Showing My Age: 80’s Style- Vol. 2
March 14, 2008 by Allison
I couldn’t resist one more walk down memory lane (click here for the first trip).
Scratch n Sniff stickers will always hold a place near and dear to my heart. I spent many a Friday night selecting “grab bags” of stickers from the It’s a Small World store on the mall. Those stickers promptly found a new home in one of my many fabulous sticker books. I wonder what the skate sticker smelled like.
Checking out at the grocery store was always a little exciting thanks to the tempting candy display by the registers. Some of my favorites were Big League Chew, Freshen Up bubblegum and Hot Dog! bubblegum.
And let us not forget candy cigarettes. Just what every kid needed!
And I’m sure that men everywhere were dazzled by the cloying scents of Exclamation, Debbie Gibson’s Electric Youth, and Love’s Baby Soft.
The continued popularity of Cabbage Patch Kids (that’s me pictured with my first CPK in 1983) and Strawberry Shortcake proves the genius of their existence. And we all know that no Cabbage Patch Kid could be happy without a Koosa pet from Koosa Valley.
While I’m on the subject of toys, let me take a minute to pay tribute to my Sea Wee doll, shrinky dinks and the Girl Talk board game.
A game that I wanted badly to play was Bozo’s Grand Prize Game. Oh to have grown up in Chicago.
I can’t mention a post about my childhood without throwing in a few of my favorite books. I loved everything by Francine Pascal including the Sweet Valley High series and the Victoria books including My First Love and Other Disasters. Behind the Attic Wall was a relatively obsure, but enjoyable read.
Television was also a big part of my childhood (too much so, in fact.) Shows I enjoyed included Doogie Howser MD, The Greatest American Hero and Jem.
I was glued to the t.v. every night the V mini-series aired. And when it re-aired too. That goes double for The Thorn Birds and triple for North and South. *swoon*
Speaking of Marc Singer (from V), I was infatuated with the Beastmaster movie for a couple of years. I was also obsessed with the Clue movie. I went to see it as part of a slumber party in the 5th grade. Prior to seeing the movie, I always picked Miss Scarlet when I played the board game. Leslie Ann Warren confirmed my choice. I can remember watching Baby, Secret of the Lost Legend at another slumber party in grade school. We had to rent a VCR to watch it. Oops, almost forgot Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure (I know you are, but what am I?)
A few more of my favorite Atari games were Donkey Kong, Frogger and Berserk. The Berserk screen doesn’t look so impressive anymore. Donkey Kong still does.
I’ll never forget the first computer I touched. It was a Tandy something or other- our big project in the 6th grade was to make our name scroll across the screen. (Please note the fun tape recorder to the left.)
Good times, people. good times. Now’s your chance to share any other 80’s memories this may have revived.
Click here for volume 3.
Oh my goodness! I had those stickers!! I don’t remember what the skate smelled like either. I’m imagining gross!
I had every single one of those stickers too, and many more.
I remember spending Friday nights at the roller skating rink…I could never find my sister since she was always “making friends” in the dark corners of the rink.
I can distinctly remember the “burst of flavor” from the Freshen Up and watching the Greatest American Hero.
My fondness TV memories are of Airwolf, Moonlighting and the A-Team. I seem to remember being fond of a Dungeons and Dragons cartoon on saturday mornings.
The Wonder Years must have started in the 80’s, that was a favorite also.
How I loved the roller skating rink! I loved doing the Hokey Pokey with a stuffed gorilla in the middle of the rink. I also remember that the bad kids had to go to a penalty box and they played slow songs and dimmed the nights for lovers. I never had the privilege of the “slow skate”.
The Wonder Years was awesome. I felt personally invested in Winnie and Kevin.
I love these posts! I remember well gorging myself on candy cigarettes, Charleston Chews, and Flicks (those fat, flat chocolate chips that come in a tube… I guess they’re still around but I haven’t seen them in 20+ years).
I watched Greatest American Hero, The Muppet Show, Fat Albert, Mork & Mindy… a lot of TV…
A year or so ago, I found a site dedicated to TV theme songs of old… I downloaded a bunch and made an album of them… now I force my friends to sit & play “Name that show” when they come to visit.
