Whatever hapened to...Nena "99 Luftballons" (German Neunundneunzig Luftballons, "99 balloons")

 

Nena beim Sommernachtstraum 2013 in München beim Olympiapark

The 80s..... In Ireland?

A great compilation I found on YouTube about the 80s decade. Funny thing is it was put together by a guy who grew up in the 80s in Ireland. Apparently things on the Emerald Isle were pretty much the same as they were here. Interesting how American pop culture has a global effect especially today with television, Hollywood, and the internet.

80s Hair Styles

That Feathered Look

Jheri Curl

A LOT of Hairspray Here

 80s hair styles were just as over the top whacked as the clothing. I remember having mine parted down the middle and "feathered" back with hair spray on the sides. And then there was the "big hair" crowd, girls who teased and styled their hair like some weird hair sculpture, the bigger the better! There was one girl in our school who used an entire bottle of Aqua Net on her hair every day, not an exaggeration! Her hair was locally famous. And of course there was the famous dripping goo that was the Jheri Curl for the fashion conscious black man made popular by Michael Jackson and Lionel Ritchie.

Aqua Net Hairspray

The Watches of the 80s

Pac Man 80s Game Watch

Watches were big in early 80s pop culture at least in my school.
The guys had to have the latest multi-function Casio calculator watches or if you were really cool one of those watches with a built in video game! I remember trying to muffle the beeps of that calculator when the math tests rolled around.

Swatch

And of course the girls had to have the latest swatch to match their wardrobe.

Forgotten Retailers of the 70s and 80s

Service Merchandise Christmas Catalog

Service Merchandise Jewelery Showroom

Service Merchandise was always one of my favorite stores because they always had such a cool toy selection at Christmas and their catalog rivaled Sears in size and selection. An of course there were the bright shiny showrooms and the cool conveyor belts that delivered your merchandise.I would spend hours looking at that glossy bright colored catalog in the months before Christmas and think I actually enjoyed it more than the toys I got out of it!

Otasco Christmas Ad

Richway Department Stores Logo

Richway was kind of like a Target of the late 70s early 80s, the thing I remember most about their store was those huge skylight thingys they all had on the roof.

Otasco was a mans and boys wonderland with tools, toy trucks, race car tracks, bikes, tires, guns, hardware and all kinds of manly distractions. I think my first bike and .22 rifle both came from there. This was a store for father and son to go to, not a lot for the lady's here. The Otasco I used to go to with my dad was in Newnan, Georgia and the building is now a toy / antique store, but it always brings back memories every time I drive by it.

The Toys I Had Forgotten!

These are some that I either had or wanted and I had totally never thought of them in 30 years. These make me say Oh my God ! What memories!

The Coolest Kid Always Had One of These in Class!

70s Toy Doctor Kit

70s Toys - Hoppity Horse

The Green Machine Coolest Big Wheels Ever!

The Green Ones Were Always The Coolest!

70s and 80s Classic Commercials and TV Promo Spots

These should bring back some memories of the days when you had to watch the commercials or get up and change the channel!

Child Resistant for Your Protection

Honey get the chain saw...

    Seems like everything is harder these days, compared to my childhood. At some point after all the frivolous lawsuits became so popular and of course the Tylenol murders manufactures decided it was their responsibility to make sure their products were harder to get into than Al Capone s vault. Initially calling it "child proof" and later child "resistant", I'm sure after some lawyer picked apart the meaning of "proof". (I don't care for lawyer that much in case you can't tell) Anyway it was all downhill after that as the overprotective parents of the world decided it was their mission to make everything child proof, in  most cases making it adult proof as well. And taking away that whole "you won't do that again" lesson we used to learn when we touched something hot or closed our finger in a drawer.

Old School Child Proof

    Then of course the stores followed suit to protect themselves from the onslaught of shoplifters and thieves. Now you go to try on a pair of jeans and you have to have someone unbolt them from the floor. And I'll never forget the first time I had a store clerk forget to remove one of those plastic security tabs and thought I could just pry it off myself, only to end up covered in the most staining blue die ever created.
     Opening a child's toy will soon require a degree in Quantum Physics. And of course one of these days someone is going to slit their wrist open trying to get into a Disney DVD. Thanks shoplifters! Maybe then those lawyers will make themselves useful at least.

Those "Campy" 80s Horror Movies

It's that time of year again, time for summer camp ! That means chiggers, poison ivy, campfire games and of course slashers killing innocent campers with all manners of camping instruments ! Here are a few of my favorite summer camp related Horror Movies from the 1980s. I didn't include any of the Friday The 13th only because everyone knows about those. The Burning, Sleepaway Camp,Blood Hook, The Boogens and Madman just to name a few, kept us all afraid of the dark woods.

The Benji Movies

   
  Who could this loveable little mutt, he was always into something and glad to help a stranger in need. Not quiet Old Yeller but I think I may have teared up a few times watching this cute little pup save the day. The first Benji was actually a shelter rescue named Huggins and later his offspring Benjean took over the role. Not a lot of camera tricks and of course no CGI to help, just a lot of good old fashioned dog training and probably multiple takes to put together the films.  here's a list of the classic Benji films

• Benji (1974)
• For the Love of Benji (1977)
• Benji's Very Own Christmas Story (1978)
• Oh! Heavenly Dog (1980)
• Benji the Hunted (1987)

Clackers

Anybody else remember these things, that was before toy lawsuits ruined all the fun stuff! They were HEAVY glass balls about the size of golf balls, and were loads of fun to ....well clack!

Saturday Morning Cartoons The Superfriends

A lot of Saturday morning cartoon shows came and went but The Super-friends were always there!

Growing up in the late 70s and early 80s

    They were dangerous times for a kid, we played with dangerous toys, rode our bikes without helmets, shot BB guns, and played baseball in the street. We watched cartoons where all the characters wanted to blow each other up. We ate lots of candy, red meat, drank sugary drinks, and piled on the fried food at every meal. We played with matches and fire crackers and terrorized ants,frogs,doodle bugs,June bugs,firefly and snails. All with little or no adult supervision and we even trusted strangers and ice cream men. Our toy guns looked real, our pocket knives were real, and we carried them everywhere along with packs of candy cigarettes that looked just like dads.

  We didn't watch our calories, count our carbs or take pills to make us behave. Our parents didn't analyze our feelings or send us to child psychologists. We did play outside in the parks, the fields, the lakes and woods. We would sneak out dads old Penthouse's to have something to read around the campfire we started with gasoline of course! And somehow despite all of this, most of us managed to survive by some miracle. And had a blast doing it!

And despite all this "dangerous" behavior we felt safe in a way most kids growing up now will never know. We didn't worry about going or playing anywhere in the neighborhood or cutting through the woods to walk to the store or walking to school. The reason our parents gave us these freedoms is people actually trusted other people back then and they trusted their kids to have the brains and common sense to not get into too much trouble. There were no street gangs, drug dealers, or others that would do us harm, people were different then, the world was different then. The music we listened to had actual singing and talent, lyrics that were about fun things, not about demeaning others and promoting drugs and violence. Neighbors took care of neighbors and us kids went wherever the Kool-Aid or the biggest back yard was.

Anyway that's what this blog is about, its about the good times and memories of anyone who grew up in that more simple time. And maybe helping us remember some of the good stuff we forgot along the way.