Friends,  if you were born between 1967 and 1977
(give or take a year or two),  you will certainly enjoy
this as much as I did. Don't skip a line, read this when you have time to
take it all in.

    I am a child of the 70's and 80's. That is what I prefer to be
called. The 90's can do without me. Grunge isn't here to stay, fashion is
fickle and "Generation X" is a myth created by some over-40 writer trying to
figure out why people wear flannel in the summer. When I got home from school,
I played Atari 2600. I spent hours playing Pitfall or Combat or Breakout or
Dodge'em Cars or Frogger. I never did beat Asteroids. Then I watched "Scooby
Doo." Daphne was a Goddess, and I thought Shaggy was smoking something
synthetic in the back of the mystery machine. I HATED SCRAPPY.
I would sleep over at friends' houses on the weekends. We played
army with G.I. Joe figures, and I set up galactic wars between Autobots and
Decepticons. We never beat Rubik's cube, unless you count taking off
the stickers. I got up on Saturday mornings at 6 a.m. to watch bad
Hanna-Barbera cartoons like "Captain Caveman," and "SpaceGhost." In between I
would watch "School House Rock." ("Conjunction junction, what's your
function?!")

    On Friday Night, Daisy Duke was my future wife. I was going to own the
General Lee and shoot dynamite arrows out the back. Why did they weld the
doors shut? Did your dad turn from mild-mannered Bill Bixby into "The
Incredible Hulk" when he got upset.

At the movies the Nerds got revenge on the AlphaBetas by teaming up
with the Omega Mu's. I watched Indiana Jones save the Ark of the Covenant,
and wondered what Yoda meant when he said, "No, there is another." My
family took summer vacations to South Florida and collected "Muppet Movie"
glasses along the way. (We had the whole set.) At the hotel we found
creative uses for Connect Four pieces like throwing them in that big air
conditioning unit. I listened to John Cougar Mellencamp sing about Little Pink
Houses for Jack and Diane. I was bewildered by Boy George and the colors of his
dreams,red, gold and green. I was a "Wild Boy," Duran Duran. MTV played MUSIC
videos. Nickeloden played "You can't Do That On Television" and "Dangermouse".

Does anyone remember the "Banana Splits?"

I drank Dr. Pepper. "I'm a Pepper, you're a Pepper, wouldn't you
like to be a Pepper too?" Shasta was for losers. TAB was a laboratory
accident. Capri Sun was a social statement. Orange Juice wasn't just for
breakfast anymore. My Mom put a thousand Little Debbie Snack Cakes in my
Charlie Brown lunchbox and filled my Snoopy Thermos with Grape Kool-Aid. I
got two thousand cheese and cracker snack packs. I went to school and had
recess. I went to the same classes everyday. Some weird guy from the 8th
grade always won the science fair with the working hydroelectric plant that
leaked on my project about music and plants. Field day was bigger than
Christmas, but it always seemed to rain just enough to make everybody
miserable. Rubber band fights were cool. A substitute teacher was a marked
woman. Nobody deserved that.

    I went to Cub Scouts. I got my arrow-of-light, but never managed to
win the Pinewood Derby. I got almost every skill award but don't remember
ever doing anything. The world stopped when the Challenger exploded. Half of your
friend's parents got divorced. People did not just say "no" to drugs.
AIDS started, but you knew more people who had a grandparent die from cancer.
Somebody in your school died before they graduated. 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. 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 enough for you to be Luke. And the kitchen table and that
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 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 talkin' bout Willis?" We hold strong affections
for The Muppets and why did they take the Smurfs off of the air? After
school specials were about cigarettes and stepfamilies. The Polka DotDoor
was nothing like Barney, and aren't the Power Rangers just Voltron
reincarnated? We are the ones who read Nancy Drew, The Hardy Boys,The
Bobbsey Twins, Beverly Cleary, and Judy Blume.

    Friendship bracelets were ties you couldn't break and friendship
pins went on shoes, preferably hightop velcro Reeboks. And pegged jeans were
in, as were unit 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 rad. The backdoor was always open
and Mom served only red Kool-Aid to the neighborhood kids. YOU NEVER drank
the New 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 Chinese Jump
Ropes never failed to trip someone. In your underoos you were Wonder Woman,
Spider Man, or Robin; and in your treehouse you were king. Star Wars was not
only a movie. Did you ever play in a bomb shelter? We didn't start the fire
Billy Joel. (and we didn't steal the banner. . .)

    We had neighborhoods where in the day we could play kick-the-can,
"guns" and all of the things that made us Grow up. There was always that one
field" that could be used for either baseball, football, homerun derby, or
just a place to hang out. That was my field of dreams Mr. Costner. At night we
would play flashlight tag. Just like we could trick-or-treat at night
without the fear of being shot and killed. Just like our guns had caps or
"lasers". If we didn't have the Jessie James guns we could just get a rock
and smash the caps on the ground! We loved those orange race tracks...that
was until our mother realized she could smack us with them.
    We too collected football and baseball cards but it was because we
wanted to be the first in the neighborhood to have the "complete" set. In our
neighborhoods we played with He-man and Skelator. Going to get a Happy Meal
on Saturday with dad or Mom was worth waiting the other six days of the
week. No, we are the furthest thing from a lost generation. Does going to
arcades on Saturday, getting carpooled to football with your best friend,
eating fruit roll-ups, having birthday parties at McDonalds or Godfather's
pizza or Noble Romans where you could make your own pizza-express you are
lost?

    How many people melted their army figures that were given to them by
their parents? Was Green Latern the Coolest Super Hero or Aquaman? "Wonder twin
powers activate!" How's about coming home at night and separating your
Halloween candy into: The cool stuff, the homemade stuff, and the pennies...
how's about the candy that came in that awful orange and black wax paper?
Did you ever try it? Do you remember the one house that had a sign in the
candy bowl that said, "Take One." How many did you take if you liked it?
Were you desperate one year and as a teenager you trick-or-treated?
Our generation had character and heart. We played with real baseballs and
"Putt putt for the fun-of-it." "Hey, my Mom will take us if your Mom picks
us up!" Could you ever really beat Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom...?
Did you have sliced oranges or grapes for your half-time treat? How about
the hot dog and coke after each football and baseball games? Star Crunches?
Whippy Dip? Twinkies? Ho-ho's? This is what WE are all about!
    When you put all this stuff together, you have my childhood. If
this stuff sounds familiar, then I bet you are one, too. We are the children
of the "80's". That is what I prefer they call us. 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. So if you are reading
this and it ALL hit's home then you do indeed have a heritage or a
generation. This is what makes us the most unique generation of all.
Please pass this on to all who can relate!