I can’t believe anybody would have to be “forced” to listen to those gems. Surely you jest.
I loved the candy smokes, too, and SWH books. I still think back to stupid plot lines when something triggers my memory.
Do you remember fake Cabbage Patch Kids? I first had a fake one, and I was so sad mine wasn’t real. All the other girls were exposing the bums on their CP’s and so I took a pen to mine and signed MY name on its arse.
And then for Christmas I was given two.
Oh, happy memories.
No. Not the fake CPK’s. Eileen, I am so sorry. You had no choice but to sign it’s arse.
Oh, no you didn’t bust out the Electric Youth perfume! LOL
I loved my scratch and sniff stickers and Sweet Valley High books.
I most certainly did
Oh my god. Behind The Attic Wall was one of my faves. “Behoove? Bees with hooves?” That’s a relatively obscure but enjoyable line from that book that really stuck with me.
And I absolutely LIVED for Love’s Baby Soft. I would probably still wear it today if they made it.
Wow, I have never known anybody else who read that book. I had to put a request in to the long-term memory bank to conjure that title.
Oh boy, now I’m going to spend the day with “Believe it or not, I’m walking on air…” repeating in my head!
Mmmm…candy cigarettes - I still buy them whenever I see them. Love ‘em! Good times.
The thing is, I don’t even remember liking how they tasted. If I recall correctly, they were kind of chalky. But I looked oh so cool “smoking” them.
I had a slumber party where we acted out the movie Clue in my basement. Were you there too? I think we fought over who got to be Ms. Scarlet.
I wish. You acted out Clue? That’s awesome (assuming nobody was actually harmed.)
Seriously. Who wants to be Mrs. Peacock?
I think the skate sticker smelled like nasty old leather. It was always my least favorite. I might still have some of these!
Exclamation! Electric Youth and Loves Baby Soft were my favorite scents. I remember Loves also came out with one that was Rain and one that was lemony! Ahh - the memories!
Love this post!
I had the multi-pack of Loves too!!! There was a rain and a lemon one. There might have been a musk one too. I should take a moment to apologize to my family members and my schoolmates for the probable over-application of said products.
You and I must be the same age. I LOVED Love’s Baby Soft. Did you listen to The Cars? Were you in love with Bon Jovi (I still am)? Remember the Flashdance shirts that were off the shoulder?
No cars, but absolutely yes to Bon Jovi. Sadly, I was a Tiffany and Debbie Gibson kind of girl.
I do remember the Flashdance shirts, though I never had one. I was, however, the proud owner of 2 pair of legwarmers.
You are amazing at this ’80s stuff! I can relate to almost all of it, but the biggest treat was the scratch ‘n sniff sickers! I can practically smell them as I look at the screen!
Sometimes the stickers actually smelled better than the real thing…like the grape stickers!
There are still 80’s things to be pictured…I just couldn’t find pictures of them: Striped jeans, slime sundaes from Hardees, plastic charm necklaces with bells (1985), spring (as in boing-boing) jewelry, puzzle pens, beads on safety pins fastened to shoe laces (early 80’s).
I also passed on some of the obvious ones like neon clothing, perms, high bangs, thermal-sensitive clothing, tight-rolled jeans.
I loved the Sweet Valley Books and I wore Exclamation. Actually, just the other day my ex husband was talking about how he still loves the smell of exclamation even though it makes him feel a bit creepy. When he and I first started dating (I was 15) I wore that.
Sometimes it’s eery how closely linked certain scents are to memories.
My mom is one of those kinds that thinks everything will be worth something some day. She still has all of my Cabbage Patch Kids and my Koosa that I had. As well as many other toys from my childhood including an unopened Herself the Elf. She asked me to clean out my old closet at my childhood home about a year ago. (Don’t as me why it wasn’t done before, I have been out of that home for 14 years!) Anyway, every single one of my sticker books was on one of the shelves. I finally threw them away, but they were full of scratch and sniff, Shirt Tales, E.T., and TONS others. I kinda wish I hadn’t been so hasty in my purging now! And I totally LOVED Exclamation. That powdery pungent smell would take me back to middle school dances!! My husband and I just mentioned the Grand Prize game the other day, and how we wished we could have gone on the show for the chance to win a BRAND, NEW SCHWINN BICYCLE!!
