For those who grew up in the 80s
Many of you will be too young to reminisce, but these brought back many fond memories for me. Just be glad I didn't include pictures as evidence.
1. You have ever ended a sentence with the word "SIKE."
2. You can sing the rap to the "Fresh Prince of BelAir" and can do the "Carlton."
3. Girls wore biker shorts under their skirts and felt stylishly sexy. - I went through a phase where I wore biker shorts under everything - skirts, dresses (instead of hose), and boxer shorts (b/c trust me, it was cool to wear boxers as shorts). Mom and I actually almost threw down over biker shorts when I wanted to wear them under my prom dress my freshman year. Additionally, my most grand and blatant act of disobedience was to sneak boxers to school. While other girls were sneaking on make-up or short skirts, my big scandal was boxer shorts. My mom said that men's underwear was not proper school attire. She also had sewn shut the fly on all of my pairs, even though I was wearing the aforementioned biker shorts underneath them. But I had this Mizzou pair I loved so much, so I changed into them when I got to school! It is amazing I didn't follow down a slippery slope to crack-whoredom.
4. Two words: Hammer Pants.
5. You wore a ponytail on the side of your head. - I plead the 5th.
6. You made your mom buy one of those clips that would hold your shirt in a knot on the side.
7. You wore stonewashed Jordache jean jackets and were proud of it. - I had this stonewashed jean jacket with white leather fridge along the back and down the arms ... it was wicked-cool.
8. L.A. Gear. Need I say more?
9. You remember reading "Tales of a fourth grade nothing" and all the Ramona books. - I loved the Henry and Ribsy books (when Ramona was just Beatrice's annoying little sister) and the Boxcar Children. But on the topic of Judy Blume, be aware that just because a child likes Superfudge doesn't mean she should read everything Blume writes (as my friend Kristina and I learned the hard way with Ara's copy of Forever).
10. You know the profound meaning of "WAX ON, WAX OFF."
11. You ever wore fluorescent clothing (some of us...head-to-toe).
12. You can remember what Michael Jackson looked like before his nose fell off and his cheeks shifted.
13. You still get the urge to say "NOT" after every sentence.
14. You ever owned a pair of Jelly-Shoes (and probably in neon colors, too). - I wore some jellies, but mostly "dobeys," which were what we called the generic versions of Keds. However, Dollar General was best store in town for both ... yet that was the place we would reference when trying to be mean. Lots of "Oh yeah, well your mom shops at Dollar General" or "You shop at Aldi's," which is ridiculous now b/c I would love to have the chance to shop at those stores now ... save a little money. :)
15. After you saw Pee-Wee's Big Adventure you kept saying "I know you are, but what am I?"
16. You remember "I've fallen and I can't get up." - I still think it is funny.
17. You remember going to the skating rink before there were inline skates. - Oh, the glorious birthday parties at the skating rink! Two words = "couples skate."
18. You ever got seriously injured on a Slip and Slide. - Even greater liability risk ... Lawn Darts!
19. You have ever played with a Skip-It.
20. You had or attended a birthday party at McDonalds. - Oh, the glorious birthday parties at McDonalds. Orange drink and the clothespin drop game? Classic.
21. You've gone through this nodding your head in agreement.
22. "Don't worry, be happy." - I remember having a t-shirt that said this. I got it from Santa Claus with a pair of PePe jeans ... I scored BIG that Christmas. :)
23. You wore like, EIGHT pairs of socks over tights with high top Reeboks. - We couldn't afford "everyday" Reeboks, but I convinced my dad that my basketball shoes needed to be high top Reeboks, and then I would sneak and wear them off the court. :)
24. You wore socks scrunched down (and sometimes still do...getting yelled at by "younger hip" members of the family). - Yes, I was a little slower than I should have been ending that trend ... thanks Jena!
