The topic for this week’s Friday Flashback is What big cultural event occurred during your childhood/youth that you recall clearly? What was its impact on you?
Several “big” events immediately popped into my mind – the Challenger explosion (I was home sick from 6th grade watching the Price is Right- specifically, the yodeling mountain climber– when the show was interrupted by video images of the fiery explosion), Charles and Diana’s wedding (I watched it in my aunt’s basement in the wee hours of the morning, marveling at Diana’s train floating down the aisle and wishing to marry a prince one day), and Ronald Reagan’s assassination attempt.
However, the most vivid memories I have as a child were pop culture and fashion-related. (C’mon. Does that surprise you? It’s WHOORL we’re talking about here.)
Do you all remember these events as well as I do?
Watching the birth of MTV, with the inaugural video being Video Killed The Radio Star.
Classifying myself as a Valley Girl. “Like, you are tubular to the max.”
Hiding behind a pillow while viewing Thriller for the first time.
Drinking my first Jolt Cola.
My first pair of Jellies shoes.
Wanting to mack down with Charlie Sheen in Lucas. (That makes me cringe a little.)
Mix and matching the “perfect” Units outfit while getting ready for school.
The Three Men And A Baby ghost hiding in the curtain rumor. Freaked my shit out.
Dude, one word. FROGGER. (Also, did any of you play River Raid on Atari? My dad scored the highest score ever. We had to take a photo of him standing next to the good ol’ RCA television to send in. I would KILL for that photo right now.)
I remember distinct details of the above mentioned. What about you, though? What events from your youth are emblazoned on your brain? Anything goes!
Don’t forget to check out these other participants, as I can promise their posts are way more poignant than my banter about Jolt Cola. (Although, that shit was WICKED COOL. Admit it.)
metalia
March 22, 2008 at 4:37 pmJellies!! I forgot about those.There was a brief, terrible moment when they came back in style in the mid 1990’s, only this time, with chunky platform heels. Good lord, the FUG!
Jamie
March 22, 2008 at 6:52 pmDude, we had “units” but they went by the name of “Multiples,” and I can vividly remember my sister and I wishing that they made them in Hypercolor fabric.
I was still sitting at the dinner table (alone, in the dark, in front of a cold plate of green beans courtesy of our “eat your vegetables or you can’t leave the table” rule) when Norman Schwarzkopf came onto the 9 o’clock news to announce that we’d gone to war in the Persian Gulf. Which means two things – I hate green beans, and I was WAY too old to be forced to sit at the table.
sarah
March 23, 2008 at 7:05 pmi loved the jellies…my sister and i were obsessed with “tap shoes” — which were any shoe/flat/pump that went click-click on the linoleum — so we stuck rocks in the holes of the heels to make them click when we walked. SWEEEEEET.
tetris…i wish i still had that old nintendo, because i would still totally play tetris. my (7th-grade) boyfriend and i would have competitions over the phone!
did anyone collect charms? my friend in 3rd grade had the awesomest charm SWEATSHIRT with little loops…so jealous!
BeachMama
March 24, 2008 at 4:58 amWow, I remember all of that and more. But for some reason I thought we were closer in age :) , so perhaps I remember it all a little too clearly!
JennyM
March 24, 2008 at 8:08 amHoly crap, UNITS. Wow — I remember going to the Units store when we went to visit my grandparents because apparently our town wasn’t cool enough to have a whole store devoted to them. The walls of boxes of little rolled up pieces of jersey fabric. Just, wow.
And whoever mentioned the Coca-Cola rugby! I had forgotten about those — I had a red one and a teal one and I wore it with my white coral necklace…
I was in 3rd grade when the Challenger exploded, and we were watching it on TV, too — and our teacher jumped up and turned it off just after the explosion and we turned back to cursive writing.
What about Trapper Keepers? Mine had a beautiful photo of a galloping horse on it… :)
Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go dig out my Commodore 64 and play Frogger.
ali
March 24, 2008 at 9:38 ami soooo am in love with this post. mostly because you mentioned the mountain-climbing yodeler from The Price is Right. i love that little dude.
gina in sc
March 24, 2008 at 12:43 pmThe Berlin wall came down- we lived in Germany then and took a train to Berlin shortly after and hacked off a chunk of the wall and spray painted on it. i think i put something like I love Kirk Cameron in red spray paint ….??
The Muse
March 25, 2008 at 8:37 am(Found you from Amalah, by the way! Hi! Love your blog!)
I remember pretty much everything you mentioned… but the biggest memory from my childhood was a little more of a local event, but huge for our area.
I lived in Las Vegas growing up, and a rocket fuel plant blew up in May of 1988 (yep, coming up on the 20th anniversary of it) – it was the Pepcon plant, and it caught fire and decimated the building and that of the Kidd Marshmallow Plant nearby.
Because of the chemicals that caught fire, the entire area was basically evacuated, but surprisingly, only 2 people died in the accident.
But let me tell you, seeing that HUGE orange mushroom cloud rise up over the city, and being only 7 years old and at school just before lunchtime, is something that will NEVER go away in my head.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pepcon
That’s the Wiki page on it – it’s really interesting stuff.
JesC
March 26, 2008 at 6:10 amChallenger, oh yes. My elementary school library, all of us gathered on the floor watching the endless news repeat on the jumbo TV strapped to the AV cart…
And OMG, the Three Men and Baby ghost, yes yes yes!