I still have my CPK’s, in the hopes that my imp will want to play with them someday. WOW about the stickers. I have a couple of sheets of stickers that my grandma sent me when I was a kid for sentimental reasons, but I purged my sticker books a long time ago.
I’m very attempted to buy the Grand Prize game now. Not for the imp. For me.
Oh yes, Airwolf. It was ridiculous how much I loved that show, and even more horrible, the ninja show “The Master” with Lee ever-lovin’ Von Cleef. And did you KNOW that there is a web site devoted to that horrible Knight-Rider-but-with-a-motorcycle show that I naturally was riveted by, “Street Hawk?”
My wife bought a whole pile of He-Man toys for my son from Ebay. I was mad that the Battle Ram didn’t come with the front half. What a ripoff.
The Clue movie will be featured in an upcoming blog of mine, “Best Movies to Watch While Intoxicated.” (Not that it should only be watched in that state. It’s awesome.) My wife and I adore that movie, and wow do I miss Madeline Kahn.
“I hated her. So…much…that it-it-it…flames. Flames…from the side of my face…breathing…breath…heaving breasts…”
Okay all of you Airwolf fans, go here immediately:
http://veggiemacabre.wordpress.com/2008/03/03/where-did-you-go-part-3/
Veggiemacabre has an indepth discussion about Airwolf including the theme song video.
Madeline Kahn was wonderful.
Thanks for taking me back!
This month’s issue of a car mag which my hubby subscribes,(Can’t remember which one) has a scratch-n-sniff in it. I almost gagged. It smelled like burnt rubber.
Ugh! That sounds about as bad as when the utility company sent a card with the smell of the natural gas additive to help identify gas leaks.
I had that same Sea Wee Doll but I think I chewed off her hands. I still have my Sweet Valley High books b/c they have to be worth something some day right?? I loved He-Man and honestly, what girl wasn’t rooting for Jem against the Misfits? “Jem is my name no one else is the same…Jem!”
I had 3 Sea Wee Dolls- the redhead with turquoise body, a blond with pink body, and a brunette with green body. They lived in a big pink shell. I think my dog chewed off the blond’s flipper.
Shoot, if I still had the SVH books, I’d probably be secretly re-reading them instead of my meaningful grown-up books.
I loved me some Big League Chew!
Do you remember the Garbage Pail Kids trading cards? Sick I know, but I thought they were hilarious.
I remember the Garbage Pail Kid trading cards, but I didn’t actually have any. After a couple of minutes of internet research on the subject- ick!
Allison, I sent your link to this post to a friend and this is what she wrote back to me:
“Oh, I LOVE this girl! I still have my bottle of Electric Youth perfume! Of course I don’t wear it, but it totalyl still smells the same!
I REFUSE to get rid of it! he he ;)”
How fun! I always thought the little spring in the bottle was cool (and the song too, of course.)
OMG. I broke out the Debbie Gibson on vinyl yesterday when I was home alone cleaning the house.
I never had the perfume, but my friend did and I loved it.
Love the sticker’s, and Pee Wee’s Playhouse.
Oh, and my friend and I got in trouble for making her little brother play Girl Talk with us. He got a nasty carpet burn on his nose while doing one of the challenges where you pushed a penny accross the floor with your nose.
I loved Bozo. I didn’t have that game, but I did have a Double Dare Game. I was a total Nickelodeon addict.
Was Double Dare the game with the obstacle course and the green slime? I LOVED that game show!
I wonder if the little brother has emotional scars from that incident.
I’m a huge fan of Love’s Baby Soft. I still buy everything in powder scent because it reminds me of that smell. So much better than a lot of the heavy stuff on the market today. Sometimes change does not mean improvement!