25. You remember boom boxes. - In fourth grade I wanted this pink boom box from the JCPenney Christmas catalog (dual tape decks ... it rocked). Mom wanted me to write a letter to Santa to play along w/ my little brother and sister. So I went through the motions, composing a matter of fact request of Santa, including a description of the boom box and the catalog page number. My mom then proceeded to submit the letter w/ my brother and sister's letters to the local paper (yes, that is what small town papers do ... print kids’ letters to Santa). I was mortified, but my classmates were amused. And it isn't like fourth graders are mean or anything ...
26. You remember Alf, the lil furry brown alien from Melmac. - Yeah, I remember that he wasn't funny!
27. You remember New Kids on the Block when they were cool. - Ohmygosh, I loved the New Kids. Had the privilege of attending two New Kids concerts (a pretty big deal for a junior higher). The first was at the State Fair, before I even knew who they were. We had track seats (standing on the track, next to the stage) and someone using a lighter accidentally ignited my hair. The second was near the end of their career (just before they became NKOTB) at the old Busch Stadium, next to the last row from the top. I was in love w/ Jonathan, Jordan's older brother, who I now know (thanks to VH1's "Where Are They Now") suffered from severe performance anxiety. What a trooper to solider on for all of those screaming adolescent girls. :) I got a Jonathan Knight pillowcase for my birthday one year ... it was fabulous.
28. You know all the words to Bon Jovi - SHOT THROUGH THE HEART.
29. You just sang those words to yourself. - Bon Jovi represents about half of my young life soundtrack ... all of the best school dance memories involved trying to put your hands in each other's back pockets during the slow dances, with Bon Jovi playing in the background. Of course the final song of the dance would always be "I've Had the Time of My Life."
30. You remember watching Magic vs. Bird.
31. Homemade Levi shorts (the shorter the better). - My favorite pair of homemade shorts was a pair of cut-off Levis with this big rip across the butt, behind which I sewed a red bandana. Oh my gosh they were too cool. Of course I'd wear them with biker shorts underneath. :)
32. You remember when mullets were cool! - Dude, in my hometown people STILL have mullets. I definitely dated a guy w/ a mullet back in the day. I don't so much remember them being "cool" in and of themselves, but most of the wrestling team had them and wrestlers rocked! I do remember guys w/ curly hair wearing it short but then having that little row of curls at the base of their hairline in back. In fact, I think there were guys who, if they didn't have curly hair, would perm that to get the look.
33. You had a mullet! - NOT! But I definitely had bell head from cutting my hair too short for its thickness (I had triangle hair like the women in the Dilbert cartoon). Actually, when I got all my hair cut off in 4th grade, we permed the back so that I essentially had "business up front and a party in the back" ... thank goodness it was too short to be considered a mullet.
34. You still sing "We are the World."
35. You tight rolled your jeans. - You KNOW it. Still waiting for that to come back around.
36. You owned a banana clip. - My hair was too thick to work in one of those ... but I definitely had scrunchies to match every outfit.
37. You remember "Where's the Beef?"
38. You used to (and probably still do) say "What you talkin' about Willis?" - Especially since befriending Carl & Shayna.
39. You had big hair and you knew how to use it. - BANGS. Big bangs are where it was at! The poof-ball thing on the front of your head ... who thought that was a good idea? Sometimes at a football game a strong wind would catch one of those things and send it flying backward onto the top of a girl's head, but then it would come back down looking the same b/c of all of the hairspray. Again, still a hairstyle in my hometown.
40. You're still singing shot through the heart in your head, aren't you!!!
Many of you will be too young to reminisce, but these brought back many fond memories for me. Just be glad I didn't include pictures as evidence.
1. You have ever ended a sentence with the word "SIKE."
2. You can sing the rap to the "Fresh Prince of BelAir" and can do the "Carlton."
3. Girls wore biker shorts under their skirts and felt stylishly sexy. - I went through a phase where I wore biker shorts under everything - skirts, dresses (instead of hose), and boxer shorts (b/c trust me, it was cool to wear boxers as shorts). Mom and I actually almost threw down over biker shorts when I wanted to wear them under my prom dress my freshman year. Additionally, my most grand and blatant act of disobedience was to sneak boxers to school. While other girls were sneaking on make-up or short skirts, my big scandal was boxer shorts. My mom said that men's underwear was not proper school attire. She also had sewn shut the fly on all of my pairs, even though I was wearing the aforementioned biker shorts underneath them. But I had this Mizzou pair I loved so much, so I changed into them when I got to school! It is amazing I didn't follow down a slippery slope to crack-whoredom.
