Are you Gen X? Want to do a little time travelling?

lol

I absolutely love this video. The first time I watched it I recognized nearly every single image shown. A compilation of movie and music pop culture from my formative years (I turned 14 in 1990). The images are fun to see, but even more fun are the memories they unlock. I can remember going to some of these movies at the theater. I was super pumped for Batman to come out. Went to 1st available matinee. Had to pay my sister $10 to drive me there. I won tickets on the local radio to go see Ghostbusters 2. Got two tickets so I invited my Dad as his birthday present. He won a door prize by knowing what kind of car Joe Bob Briggs drove. lol. Good stuff. Admittedly, if going by ratings I saw much of this at probably too early an age, but it was the 80s and we had HBO at home.

I hope this can bring back some good stuff for you too.



A little trivia about the song played...it was turned down by Whitney Houston, Belinda Carlisle recorded it, but did not release it so the couple that wrote it decided to perform it themselves.

 

I won’t even go to my high school reunion…

 

Lol, I’ve never been invited to one

It could have been 79 or 80. I was at a friends house and the radio station was giving away copies of damm the Torpedoes to the lucky callers. My friend had a push button phone and won 3x. There was only one rotary phone in my house, so the push button phone was coolest technology I had ever seen. The push button phone was the ticket to winning things from the radio station giveaways.
We had one b&w tv that had Lawrence Welk or some other olds crap that was on one of the 3 stations. My clock radio had rock.
Now anything you can think of is your hand and necks are always bent.

 

I had rotary. I found that you could dial all but the last number and just lay the phone down. There was no auto disconnect when you did not finish dialing. Hear the right song, run to phone and spin that last number! Not near as anxiety inducing as the radio DJ who won't shut up during begining of a song you are trying to record onto tape.

 

I sometimes struggle when trying to explain how Rad the 80s were to the young ones. They seem unable to grasp the amount of personal freedom that was enjoyed.

 

Hang in there and listen to the story Eddie tells. Hits home for me 100%. I had pages of him doing tricks, torn out from magazines, hanging on my wall.

 

"Look Ma................no hands !!!!!!!"

 

Heck.....you should try explaining the 60's!!!!

 

That was incredible. I knew all of them. I don't keep up with anything these days, music or movies. How did we do it?

 

I only have archives to peruse. No personal data.

 

He's very correct. I had a great convo with my long time best friend's sister yesterday touching on this subject. I described our generation to her as "feral", but in all the best ways. Character development differing from most others due to non-chalent parenting. Forced to develop our own views based on visceral experience and peers. I am so very glad to have been a free range kid.

On the BMX stuff...I was never a great rider, so the stuff in this movie was the stuff of heroes for me. It's held in very high regard by myself and quite a few I know. The 80s gave kids movies about how they could succeed, win, overcome, create, explore and they didn't need adults to help them do those things. The list is exhaustive, so I won't go there but my personal favortie example is The Goonies.

This one had to have inspired millions of kids with bicycles. I know I wanted to be able to ride like Cru did.

 

I used to do the one starting the credits scene and the one @ :55 and 2:05. Most of our "crew" could too. Probably still could if they made a front wheel that would hold under my 185#. I still have my GT in the basement. Kind of a time capsule. The market on them is insane. Check out Gen X bikes on other social media's if you have any. Many many thousands of dollars sitting here:

 

Spoiled! lol

My parents were not inclined to spend big money on a bicycle for me. (I had a four wheeler and other stuff) I rode Huffys. I did manage to end up with one that had Mags, freewheel, pegs and a spinner neck. It was still very cheap, in comparison. I could do some very basic tricks on it but nothing at all impressive. My best skill in my toolbag was wheelies. Nothing but great memories from my time as a BMX bandit. We had 8 kids in the neighborhood that all rode together. The three mile trip to the convenience store would usually see half a dozen of us making the journey almost daily in summer. I still remember the first time I was able to peddle the whole way up the biggest hill. A huge personal victory for me, at 10.

 

It was a 4 mile ride for me to school and I had 1 friend that rode it frequently with me. We met 2 more that lived in town. Man, those were the days. I started with a Huffy Stu Thompson bought from my best/neighbor friend and got my other friends GT after he got a new bike. Never had a brand new one. Then I saved up money from picking cherries at the local farm to put parts on it, like pegs and the gyro. I think there were 7-8 of us in the gang. One of them bought a new Haro Freestyle Master. If he only still had it.
Vintage Haro Master Bmx/freestyle Bike Mid 80s | eBay

(internet pics)

 

Folding pegs...so trick.

I lusted for a Mongoose so badly. I liked chrome. I always leaned more towars ramping and whatnot than the fancy tricks I was no good at. lol

 

I was born in 84' but was huge into the 80s BMX bikes in the mid-late 90s. Back then you could pick one up at a garage sale for next to nothing. My collection was mostly Diamond Backs, but I did have a Haro at one point. I'm kicking myself now because it all ended up in the dumpster as I got older and moved out. Piles of Skyway mags, miscellaneous frames, gyros, pegs, laid back seat posts and an untold amount of original tires all thrown away.

 

no likes for that post.

 

I'm not sure if I'm Gen X or a Millennial. Born in '82 and which of those I would be considered depends on the source you use for reference. I tend to get along much better with baby boomers and what would be considered the silent generation. Although I don't remember any of the "millennial stereotypes" really applying to anyone I grew up with.

I do remember those Mongoose bikes and I thought there were a few others, redline maybe, not sure as I was just some redneck from the sticks in south Florida and the kids that were into those lived in the city areas. At least I remember them riding them on the sidewalk and not the middle of the road like cyclists these days and without those stupid looking helmets.