Yuck to heavy stuff. I don’t have too many issues with road rage, but put me next to somebody with strong perfume and faces will be made.
I love these posts. I really do. And I am totally serious when I say that John and I spent an hour yesterday trying to remember the name of that gum! I can’t wait to tell him! You rock.
I love it when something like that happens…you can’t seem to recall the name of something and then you overhear a conversation or read a blog that clears the mystery
Beastmaster (was there ever a MORE perfect movie name for porn adaptation?) was my first movie breast exposure.
And that lady on there was pretty hot too!
Ah, Tanya Roberts.
She was in a movie after The Beastmaster called Sheena. I can still remember going to the theater with my mom to see that movie and thinking that it was a very serious film (I was 9 years old). My mom actually bought it on VHS several years later. One night Dad and I were going through the VHS tapes trying to pick something to watch and we stumbled upon the Sheena tape. He said, “Wow, your mom bought a skin flick,” and then he chuckled. A skin flick? You mean that wasn’t a serious drama about survival amidst the zebras? Suddenly my whole view of the world changed.
You can imagine how I felt when I learned that Airplane was just a spoof.
No obstacle course, but it did come with some stuff for some lame physical challenges.
Oh, and I always bought Taffy Sinclair books from the book club flier they passed out at school.
I loved those thin book club fliers. I can remember ordering The Secret of NIMH from one of those fliers.
Garbage Pail Kids
The Blue Lagoon (oh - the scandal of Brooke Shields boobies!)
The A Team
Rocky Horror Picture Show (I saw this for the first time in Kokomo, IN, by the way!)
oh - and about Clue: do you remember that when it was in the theaters, they only showed ONE of the possible endings? If you wanted to see the other endings you had to check the movie listings to see if it was “Ending 1, 2 or 3″
The Blue Lagoon was oh so scandalous. I remember thinking I was getting away with something the first time I saw it. I was very stressed after the poisonous-fish-prick incident.
Oh yeah, now I remember the multiple Clue endings. “I am your singing telegram” *bam*
I always wanted to be Miss Scarlet as well, especially after seeing the movie (which I own now of course).
So glamorous in her black dress, red lipstick and white diaphanous scarf thingie (I’m sure there’s a real word to describe it).
I can’t believe I’ve never stopped by here before. I’ve seen you around, and just know followed your link over from 2lazydogs blog.
I really enjoyed this post. I’m gonna have to go check out the first one now. I have many fond memories of the eighties. I may even have to do a similar post in the near future. This was just so much fun.
Beastmaster was the coolest movie EVER, at the time.
Anyway, taken up enough space this time around. Later. 
Wow, thank you for the compliment! I’m glad you enjoyed and I look forward to perusing your blog as well. Bestmaster was awesome. I’m almost afraid to watch it again, because I don’t want to ruin the image in my head (like I did by re-watching The Karate Kid).
My Username on WordPress is my Cabbage Patch Kid’s name!!!
Love it. I still have all of my CPK birth certificates.
This post kicks it 80’s style! For me, the 80’s included the Nintendo Entertainment System, cable tv, the Gremlins, and Hamburger, a really bad movie that exposed the first naked breasts I ever saw.
[...] here for Volume [...]
[...] In deference to Allison and her decade series (in this case, I’m referring to her 80s blogs), I finally plugged a gaping hole in my 80s-kid experience. I finally watched the movie [...]
I was going through pictures the other day and have a pile of negatives in a file. And there I saw a ‘Kodak Disc Camera’ negative! Remember those? I got a pink one for my 13th birthday (1987) and LOVED it. I even remembered the stupid song from the commercial… ‘I’m gonna get you with my Kodak Disc. Shimmy shimmy, I’m not gonna miss. Not when it’s as easy as this, I’m gonna get you with my Kodak Disc!’
If you do a Part 3, be sure to include that! LOL
http://youtube.com/watch?v=9Xp56DDEJrk
I had one of those cameras!!!!!
[...] had been thinking for some time about doing an 80s music blog, and reading Allison’s decade series of posts just reinforced that. The problem for that sort of thing is, where [...]