Bruce Coville - My Teacher Is An Alien - this book was originally published in 1989, so it was a little after my time (I was in college by then).
The Three Investigators were more my thing when I was a kid (that green ghost cover always creeped me out).
Coach as Leader. You have walked the field and now wish to enable success through your experience and invest every effort in your team members. Read this: https://www.amazon.com/Leadership-Realities-Robert-J-Allio/dp/007463125X
Generation X by Coupland of course. Most any of his books, actually.
Less Than Zero by Brett Easton Ellis
Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk
"e" by Matt Beaumont to me always felt decidedly gen x. The whole thing is written in the form of emails between different office/cubicle workers in a multinational marketing company. Just really feels like something right out of our generation's Dilbert-esque, Office Space workaday reality.
with my first set of kids (2001, 2003) we never even entertained the thought of one of those.
I remarried and had a baby 2 years ago and I begged her to let me have either a Carlos baby on board OR Baby Up in this Bitch. both were resoundingly shot down.
The mail-order ads from the the comic books always fascinated me, but as a kid I never had money to order any of the stuff: X-Ray specs, Sea Monkeys, Giant Frankenstein posters, etc, etc.
There is a great book called "Mail Order Mysteries" by Kirk Demarais that shows what you actually received if you ordered this stuff, and (not surprisingly) most of it was a huge rip-off.
For example, here's what the X-Ray Specs actually were - major letdown.
There is! You have to buy the Shout Factory box set. It’s missing Pink Floyd’s Dogs and about three or four other songs. Everything else is in there. It took them close to five years to secure all the song rights.
WKRP In Cincinnati: The Complete Series https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00KYCA4QY/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glc_fabc_P0ybGbJ6VVQDY
Those ads from the back of the comic books always intrigued me, but (thankfully) I never had extra money to order any of the stuff: X-Ray specs, Sea Monkeys, 100 Plastic Soldiers, Giant Frankenstein posters, etc, etc.
The book "Mail Order Mysteries" by Kirk Demarais shows what you actually received if you ordered this stuff, and (not surprisingly) most of it was a huge rip-off.
For example, here's what the X-Ray Specs actually were - major letdown.
I can't think of the last time I bought drinks that came in those rings.
I couldn't tell you when I last saw canned soda in 6-packs (versus 12 packs in thin cardboard boxes). My primary beer (Guinness) comes in a cardboard sleeve\box thingamajig. I sometimes buy local beer in 4-pack cans, but those almost always come with the rigid plastic carriers (like these).
There is a book devoted to this topic: Mail Order Mysteries by Kirk Demarais My wife got it for me for the holidays a couple years ago as I am a bit of a comic book nerd. It's a lot of fun for a walk down memory lane.
Nope, more like urban style bicycles. High-end folding bikes to be exact... the band brings them along on their tour around the world and uses them to explore the cities they visit. (I support and sell a number of folding bike fleets for various bands and music tours)
David Byrne has written an excellent book called Bicycle Diaries. I highly recommend it if you are a traveler or cyclist.
There's a book called "Mail Order Mysteries" by Kirk Demarais where he shows what you actually received if you ordered stuff from those old comic book ads. As you would expect, most of it was absolute crap.
Let me introduce you to my little friend, the Just Watch website:
https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/time-bandits
If it's out there to stream, rent or buy, this site usually finds it.
Thanks, this is exactly the kind of detail I was hoping for. Those Jello things sound great! I want to try it.
And that party punch does sound pretty fancy. I wonder if icecream cakes are still a thing...
Food was a big deal for me at kids birthday parties because I didn't normally get nearly the range of junk food, plus there were special things like the hedgehogs and these weird cakes made out of breakfast cereal.
I get the feeling cheerios are really different from the ones you had at your parties, because they're really not something adults would ever eat. They look like this.
