80children

We are the children of the 80's. We are not the first "lost generation" nor today's "lost genereation"; in fact, we think we know just where we stand- or are discovering it as we speak. We are the ones who played with Lego Building Blocks when they were just building blocks and gave Malibu Barbie a crewcut with safety scissors that never really cut. We collected Garbage Pail Kids and Cabbage Patch Kids and My Little Ponys and Glow-Worms and Hot Wheels and He-Man action figures and thought She-Ra looked just a little bit like little girls would when they were women. Big Wheels and bicycles with streamers were the way to go, and sidewalk chalk was all you needed to build a city. Imagination was the key. It made the Ewok Treehouse big enought for you to be Luke Skywalker and the kitchen table, or the couch and La-Z-Boy in the living room along with an old sheet dark enough to be in the forest. Our world was the backyard and it was all we needed. With your pink portable tape player, Debbie Gibson sang backup to you and everyone wanted a skirt like the Material Girl or a glove like Michael Jackson's.
Today, we are the ones who sing along perfectly with Cyndi Lauper and The Bangles and have no idea why. We recite lines with The Ghostbusters and still look to the Goonies for a great adventure. We flip through T.V. stations and stop at the A-Team and Knight Rider and Fame and the Dukes of Hazzard and laugh with The Cosby Show and Family Ties and Charles In Charge and Punky Brewster and "what you talkin' 'bout Willis?" We hold strong affections for the Muppets, the Care Bears, the Transformers, G.I. Joe, and why did they take the Smurf's off the air? After school specials were only about cigarettes and step-families, Sesame Street, Today's Special, and Pinwheel were nothing like Barney and aren't the Power Rangers just Voltron reincarnated? We are the ones who still read Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys, the Bobsey Twins, Judy Blume, and Beverly Cleary and Ralph S. Mouse. Friendship bracelets were ties you couldn't break and friendship pins went on showers- preferably hightop velcro Reeboks or Kangaroos. Tight-rolled pegged jeans were in as were brightly colored layered socks and Units belts and stone-washed jean jackets and jellies and charm necklaces and side pony tails and just tails. Rave was a girl's best friend, braces with colored rubber bands made you cool (I had braces with colored rubber bands, but only on the bottom :-D). The backdoor was always open (now my friends open it themselves) and Mom served only red Kool-Aid to the neighborhood kids. Entertainment was cheap and lasted for hours. All you needed to be a PRINCESS was a pair of high heels and an apron (for me now it's a tiara from Brandon). Pogoballs were dangerous weapons and Chinese Jump Ropes never failed to trip someone, the Sit n' Spin always made you dizzy but never made you stip. In your Underoos you were Wonder Woman or Spiderman or R2D2 and in your treehouse you were king (or queen-hey, I had one too!).
In the 80's nothing was wrong. Did you know the president was shot? Star Wars wasn't just a movie? Did you ever play in a bomb shelter? Did you see The Challenger explode or feed the homeless man? We forgot Vietnam and watched Tianaman's Square on CNN and bought pieces of the Berlin Wall at the store. AIDS was not the number one killer in the U.S. In the 80's we redefined the American Dream and those years defined us. We are the generation in between strife and facing strife and not turning our backs. The 80's have made us idealitic, but it's that idealism that will push us and be passed on to our children- the first children of the 21st century. Never forget, we are the children of the 80's.