[Cerek the Barbaric]

First things first.

Mel - You have to understand the origin of the list. It was originally generated by an American University (can't remember which one) and distributed to the professors to give them some "perspective" on the views and ideas of the incoming freshman class. So it is "aimed" almost exclusively at American teenagers. Yes, some of the items on the list ARE huge generalizations, but this was designed for a Uni that was expecting several thousand incoming freshman....so the generalization was fairly accurate. Certainly there will be some individuals who are FAR more informed than thier peers, but this is just meant to give a "general view" of that age group. It's not meant as a criticism either. It's just meant to help the professors realize that some of the events that they lived through and consider "common knowledge" are not "common" at all to those who did NOT live through them.

Now, onto the list itself. I first saw this "type" of list about 3 years ago...and it WAS a real "eye-opener" for me. For one thing, I was one of the people stuffing Big Macs into those styrofoam containers. I also chose 8-tracks as my "medium preference" the first time I joined the Columbia Record House Club. I seriously regret that I actually sold a "case" with 8-10 of my last 8-tracks in a yard sale several years ago. My wife actually has a working portable 8-track player (unfortunately, it is NOT one of the ones with the PLUNGER handle [img]graemlins/verysad.gif[/img] ).

I also grew up with "The Fonz", Mork, and the Sweathogs. I attended a community college my first two years out of high school and they were JUST beginning to teach Electronic Data Processing. I learned to program in BASIC on a TRS-80 (affectionately known as the TRASH-80). I remember when electric typewriters were "cutting edge" and "hand held calculators" cost more than a cell phone does now. Speaking of which, I remember when the only people with "phone in their cars" lived in Hollywood.

I LIVED in Jordache jeans and loved to "strut around" in my Members Only jacket. Nike and Adidas were the major footwear, but I never wore the Izod alligator. My taste in shirts ran more along the line of Lightning Bolt and Ocean Pacific.

I remember when Alice Cooper was considered to be the equivalent of Marilyn Manson. I listened to songs by America, Kansas, and Asia on 8-tracks marketed by K-tel. One of my last family vacations was to Myrtle Beach, SC in 1980, where my uncle and aunt took my mom and dad to hear an unknown country group that was the "house band" for a local tavern called The Brewery. They went there 3-4 nights during the week (I was only 17, though, so I had to stay at the hotel). So, I wasn't with my parents or aunt an uncle when they had a chance to meet Randy Owens and be introduced to his brother and cousins from Fort Payne, AL. But we soon heard more from them, because it was the next summer that those some guys got their first recording contract in Nashville - and a group called Alabama began a career that would dominate the country music scene through the 1980's.

Gee, somebody mentioned a Duster. I also remember the Maverick, Capri, and a sporty little car from Ford called the Pinto. But I won't even mention the Gremlin or *choke* AMC Pacer [img]graemlins/1puke.gif[/img] (ooops....I just did [img]graemlins/blush.gif[/img] )

I also remember when all phones sat on the desk. I remember the innovative "slimline" models that actually had the rotary dial on the handpiece. [img]graemlins/wow.gif[/img] I only thought that was cool....then they came out with PUSHBUTTON phones!!! [img]graemlins/wow.gif[/img] [img]graemlins/wow.gif[/img]

I remember the FIRST "skateboarding" fad. It came along shortly after people grew disillusioned with their Mood Rings, Pet Rocks, and CB radios (Breaker! Breaker! Good Buddy. You got your ears on?)

On a more serious note, I remember my parents telling me they could recall exactly where they were and what they were doing when they heard that Kennedy had been killed (I was only about 6-8 mos old). I didn't really understand what they meant until I heard about the Challenger. I was lying on my bed in my dorm room and my roommate was just sitting down at the desk/table that our room was furnished with. I also remember where I was when I heard about Reagan being shot, but for some reason, it didn't carry the same impact. There is a chronoligical anomoly that most of the President's that have been assassinated were elected in years ending with 0 ---- I remember EXPECTING to hear that someone had killed (or attempted to kill) Reagan.

Well, that's enough "Ramblin Down Memory Lane". So keep the shiny side up, put the pedal to the metal, and Keep on Truckin'! [img]graemlins/thumbsup.gif[/img]