4. Two words: Hammer Pants.
5. You wore a ponytail on the side of your head. - I plead the 5th.
6. You made your mom buy one of those clips that would hold your shirt in a knot on the side.
7. You wore stonewashed Jordache jean jackets and were proud of it. - I had this stonewashed jean jacket with white leather fridge along the back and down the arms ... it was wicked-cool.
8. L.A. Gear. Need I say more?
9. You remember reading "Tales of a fourth grade nothing" and all the Ramona books. - I loved the Henry and Ribsy books (when Ramona was just Beatrice's annoying little sister) and the Boxcar Children. But on the topic of Judy Blume, be aware that just because a child likes Superfudge doesn't mean she should read everything Blume writes (as my friend Kristina and I learned the hard way with Ara's copy of Forever).
10. You know the profound meaning of "WAX ON, WAX OFF."
11. You ever wore fluorescent clothing (some of us...head-to-toe).
12. You can remember what Michael Jackson looked like before his nose fell off and his cheeks shifted.
13. You still get the urge to say "NOT" after every sentence.
14. You ever owned a pair of Jelly-Shoes (and probably in neon colors, too). - I wore some jellies, but mostly "dobeys," which were what we called the generic versions of Keds. However, Dollar General was best store in town for both ... yet that was the place we would reference when trying to be mean. Lots of "Oh yeah, well your mom shops at Dollar General" or "You shop at Aldi's," which is ridiculous now b/c I would love to have the chance to shop at those stores now ... save a little money. :)
15. After you saw Pee-Wee's Big Adventure you kept saying "I know you are, but what am I?"
16. You remember "I've fallen and I can't get up." - I still think it is funny.
17. You remember going to the skating rink before there were inline skates. - Oh, the glorious birthday parties at the skating rink! Two words = "couples skate."
18. You ever got seriously injured on a Slip and Slide. - Even greater liability risk ... Lawn Darts!
19. You have ever played with a Skip-It.
20. You had or attended a birthday party at McDonalds. - Oh, the glorious birthday parties at McDonalds. Orange drink and the clothespin drop game? Classic.
21. You've gone through this nodding your head in agreement.
22. "Don't worry, be happy." - I remember having a t-shirt that said this. I got it from Santa Claus with a pair of PePe jeans ... I scored BIG that Christmas. :)
23. You wore like, EIGHT pairs of socks over tights with high top Reeboks. - We couldn't afford "everyday" Reeboks, but I convinced my dad that my basketball shoes needed to be high top Reeboks, and then I would sneak and wear them off the court. :)
24. You wore socks scrunched down (and sometimes still do...getting yelled at by "younger hip" members of the family). - Yes, I was a little slower than I should have been ending that trend ... thanks Jena!
25. You remember boom boxes. - In fourth grade I wanted this pink boom box from the JCPenney Christmas catalog (dual tape decks ... it rocked). Mom wanted me to write a letter to Santa to play along w/ my little brother and sister. So I went through the motions, composing a matter of fact request of Santa, including a description of the boom box and the catalog page number. My mom then proceeded to submit the letter w/ my brother and sister's letters to the local paper (yes, that is what small town papers do ... print kids’ letters to Santa). I was mortified, but my classmates were amused. And it isn't like fourth graders are mean or anything ...
26. You remember Alf, the lil furry brown alien from Melmac. - Yeah, I remember that he wasn't funny!
27. You remember New Kids on the Block when they were cool. - Ohmygosh, I loved the New Kids. Had the privilege of attending two New Kids concerts (a pretty big deal for a junior higher). The first was at the State Fair, before I even knew who they were. We had track seats (standing on the track, next to the stage) and someone using a lighter accidentally ignited my hair. The second was near the end of their career (just before they became NKOTB) at the old Busch Stadium, next to the last row from the top. I was in love w/ Jonathan, Jordan's older brother, who I now know (thanks to VH1's "Where Are They Now") suffered from severe performance anxiety. What a trooper to solider on for all of those screaming adolescent girls. :) I got a Jonathan Knight pillowcase for my birthday one year ... it was fabulous.