And multimeters, radio clocks, gas stoves, and so on. There are also recheargeable ones. https://www.amazon.co.uk/Rechargeable-Keenstone-Lithium-ion-Self-Discharge-High-Energy-Density-3-Pack/dp/B083J2G1NN
It's 2021. Most people I know have a stash bag like this. There are five layers of fabric in this thing - you can put the skunkiest weed in there and not smell a thing (at least people can't; I wouldn't trust the thing with a drug-sniffing dog).
One of the first definitive books on Gen X was titled 13th Gen.
And of course there was comics in the 90's called Gen 13.
I loved these, so much i wore them out.
Fun fact- now in board game form - 2 options : War with the Evil Power Master, House of Danger
It's a non-fiction work about news, cultural events, tech and other aspects of life in the 90's but The Best Of Times by Haynes Johnson is a great read about that era.
Likewise, 13th Gen is probably one of the first non-fiction books about Gen X, written at the outset of the 90s when Gen X's influence was really just starting to take hold.
Thanks! I'll have to check those out. Been meaning to read Prozac Nation for a long time. Looking at Shutter Babe reminded me of this one by Joe Sacco which was really good. It's weird because his illustration style has a slight gross quality like Robert Crumb, but it never feels challenging. He was born in 1960, but I consider Gen Jones as the start of Gen X. Probably the fact he's an investigative journalist who does comics is an example, in a way.
A book that examines the why and significance of them as the last analogue and first digital generation, the Cyborg Generation: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Generation-X-Rise-Techno-Sapiens-ebook/dp/B083H193B6
Gotta follow it up with “this goes up to 11”.
They had a 2 CD set that was called Teen Riot! that my drunken self ordered at 3Am from an infomercial after a night out with the boys. And here it is
Not me, any time they came up in my youth I didn't seem to have money. However you reminded me of a time my boomer aunt & uncle fell for a Christmas gift prank box; the petspressions box: https://www.amazon.com/Prank-Pack-Petspressions-Standard-Size/dp/B01MQD6V3X
I was looking for a box, & walmart had some that happened to be the right size one year.
I loved going there with my family! We would all pick out one that we liked and would take turns at home watching...along the lines of “we’ll watch sister’s first and then mom’s movie!”. It was so much fun. There’s a really great documentary on Amazon called The Last Blockbuster - https://www.amazon.com/Last-Blockbuster-Sandi-Harding/dp/B08JXCMWHQ/ref=nodl_
Ha ha I got on a wham kick and then bought a t shirt.
I have to laugh like hell that people were shocked when he came out. This dude was as straight as a 10 pack of speedos.
The classic wine, women, and music for me. Dropped any casual cocaine use at the end of the 1980's. Don't need it. The 80's were a blast though.
I just turned 59 less than a week ago, my numbers are great, not on any medications, full head of hair and NO GREY (though salt and pepper beard if I were to grow that), look like I'm 42. I have gained some weight and its harder to lose now but not overly fat.
Beat Cancer at 51, completely changed my diet thereafter. Take a multi-vitamin (from trusted source) and Vitamin D every day (especially if you live in a latitude north of North Carolina or so), and drink some good Matcha Green Tea every couple days ( I buy Echa Latte Grade Matcha Green Tea ) though that can be expensive. Very nice for antioxidants (including the very important catechins!) and tastes great unlike some other Matcha teas.
Take care of yourself especially as you hit your 50's, we have a chance to be much healthier than previous generations if we take advantage of our knowledge base and do the research.
If you don't have your health you are screwed.
There is a great documentary out there about V66:
Life On The V: The Story Of V66
https://www.amazon.com/Life-V-Story-Eric-Green/dp/B07JFW3T9L (Amazon streaming)
https://www.amazon.com/Life-V-Story-David-Beadle/dp/B00TLU4H4A (DVD)
I'm not from Boston or anywhere near it but I stumbled across this while browsing Amazon streaming late one night looking for something to watch. Loved it.
