MEMORIES of the 80's

Someone found this on the internet and sent it in (no credit was given):

Barbie and Smurfette were the ideal girls. We were amazed by the Rubic's Cube and prided ourselves in being able to do one side. Anyone who could complete it was god. Well, we still are amazed.

Girls' favourites were strawberry Shortcake and Smurfs. The Carebear Countdown was their inspiration and they knew what sort of colours and stuff would fly out of their bellies when they stood in a row.

Gargamel was like a particular uncle they knew. They aspired to become Barbie when they grew up, to live a big pink houses, own plasticfurniture, and thought that Ken was the hunkiest guy around.

Teddy bears promised that they would stay with us forever and never run away. (For the death of us boys, we would never admit that we watch 'girlie' cartoons as well).

The 80s was a time when books were read and reread to death. We've all loved Enid Blyton's books. We felt angry when Elizabeth (The Naughtiest Girl in School) was wrongly accused of something she didn't do, and we would sit in the toilet lost in The Faraway Tree and the Wishing Chair, together with Moonface and the Saucepan Man, for hours on end until mum demanded we come out. We prided ourselves in having read all the books printed on the back of the bright blue hard covers and to our parents' dismay, we had to own every single one of them.

We all wished we were Charlie and wondered what the Oompa Loompas would feel like when we bashed them up. And we could not, for our lives, understand why the adults read books with no pictures in them. Sleeping over at a friend's place was the event of the month. A cup of milk and a plate of chocolate chip cookies were a complete meal and a proper diet. A box of crayons and plain sheets of white paper were enough to built vast empires. Hunting for spiders (and anything else that moved) in the bushes was adventure in its own right.

Your friend's friend was your friend, your friend's enemy was your enemy, your enemy's friend was your enemy, and your enemy's enemy was your friend. We couldn't understand why our older brothers were so crazy over fast cars and other girls, and why our older sisters wore perfume and make-up.

The 80s. A time when friendships were made in the morning, broken in the afternoon, and remade in the evening. A time when having the same interests and hobbies qualified you as a friend. A time when most of our toys didn't have to have electricity running through them to keep us amused. If anything was wrong in the 80s, we cared not for we lived for that day, and that day only. But most importantly for us 80s children, it was a magical era; where the world seemed to hang in a suspended state of transition...a time when the people we met and the friends we made are the ones who will stay with us till thy kingdom comes.

Peace. We wish we could turn back the clock...

Got some more? Want to add something to another decade? Send 'em in! E-mail: grads at mrhsgrads dot ca