We are the Children of the 80's
We are the children of the eighties. We are not the first "lost
generation" nor 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 Malibu Barbie crewcuts with safety scissors that never really cut.
We collected Garbage Pail Kids and Cabbage Patch Kids and My Little Pony
and Hot wheels and He-Man action figures and thought She-Ra looked just a
litle bit like I would as a woman. Big wheels and bicycles with
streamers were the way to go, and sidewalk chalk was all you needed to
build a city. Imagination was a key, It made the Ewok Treehouse big
enough for you to be Luke and the kitchen table and an old sheet dark
enough to be a tent in the forest. Your world was the backyard and it
was all you needed. With your pink portable tape player, Debbie Gibson
sang back up to you and everyone wanted a skirt like the Material Girl
and a glove like Michael Jackson's. Today, we are the ones who sing
along with Bruce Springsteen
and The Bangles perfectly 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 laugh with The Cosby Show
and Family
Ties and Punky Brewster and what you talking' 'bout Willis? We hold
strong affections for The Muppets and The Gummy Bears and why did they
take Smurfs off the air? After school specials were only about
cigarettes and step-families, the Pokka Dot Door was nothing like Barney,
and aren't the Power Rangers just Voltron reincarnated? We are the ones
who stil read Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys, the Bobbsey Twins, Beverly
Clearly and Judy Blume, Richard Scary and the Electric Company.
Friendship bracelets were ties you couldn't break and friendship pins
went on shoes - preferably hightop velcro Reebok
- and pegged jeans were
in, as were Units belts and layered socks and jean jackets and jams and
charm necklaces and side pony tails and rats' tails. Rave was a girl's
best friend; braces with colored rubberbands made you cool. The backdoor
was always opened and Mom served only red Kool-Aid to the neighborhood
kids - never drank New Coke. Entertainment was cheap and lasted for
hours. All you needed to be a prnicess was high heels and an apron; the
Sit'n'Spin always made you dizzy but never made you stop; Pogoballs were
dangerous weapons and Chinese Jump 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 President was shot? Star Wars was only 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 Tiananman's Square on CNN
and bought pieces of the Berlin Wall at the store. AIDS was not the
number one killer We didn't start the fire Billy Joel. In the Eighties,
we redefined the Dream, 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 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 80s
if this is familiar you are one of us.... pass it on to all the others...