The limited edition steelbook bluray with digital copy is on sale at amazon! for 2 dollars....plus 11 more.
https://www.zojirushi.com/app/product/bbpdc
(It was cheaper than that when I got it, I thought)
Ah, the Amazon version https://www.amazon.com/Zojirushi-BB-PDC20BA-Virtuoso-Breadmaker-Stainless/dp/B07BQ28TQ6?ref_=ast_sto_dp
That is a valid point of view. What I'm proposing is that a significant portion of The Rich that see a sort of Doom and are reacting.
I'll hit the low-hanging group first: The New Zealand crew. These are the "crazy prepper faction," and they are looking to stay out of the fallout of The End, then re-build humanity from what is left, leaving themselves as a ruling class. Think feudal fiefdoms.
There is a more hopeful group: The Space Crazies. They are thinking space stations, bases, and planet colonization. Where they will then carve out feudal fiefdoms.
This is not about a climate catastrophe. There is a good chance that, on paper, the worst of the warming will be mitigated. This is about power and politics. One group thinks in terms of high ground. The other thinks in terms of controlling ground.
Will anything I've predicted actually happen? Certainly not as I've written it. Here are two books that factor into my thinking:
I just followed the recipe on the bag, but I found it here for you. After I strained the skins and seeds out, I added 1/2 tsp orange extract and then poured out in a ring mold.
There are plenty of recipes out there that use orange juice and zest that would probably taste even better, but we always have orange extract in the house and I already had a million other things to make so I made it easy on myself. You also want a large wire mesh strainer like this if you don't enjoy the whole cranberry sauce.
This works great for microwave popcorn. Just a little oil is needed. You can add the salt and butter before popping so it's evenly distributed.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07CWY8FW6/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&th=1
And don't forget the popcorn salt
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004W8LT10/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
and Strauss and Howe did it first with the book Generations, though instead of Gen X they called it the Thirteenth Generation (and defined it as starting in 61, with cohorts of 20 years)
Remember that episode of The Flintstone's where Fred buys Wilma a bowling ball as a gift. I think this was a bit like that.
You could just get yourself some now: He-Man Underoos
Either read or listen to the audiobook of his memoirs, really great inspirational stuff about just chasing your dreams
My dad really enjoyed these in the 70's and 80's, and I used to, too.
However, I try to keep extraneous sugar out of my diet now, and discovered a similarly delicious alternative, Ricola Sugar Free Lemon Mint Herbal Cough Suppressant Throat Drops.
https://www.amazon.com/Ricola-Herbal-Throat-Drops-Lemon/dp/B00AY6RO9U
Mouthwatering flavorful!
https://www.amazon.com/Rand-McNally-2023-Road-Atlas/dp/052802633X/
I buy a new one every couple of years. Mainly because I like maps but I've also been driving in areas where the GPS signal was blocked. Manhattan where the buildings blocked it and a canyon with high cliffs.
I had a variation of this shirt in the 80s and thanks to the wonders of inkjet printing and paper, have one today.
For those who aren't familiar with the Grateful Dead, from their inception they were very pro-taping of their live shows with the only stipulation being that copies should be free to share. So lots of us had large collections of concert tapes, and cassette quality was a major subject of conversation.
Holy cow, there are still XL II-S available on Amazon.
I saw a bunch of people shittting on John Perry Barlow and this list. JPB was an amazing human being whose life and challenges exemplified (IMNSHO) what an American life can be, if lived to its fullest. He was far from a perfect man but he was still a great man. Please, I encourage you to read his autobiography. You'll understand his "rules" better when you understand the man himself.
Those were bad, but nothing like the pain of an SE Beartrap pedal They brought an unholy level of pain if you missed your trick.
Anyone else own a copy of their book, <em>Bachelor Boys</em>? This was highly coveted contraband at my school, along with Adrian Edmundson's, How to Be a Complete Bastard.
