17 January 2005

Remembering When

Hmm. Getting old, I must be. Looking for inspiration to get myself writing again, I peeked at my "published work" file and found this piece which was published as an "honorable mention" in Monday Magazine's "What the 80s Meant to Me" contest; it appeared in their last issue of 1989.

I could subtitle the eighties "My life as a teenager": I turned 13 in 1982, and I breathed, ate and slept the popular culture of the eighties. To me, the eighties was music: Madonna, Prince, George Michael and Live Aid. The eighties was movies: E.T., Footloose, the Brat Pack, and endless sequels. The eighties was fast food: Chicken McNuggets, two-for-one pizza, Nutra Sweet, and Coca-Cola Classic. The eighties was technology: the Walkman, the home computer, the compact disc, and the VCR. The eighties also was trends: break-dancing, Rubik's Cube, Swatches and Cabbage Patch Kids. The eighties was new innovations and improvements on old ideas and will always have a special place in my memory: the eighties will be come the "when" of my "I remember when," and the "good old days" of my later years.




It was published with my full name and the photo, above. I was soooo proud of myself, and I still smile at the piece but I get a bit embarrassed when I realize the last paragraph has already come true!

3 comments:

carrie said...

Oh, the 80s. My formative years.

I remember having Swatches, Cabbage Patch Kids, and Rubik's Cubes. Madonna was my idol. I remember when Chicken McNuggets first came on the market in their little styrofoam package with the indentation for your sauce packet.

Listen to me: it is the when of our "I remember when...." I think we're getting old. Time to admit it.

Christopher said...

don't forget "Men without Hats", five-pound cell phones, "Miami Vice" and leg warmers

:)

carrie said...

Oh yeah, the brick phones! A lady that I work with still has one that she uses as a paperweight on her desk. Remember when cell phones were so expensive that not everyone had one?

And Flashdance...I had a flashdance ensemble that I used to wear to school. Oh, the horror!