My Life as a Child in the 80s

Every Saturday morning, my younger brother and I would wake up bright and early, (even before our parents) to watch cartoons. The cartoons back then seemed much simpler than today's. I remember always watching The Smurfs and I can still remember the theme song and most of their names. They were little blue creatures, were three apples high and lived in mushrooms. Most of the Smurfs were males with the exception of one...Smurfette. Jokey Smurf was always handing someone a wrapped present that would blow up in their face when they opened it. Handy Smurf could fix almost

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anything. Brainy wore glasses and was the nerdy one. Grouchy was always mad, and Papa Smurf had the white beard and was the leader. They had an enemy named Gargamel with his evil cat Azriel. They were always trying to catch The Smurfs but rarely succeeded.

Another cartoon I remember watching and is still my favorite is Looney Tunes. There was Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Elmer Fudd, Yosemite Sam, Sylvester, Tweety, Foghorn Leghorn, Porky Pig and a whole host of others. Nothing was funnier than watching Bugs Bunny outsmart Elmer Fudd or when Tweety would timidly say "I tot I taw a pooty tat!"

Here is a brief list of some other cartoons that were famous in the 80s: Gummi Bears, The Wuzzles, Strawberry Shortcake, Inspector Gadget, Alvin & the Chipmunks, Care Bears, Muppet Babies, Snorks, Transformers, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles & He-Man. Even though I am not a TV watcher now, I have to say that I was definitely a big fan of most of these. Can you think of any others to add to the list?

I sure do miss those old cartoons!

I have many fond memories of sitting in the evening with my family after dinner. The TV shows back then were much more family-friendly than those today, so I believe it helped the family to become closer as they laughed and enjoyed the humor of sitcoms in the 80s. I would have to say that one of my favorites as a child was "Different Strokes". A wealthy white family adopted two black boys, Willis & Arnold. The comedy was great as these two boys try to adjust to the rich life. I'll never forget how funny it was every time I heard Arnold say "What you talkin bout Willis?"

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Another show that I always loved was "The Facts of Life". Mrs. Garrett was the head of an all girls school and there was always humor when the girls were in trouble. There was Blair, the glamour girl, Natalie, Tootie and Jo, the tom boy. Natalie and Tootie were best friends and Blair and Jo never saw eye to eye.

Here are a few other shows from the 80s: ALF, Alice, Bosom Buddies, Cheers, The Cosby Show, Family Ties, Gimme a Break, Golden Girls, Growing Pains, The Jeffersons, Mama's Family, Mork & Mindy, Mr. Belvedere, Night Court, Perfect Strangers, Punky Brewster, Silver Spoons, 227, Webster and Who's The Boss? How many do you remember?

If you ask anyone what their favorite thing about the 80s is, most will probably say the music. Many memorable songs and groups came straight from this decade. It seems as if this was also the decade for the One Hit Wonders.

When I think back, the band that comes to mind first is Bon Jovi. It's amazing to think that they are even still around today and sound as good as ever. The 80s was definitely the era that brought us the hair bands! Some that come to mind are Cinderella, Motley Crue, Def Leppard, Guns n Roses and Poison.

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If you were a child in the 80s, the music was a soundtrack to your life! There were no CDs at that time so we relied on cassettes to give us the sound. I remember many occasions where I would wait patiently for my favorite song to come on the radio so I could hit the record button on my boom box and record it onto a cassette.

And usually the best part of any movie that came out in the 80s was the music. I mean if I mention the movie "Top Gun", I'm sure anyone can come up with at least one of the songs on the movie!

Do you remember any number one songs in the 80s?

My brother and I spent a lot of hours at home playing with the most popular toys of the 80s. Who will ever forget the year that the Cabbage Patch Kids came out? Numerous stories were told of how people would go to great lengths to score one as a Christmas gift that year. Each one was different and came with a birth certificate and a unique name and birthday. They were all very different with hair or bald heads, dimples, teeth, different colors of eyes and clothing. A genuine Cabbage Patch Kid was signed on the butt cheek by Xavier Roberts. Then later, someone came out with the Garbage Pail Kids trading cards. They had all kinds of interesting names, Large Marge, Peeping Tom was covered from head to toe with eyeballs, etc. My brother still has every one of them and some duplicates. We had the pleasure of looking at them a few months ago and reminiscing about the good old days.

This was the decade of the hand held games. From the Coleco Head to Head Football and Baseball games to the Etch A Sketch and Rubik's Cube, there were plenty of things to

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keep the 80s child occupied. And if you were lucky enough to have a game system back then, like we were, you owned an Atari 2600. Each player had a Joystick with one red button in the top corner. Very primitive when compared to the games of today, but nonetheless we had hours and hours of fun!

Board games were a big thing in the 80s as well. We had games like Connect Four, Battleship, Hungry Hungry Hippos, Don't Tip The Waiter, Mr. Mouth and Family Feud. It seemed like there was more time to enjoy the simpler things and we sure did!

Action figures were always a blast. My brother had a ton of He-Man figures and I liked the scented Strawberry Shortcake dolls. I also still have the original Strawberry Shortcake and Blueberry Muffin dolls in their original boxes. Some other popular favorites were My Little Pony, Rainbow Brite, Care Bears, Pound Puppies and of course Barbie.

Other toys that you may remember are Simon, Spirograph, View Master, Lite Bright, Speak & Spell and Tonka Trucks (the metal kind). How many of these did you have? Can you remember any others?

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Leg warmers were a big fashion accessory in the 80s. I don't think they were ever worn to keep the legs warm as much as they were to be stylish. You could find them on any girl, whether they were in work-out clothes or wearing a mini skirt to the mall. I think Olivia Newton-John made them a wardrobe must!

Acid or Stone Washed Jeans were worn by men and women alike. There was never too much denim in an 80s wardrobe. To be extra stylish, these jeans were usually paired with a matching denim jacket.

Jelly Shoes were shoes that were made out of some sort of plastic-like jelly material. They came in many colors and styles and everyone wore them, from the very young to the very old.

Shoulder Pads were a must in any jacket, blouse or sweater worn by women and girls. They gave you that extra 'lift' and made the shoulders appear as though you had great posture...almost like a football player.

Some other fashions that come to mind from the 80s are neon colors, jelly bracelets, rolled up sleeves, wide belts, Spandex, parachute pants, hoop earrings, slouch socks, high tops and big hair bows.

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Nothing was more noticeable in the 80s than the hair! If you were a woman in the 80s your goal was to have BIG hair! Your big hair was made even bigger with a perm. Add teasing and some stiff hairspray and you had all the ingredients for a late 80s hairstyle. Earlier 80s styles were made by feathering the sides back into either a long or short style.

For the guys, the mullet was in style. Very short in the front and very long in the back, it was definitely something to remember. Most mullets were adorned with curls in the back as men turned to getting permanent waves.

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