Thomas Fucking Dolby. He came through Tucson awhile back, I was doing nothing that night, tickets were cheap and I was too lazy to go. That tour spawned this album, which is incredible:
https://www.amazon.com/Sole-Inhabitant-Thomas-Dolby/dp/B000TGGZT0
I've been threatening to get the linked sign below..
Might be fun to take them to small claims court when they try to get oit of the contract they agreed to buy knocking or ringing my door bell. 😁
Myself, I think Howe and Strauss are more correct than this pithy portmanteau. In Gen 13 Abort, Retry, Ignore, Fail, they point out that there are two GenX waves that they dub the Atari wave (1960(ish) - 1969(ish)) and the Nintendo Wave (1970(ish) - 1979(ish)). I think that's a bit of a clearer to communicate the differences and allows some softness around the birth years.
they're the shiny S-shaped cookies.
I have hardly anything from my childhood. Moving as a teen, then leaving home and later living in SIFF err rent countries, I ended up with very little. One thing my mom somehow saved was the book, Big Joe's Trailer Truck. I read it to my son(now 5), often.
https://www.amazon.com/Big-Joes-Trailer-Truck-Mathieu/dp/0394829255
Any fellow comic-book fans here? Specifically those who know about the great FLEX MENTALLO?
The twist of the character is that actually is "Mac", the kid from that Atlas add. But after reading that special book he becomes superhuman. It's pretty cool.
Anyway, if you liked that comment, be sure to smash that subscribe button. And hey... are you sure your information is secure when you're hitting that like button? My friends at NordVPN gave me this exclusive code for all my loyal supporters out there...
The show was obviously made in the United States but there are separate DVD releases for the US and United KIngdom. The UK has very different music licensing laws so you can buy the UK version of the DVDs with the original music. It isn't just the title sequence but the music within each episode as well.
https://www.amazon.com/Tour-Duty-Complete-DVD-anglais/dp/B009FAVMUS/
>Over the counter stuff?
Yeah, I did consider asking my doctor for a prescription for Ambien, but I read up on the "rare" side-effects and I'm too paranoid to risk it. Lately I've been taking Nature Made wellblends Sleep Longer.
This post has made me try and find something similar for my nephew. Why oh why must everything talk now. This one is pretty good other than the noise.Fisher price tactile walker
You can still buy these on DVD on Amazon. Get them while you can.
Somehow this show is available on 5 dvds in German and English. How is that even possible when the show only ran for 4 months?
https://www.amazon.com/Misfits-Science-Complete-NON-USA-Germany/dp/B004FU9V6K
The thing I remember most about my small town video store is that they had a promotional Back to the Future wall clock behind the desk that ran counterclockwise. Basically like this but with a portion of the movie poster as the background of the clock face. However, now I can't even find any evidence online that this ever existed. I expected to find something on ebay.
Try this pillow out. I am a side sleeper as well and it has cured my chronic neck and upper back pain. I have had it over 4 years and still firm.
Pure nostalgia. I recall friends going into the Waldenbooks in the mall just to see the various endings.
I picked up a copy of House of Danger to play with the family, and tired explaining to my kids that this game used to be book...a whole series of books...where you picked the ending. Which the game shows right on the box...but nah, dad can't be telling the truth.
My brother had these stuck all over his bed that I inherited as a kid. My friend has a big binder full of these.
I got this book. Even if you are just a fan of Wacky Packs this is fun to thumb through. 100% comprehensive guide.
A lot of great cartoonists worked on Wacky Packs including Mark Newgarden, Art Spiegelman, Bill Griffith, etc.
For all you Commodore geeks, check out "Escape from the Commodore 64," written by a dear friend. It's a very fun read full of game references, 80s nostalgia, all sorts of excitement.
I used to be able to carry my chef knife roll on the plane. No chef would ever travel with a couple thousand dollars of chef knives in the checked luggage. No one ever cared. This is a ch generic set but just gives you an idea:
That is shockingly easy to do. You foot slips off the pegs, gets caught by the knobs of the tire or hits the dirt and johnny-ola, you run yourself over.