28. You know all the words to Bon Jovi - SHOT THROUGH THE HEART.
29. You just sang those words to yourself. - Bon Jovi represents about half of my young life soundtrack ... all of the best school dance memories involved trying to put your hands in each other's back pockets during the slow dances, with Bon Jovi playing in the background. Of course the final song of the dance would always be "I've Had the Time of My Life."
30. You remember watching Magic vs. Bird.
31. Homemade Levi shorts (the shorter the better). - My favorite pair of homemade shorts was a pair of cut-off Levis with this big rip across the butt, behind which I sewed a red bandana. Oh my gosh they were too cool. Of course I'd wear them with biker shorts underneath. :)
32. You remember when mullets were cool! - Dude, in my hometown people STILL have mullets. I definitely dated a guy w/ a mullet back in the day. I don't so much remember them being "cool" in and of themselves, but most of the wrestling team had them and wrestlers rocked! I do remember guys w/ curly hair wearing it short but then having that little row of curls at the base of their hairline in back. In fact, I think there were guys who, if they didn't have curly hair, would perm that to get the look.
33. You had a mullet! - NOT! But I definitely had bell head from cutting my hair too short for its thickness (I had triangle hair like the women in the Dilbert cartoon). Actually, when I got all my hair cut off in 4th grade, we permed the back so that I essentially had "business up front and a party in the back" ... thank goodness it was too short to be considered a mullet.
34. You still sing "We are the World."
35. You tight rolled your jeans. - You KNOW it. Still waiting for that to come back around.
36. You owned a banana clip. - My hair was too thick to work in one of those ... but I definitely had scrunchies to match every outfit.
37. You remember "Where's the Beef?"
38. You used to (and probably still do) say "What you talkin' about Willis?" - Especially since befriending Carl & Shayna.
39. You had big hair and you knew how to use it. - BANGS. Big bangs are where it was at! The poof-ball thing on the front of your head ... who thought that was a good idea? Sometimes at a football game a strong wind would catch one of those things and send it flying backward onto the top of a girl's head, but then it would come back down looking the same b/c of all of the hairspray. Again, still a hairstyle in my hometown.
40. You're still singing shot through the heart in your head, aren't you!!!
3 Comments:
At 8:05 AM,
crazykarl7 said…
The official terminology of the Willi' is "What 'Choo Talkin' 'Bout"
At 4:05 PM,
Anonymous said…
Oh my gosh... this is too awesome :) I'm so nostalgic for the 80's but still seriously hope never to see most of those fashions again! My favorite pair of biker shorts had lace at the bottom... they were way fancy! And LA Gear! The first and best place to get pink tennis shoes :) And jellies... who thought a mostly-enclosed shoe made of shiny, sticky, rubber was a good idea? My feet feel sticky just thinking about it! And slouch socks! I remember buying the ones that were specifically made to slouch, and you knew it was time to get rid of them when they lost their slouch and ended up looking folded (which was so not cool!) And, why were so many of the things in the 80s about our feet? Or ankles, ala tight rolls.... That's a finely honed skill that will probably never do me any good again. Feet/ankles and hair... I totally need to see pics of #33! ;) You show me that, I'll show you my worst big bang pic.... so awful.... And, I had banana clips, but my hair is too fine. They just slipped right out... That's a good look too! Such a fun walk down memory lane :) "In west Philadelphia born and raised..." !! "I know you are but what am I??" Do I get extra points if I say it while doing the Pee-Wee Herman dance too? Wonder why they mentioned the "Carlton" but not that... *sigh* good times, good times :)
At 9:17 AM,
Shayna Willis said…
I also loved Jonathan Knight! And I got a pair of embroidered pepe jeans one Christmas. Ah, the 80's. :-)
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