20 Years Ago

I was burning some music for my sister the other day (yes, I can be nice once in a while), and it got me thinking. You see, the music I was burning for her was Kenny Rogers Greatest Hits. There is one of his songs I happen to like ( ok, there is more than one), and it is titled "Twenty Years Ago". Part of the lyrics say "Life was so much easier, twenty years ago". I dont think it matters what decade you were born in or what happened twnety years ago, but I believe this holds true for most if not all of us. So I thought today we would discuss what happened to us twenty years ago.

Twenty years ago a Flock of Seagulls ran (they ran so far away), Madonna wasnt married and she was doing the Vogue. Johnny hated jazz, Frankie went to Hollywood, and Prince sang under a Purple Rain. Men Without Hats popped the world, Motley Crue took the world by storm with headbanging, thrashin metal, and Bon Jovi set a fashion trend with ankle length trench coats. There was The Cure, The Femmes were violent, Duran Duran was Notorious, and Girls Just Wanted to Have Fun. Boys to Men sang to us without instruments, Marky Mark became funky, and the New Kids on the Block had the Right Stuff.

The 80's brought us the best decade of music and trends. Garbage Pail Kids were the thing, and Thundercats saved the day every Saturday afternoon. He Man was the master of the Universe, Papa was smurftastic, and MTV debuted to millions of kids with nothing to do but sit in front of the tv for hours waiting for Thriller to come on again. We watched in amazement as Dire Straits got their Money for Nothin (and their chicks for free), and we all came together as one on January 28, 1986 when the Space Shuttle Challenger fell apart just after takeoff. We went through puberty, lost and gained friends, learned to drive, started dating, got our first kiss, fell in love, and for many of us, went on missions.

Now i cant and dont claim the 80's was the best decade for all. I have spoken with some who not only hated, but despised their high school life. We were all different then. Friends I have today I only knew briefly then. Friends I had then, I have fallen out of touch with or have lost. Things change, time changes and so do people. I was a geek in high school. I wore glasses, tried very hard to fit in with a crowd, and kept all my classes laughing with my never ending banter and witty humor. I sometimes look back and wonder... if I could do it all again would I change anything? Yes and no.

The 80's brought us some great movies too. The Breakfast Club, Pretty in Pink, Howard the Duck (ok, not ALL the movies were great), License to Drive, Lost Boys, 16 Candles, and many others. We learned how to fit in, how to dress, how to dance and how to love from many of these.

The last twenty years has seen changes in all of us. We grew up, some of us grew out, we got married and started raising familes. We learned that a job isnt just something to make money at, we survive now by what we do and dont do. We learned what our parents said when they cursed us with " I hope someday your child is just like you!", and for some of us we learned the heartbreak of loss and divorce. Twenty years can bring a lot of change.

When you think back twenty years ago, what do you think of? What music do you still enjoy from then? What movies or God forbid, fashion trends? Do you tell your children of the "good ole days"? Do your kids wonder if Dinosaurs were around when we were younger (like we did for our parents)? What song was your first slow dance to? What song was playing when you got your first kiss? Do you remember games like "7 seconds in Heaven"? Did you have poofy, teased out hair (dont forget, I have yearbook photos of you all...I know)? Did you find spandex like tooootally tubular? Did you ever say, like gag me with a spoon? Do tell, do tell. Enquiring minds want to know. Anything you remember would be wonderful to read.

As we start a new year, I look forward to my life more than I have of late. I now have someone wonderful in it. She brings me the joy, love and good times I have been missing out on. I also look forward to my ...cough cough...twenty year reunion. There are so many of you I long to see again. I have grown closer to many of you since high school, and have made better friends of you I did know then. The planning committee is a wonderful one and I know it will be a fantastic time. And if youre reading this Kamie, Im still doing what I can to track down lost Lancers...dont fire me yet.

So spill the beans, tell us what we want to read. Make this your own confession page. I look forward to all of it...and I cant promise it wont be used against you.

Be good to everyone you meet...be better to people you like, and remember...a broken clock is correct twice daily.

Until we speak again................. Brandon