A common mod on ATVs is to install a net under the foot pegs. https://www.amazon.com/DG-Performance-60-5520-Alloy-Nerf/dp/B000GV8HBC
If you haven't seen this, it's a wonderful documentary about the history of one of the last great Jewish Catskills resorts. I loved it.
https://www.amazon.com/Welcome-Kutshers-Last-Catskills-Resort/dp/B00WYWWJPQ
> no DVD/Blu-Ray release
??? Amazon's got the Blu-Ray for $17.99 and the DVD for $9.62:
It was a novella released in 1979, plus two sequels that were collected into a book in 1998 called "The Enemy Papers".
It can be a bit confusing because the author, Longyear, also wrote the novelization of the movie with David Gerrold.
You can get the collected novellas on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Enemy-Papers-Barry-B-Longyear-ebook/dp/B005GXLBU4
Just like peanuts and filth, you start micro-dosing the kids early.
And it ain't no wives tale BS. This stuff is legitimately backed by science.
https://www.amazon.com/Coping-Trauma-Hope-Through-Understanding/dp/1585621692 is a great book by a respected clinician, but possibly outdated by now. Having a secure attachment figure available in your life is a key element to those who are able to overcome stressful events and those that become traumatized.
Are they out of print?
Collecting an old book set (or even just one) can be a difficult challenge.
There are a couple of books I'd like but I'm not hunting really. I won't buy online either because you never know what condition the book will really be in.
I'd like to find this book from my childhood. The Bangalee.
Music licensing in the US and UK is very different. Tour of Duty was obviously made in the US but the UK DVDs actually have the original music. They aren't cheap though. I think this set should have the original music. The comments about the US and UK DVD sets are merged together so I think the comments about not including the original music are people writing reviews of the US version.
https://www.amazon.com/Tour-Duty-Complete-DVD-anglais/dp/B009FAVMUS/
Paris 1919: Six month that changes the world
Here’s the link. Excellent read if you;re a WWI buff. It’s a hearty read, plan on spacing it out :)
And this is what I am using now (only a month but it seems to make my white hairs brighter) : https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B091MHP219/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
The shampoo smells ok, the conditioner is so thick it takes a 2 hand squeeze to get some out... I've been adding water and shaking it up when I use it.
Yo, we gotta hang out. That's basically what we do, and we add a reading of this immaculate masterpiece into the mix.
You are welcome. If you really want nostalgia, freeze them in these.
Kind of like this: flouncy underskirt
I know it from MASH and from the book "I Should Have Seen it Coming When the Rabbit Died" (which I read at an oddly young age: https://www.amazon.com/Should-Have-Seen-Coming-Rabbit/dp/0553236865 )
They're still sold on Amazon and the like.
My aesthetician recommended I wear SPF 50 on my face under my makeup, so that goes on every morning after moisturizer. I also wear shirts like this plus a hat when I'm going to be outside.
o.m.g. I like how they always had these super epic battle depictions in the comic books, with battleships sending their barrage in the distance and a total beach landing and assault in progress, with fortified artillery batteries, etc. They even listed all the cool shit you'd get.
I used to fantasize about setting it all up in my bedroom or something and stage my own D-Day for endless hours of play. I was big into HO-scale trains as a kid (thanks to my dad), so I figured this set had to be somewhere along the same scale... which meant the vehicles, landing craft and battleships would be HUGE! Yet I never ordered it.
I found out decades later that a good friend of mine did order it, and he described them the same way you did. Total womp womp.
There's a really good book out there by Kirk Demarais: Mail-Order Mysteries: Real Stuff From Old Comic Book Ads that totally investigates and debunks a lot of those old toys (including this set, of course).
Yet, in answer to your question if I'd ordered anything? Yes, in 1979 (8 yrs. old). A trick baseball. I put a quarter in an envelope with the little cut-out purchase label and mailed it out. I never received it.
