. We weren't distracted by handheld gadgets. Heck, we didn't even have a (gasp!) computer. When you left the house, you couldn't be reached. It was rare to find waterproof sunscreen (which was very unfortunate for this fair skinned girl). We had to HAND CRANK our car windows open. (I know, can you imagine??) We even cruised around town in a station wagon. (Those things make a mini van look DREAMY. Ha!) Oh, and you were lucky if you could dig out the seat belts from the creases in the seats. We never bothered to wear them. After all, who needed to actually live after a minor fender-bender? Certainly not my family!
Amazingly, I survived my sunburned-filled, non-seat-belt-wearing, lacking-any-kind-of-cool-gadgets childhood. So, today I thought I would reflect back on those years... Ya know, way back before Al Gore had invented the Internet and all...
It was a time when...
*Publisher's Clearing House and Ed McMahon went hand in hand.
*Red plastic jackets with zippers were considered cool. (Thank you, Thriller!)
*Blue eye shadow WAS all that and a bag of chips.
*You drank TAB out of a pink can and pretended it was refreshing. (Or you stole sips of your mom's.)
*A cell phone was actually referred to as a "bag phone." It was heavy, awkward, AND had an antennae.
*If you were female, your bangs most likely had a part. The bottom half of your bangs were carefully curled under while the top half were strategically teased to wave at the heavens. It was perfection once it was sprayed with an entire can of Aqua Net hairspray.
*"Jellies" weren't doughnuts, but only the most stylish, yet completely uncomfortable, shoes ever.
*You sat around for hours playing "PONG" on Atari. (And, you thought it was fun!) When Pac-Man came out, you thought you had died and gone to heaven.
*You may even remember renting not only a movie, but the entire VCR machine as well. (It was a HUGE plastic case.)
*Carefully positioning the collar up on your polo shirt was a fashion statement. So were the hot pink leggings you were sporting.
Yes, I am slowly growing older. My kids gasp as I share about my childhood and all of the comforts we didn't have available to us "back then." Kind of like I do when my dad starts to ramble on about not having air conditioning and sleeping with wet sheets... while listening to his 8 tracks. Priceless? I think not.
Those precious 8 tracks were selling for a whooping 48cents a piece.
As were my vinyl records.
Sigh, I really am old!
4 days ago
8 comments:
Oh, you're just growing old with the rest of us! My kids can't believe we only went to town once a week (maybe) and had to put on church clothes when we did go to town! Just wait till them have kids!
Come visit when you can...
www.frugaltractormom.blogspot.com
I feel old all the time. Though I have to say, I never rented a VCR machine.
But I do remember our first microwave. That sucker was HUGE. LOL
The Mrs. Does not remember "fats", they were shoelaces that were thicker than an 80's necktie, with cool designs. I also remember rolling my pants, and having a cool members only jacket. I would also feather my hair on the side. We had the coolest laser disc player too. Had to turn the disc over half way through the movie. I am pretty sure that having a disc of any kind for music or video will be pretty lame withing the next few years. We will just store those all on our phones.
Mr.NB
I think you are old. :-) But so am I. Only I don't remember all of that. However, I do think I'm old because now my son's "drinks" taste like what my dad always said they did...melted popsicles. And that is not good!
Oh the good ole days. To think one day our kids will say..."simplier times"
I am getting old too. It is funny though to see my girls wanting to sport the 80's fashions and me cringing and avoiding them like the plague. LOL
Ha, thanks for the walk down memory lane.
The other day Adorable Hubby and I were running errands when he said with deepest reverance, "Woahhh, that's a members only jacket!"
Ahh the bangs, and Sunny and Cher on an 8 track...life was good!
I still have a working VCR and have no qualms about picking up old movies for 50 cents at yard sales.
I always asked my girls if they were going to wear their peanut butter socks with their jelly shoes.
I can remember when my cousin had a reel to reel tape player and we watched home movies the same way, reel to reel.
Nope, don't remember any of that... or maybe I do remember some of it... okay, all of it... I remember all of it. BUT I'M NOT OLD!
Post a Comment