Children of the Eighties
We are the children of the Eighties. We are The first "lost generation" way cooler than today's lost generation; 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 our sister's Barbie crewcuts with daddy's scissors. We collected WWF cards and Hot Wheels and He-Man action figures and thought She-Ra looked exactly like my maths teacher when I've not done my homework.
Big Wheels and bicycles with Stickers were the way to go, and sidewalk chalk was all you needed to build a city. Imagination was the key. It made the old dog house big enough for you to be Luke Skywalker and the kitchen table and an old sheet dark enough to be a tent in the forest. Our world was the backyard and it was all we needed.
Today, we are the ones who sing along with Boney M and The Bangles perfectly and have no idea why. We recite lines with the Ghostbusters and still look to superman for a great adventure. We flip through T.V. stations and stop at The Street Hawk and Knight Rider. We hold strong affections for transformers and The Gummy Bears and why did they take robotech off the air? After school specials were only about running through ditches and climbing lampposts, the dino's from jurassic park 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, the Famous five, and the secret seven. Friendship bracelets were ties you couldn't break and shoes were preferably hightop Velcro Reeboks - and pegged jeans were in, as were Flashy belts and layered socks and jean jackets and jams and charm necklaces and side pony tails and just tails. Rave was a girl's best friend; braces with colored rubberbands made you cool.
The backdoor was always open and Mom served only Rasna to the neighborhood kids- We never drank Coke. Entertainment was cheap and lasted for hours. All you needed to be a princess was high heels and an apron; the Sit'n'Spin always made you dizzy but never made you stop; Pogoballs were dangerous weapons and Skipping Ropes never failed to trip someone. In your Underoos you were Wonder Woman or Spider Man or R2D2 and in your treehouse you were king. In the Eighties, nothing was wrong. Did you know the prime minister was shot?
Star Wars was still a cool movie. Did you ever play in a Constructioin site? Did you see the Challenger explode or feed the homeless man?. AIDS was not the number one killer in the country. We didn't start the fire, Billy Joel. In the Eighties, we lived the Dream, Defined those years and those years defined us.
We are the generation in between strife and facing strife and not turning our backs. The Eighties may have made us idealistic, but it's that idealism that will push us and be passed on to our children - the first children of the twenty-first century. Never forget: We are the children of the Eighties.