They used it as the basis for a documentary on the franchise which is available on Amazon Prime.
My mom had a red pair that I claimed as my own around age 12. (I also had a pair of pink leather clogs around that time). I took them to summer camp and ride minibikes in them.
In my 30s I tried looking for them again. Found a pair online and ordered them. They arrived and I became enraged at the foam-core fake wood soles!!
Last week, I bought these off Amazon. I’m wearing them right now and we’re completely in love. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09L35FNJ3?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share
Disclaimer: it’s an unconventional romance novel, a genre referred to as reverse harem. Not everyone’s cup of tea as there is one female MC and 4 male MCs. That being said:
Bound (Savage Magic Book 1) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09R3YBMVP/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_YJVW5HYERF5VDWSYKZ7F
:)
Well there was Generation X Goes To College:
https://www.amazon.com/Generation-Goes-College-Eye-Opening-Postmodern/dp/0812693140
"It tells how the author, a journalist turned college professor, came face to face with Generation X: jaded, unachieving, highly demanding yet lacking any respect for standards or intelligence. These insouciant scholars wore bored looks, ample attitudes, and reversed baseball caps. They expected to earn top grades by just showing up in class, which they interrupted with their portable TVs, cellular phones, or personal pagers. For his own survival as a teacher, Sacks decided to play a bizarre, cynical game: The Sandbox Experiment, in which he catered to the whims of his students as though they were kindergartners. It worked"
It's just a supplement that gives your body the building blocks to make testosterone. I've noticed a boost in energy, but I also just noticed that I should be taking two...I've been taking one in the morning and one in the evening before my workout.
Yep. Apparently ambulances were there a dozen times a day. I don't know he avoided being sued for so long-especially after people died. And it was the parent company's financial issues that brought it down. Not the liability issues of the park which was making money.
I might have to look for that book. Some of these things have a history that can't be replicated. Like the Beanie Baby bubble book was interesting because it coincided with the advent of the internet and wouldn't have happened if employees weren't in chat rooms hyping those things. But I research a lot of behavioural finance topics so maybe it's sort of boring to everyone else. Not sure.
https://www.amazon.com/Great-Beanie-Baby-Bubble-Toy/dp/1591848008
I had a decent DVD collection, but stopped buying so many when I moved to a different state in 2003. I've since pruned it down by quite a bit. Oddly, when the missus and I moved to our new house in 2019, I bought a UHD Blu-Ray player, after not having a DVD player for 12 years or so. I'm actually buying the occasional UHD or Blu-Ray from time to time. Like the Twin Peaks: Z to A set, which has just about everything Twin Peaks ever released.
I've got maybe 10 VHS tapes and cassettes, total. Mostly original 80s Japanese VHS tapes or personal stuff I haven't converted to digital yet, like the time I went skydiving.
I also got rid of most of my "pop CDs" when we moved in 2019, too. I have about 100 "vital" (collectors-type) CDs, and a couple hundred classical CDs at the bottom of my closet.
I collected records as a teen, and kept many of them, and actually started buying vinyl regularly in the past couple years, even though I don't (yet) own a turntable. In fact, my most recent vinyl purchase was this, last week.
Having been "vanity sized" down to a zero (if anything, I've gotten bigger, not smaller), I have a really hard time finding jeans I like. I also don't like stretch jeans. All of my jeans now come from makeyourownjeans.com, where I give them measurements and what type of denim I want, and they make my jeans from scratch for a fairly reasonable price (about $70 - way more than I'd like to pay for jeans, but kind of a bargain for 100% custom). They're made in India.
I took a chance on some Carhartt heavy duty leggings and love them: https://www.amazon.com/Carhartt-Womens-Stretch-Utility-Legging/dp/B089KV4GJH/ref=sr\_1\_2
Every so often I go to TJ Maxx and leave empty handed. I'm not a fan of the thin, flimsy shirt fabrics available these days. I've also decided I hate 3/4 length sleeves.
I spend so much time on my car that I have boxes of microfiber towels ready to go (along with the bags of washed and sorted towels - a different color for each task) and two crates of cleaning/waxing/detailing products.
If you are looking for a good, quick easy to use spray product that helps last in between full waxes (I blow dry and squeegee the car then spray this on and dry with towel), it's Chemical Guys V07 Spray Detailer. Chemical Guys get a bad rap because of their fairly douchey marketing, and their 20,000,000 products, but I have tried over 20 different spray detailers and I like this one by far more than any others. I've tried Maguirs, Turtle, Adams, Griots, 3D, Sonax... I can't remember them all. I always came back to the CG V07 - and I love the smell.
For interior I also tried a ton and always came back to Lucas Slick Mist. If you take it easy and dont drown the interior in the stuff, then it cleans and protects, but isn't shiny or sticky or greasy - it's just CLEAN. My preferred aesthetic is CLEAN, not ostentatious.
Oh ugh, that hurts. I get emotionally attached to books and I'd be devastated. Not that it's any consolation, but years and years ago I lost my C&H books too somewhere. A few years ago, my keeper of spouse surprised me with this in hardback one Christmas. :) https://www.amazon.com/Complete-Calvin-Hobbes-Bill-Watterson/dp/1449433251/ref=sr\_1\_1?crid=27GZQDDZPFRCS&keywords=hardback+calvin+and+hobbes+complete+collection&qid=1654857834&sprefix=hardback+calvin%2Caps%2C103&sr=8-1
Military brat here, too. I got extremely lucky, and my best friend since I was 11 years old was my best man at my wedding, and he and I speak every Sunday. He's my only real link back to my dependent and prior-service (I served 4 years in the Air Force myself) time.
That being said, I suffer from this gut pull every 3 years, almost to the month. My brain still expects to PCS somewhere else, and I have to talk myself down from it...and I'm 55 and I've lived in the same metro area since 1998.
Just another impact of our time as dependents, I guess.
I recommend every Military Brat read Military Brats: Legacies of Childhood in the Fortress, by Mary Wertsch. It's a bit dated, but it still holds some incredible insights into how our experiences shaped us.
Take care.
I’ll start. I was surprised to see Nintendo spoken about like it was the common video game entertainment system. I don’t remember Nintendo being popular until the late 80s. I thought earlier was still Atari. At least it was at my house.
(Googled it. The show is set in 1986. So it could have started getting popular by then.)
Can we talk about Robert Englund for a sec? Him portraying Victor was brilliant. I wish he had a bigger role. I made my kids listen to Nightmare on My Street by DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince after that episode. They weren’t impressed.
My husband doesn’t like the show. Although he relates, he find the kids bratty and annoying. I might agree with him if it was any other time period, but the 80s nostalgic has me hooked. I watch it with my daughter.
And great use of the Light Bright. Did you have one growing up? I always wanted one. Never got one.
https://www.amazon.com/Never-Talk-Strangers-Irma-Joyce/dp/0375849645
My mother read this book to me as a little kid. That being said, she never asked where I was going or what I was doing. I roamed all over the place, cut through alleys. Dropped me off in the middle of San Francisco when I was in 4th grade to do the walk a thon.
I give you the Bath School Disaster in 1927. It's generally brought up whenever there's a new school shooting because it still holds the "Dead Kid Record" (for now).
There's a great book on Amazon about it by Harold Schecter. It's a free rental on Kindle or you can buy a hard copy of course.
Now granted it's not a dude with a gun but still, it's still a school massacre over taxes among other things.
Tarantino (because he's weird like us) wrote a novelization of Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
For anyone interested, there's a free Kindle book on Amazon about it, Bath Massacre: America's First School Bombing.
You can also buy hard copies too. It's a great read.