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Posted on 04/14/2013 11:05:29 AM PDT by nickcarraway
Enter Our Matrix of Milestones, Music, and Memories
The only movies that I liked were "Red Dawn" and the Rambo films, but "Star Wars II" (1980) was a disappointment. "Star Wars III" was better, but neither could hold a candle to "Star Wars I."
In sports, the Los Angeles Dodgers won a couple of national championships, but soon after winning the 1980 Rose Bowl game, the USC Trojans came under the leadership of a series of mediocre coaches and went into a funk that lasted the rest of the century. However, the Occidental College Tigers did better, with seven winning seasons and 10 straight victories over arch-rival Pomona College.
The 1980's also produced the ugliest cars of just about any decade. Automobile stylists seemed to have been influenced by cubism, for the streets were filled with cars that looked like boxes. They also weren't very well-made; there are probably more 1950's cars on the road today than there are 1980's cars.
I loved the great movies, great music and the end of the Carter Administration.
So, in essence, the 80s were devoid of much of anything of lasting value?
Got married and became a Dad. Helped elect The Best President Ever (RR). Strong economic growth. The start of the fall of Communism and the USSR. Strong US military. A sense of national pride, a great counterpoint to the dreary Carter years. Bringing the hostages home, and telling Iran to screw itself.
Enter Our Matrix ...For the Firefox browser and Stylish addon checkout my style: Free Republic - Matrix (+ more)
For me, the U.S. ice hockey gold medal victory in the Olympics was the turning point - especially the upset of the Soviet Union team. That occurred towards the end of February of 1980, and it was at that point that the stink of the 1970s was flushed down the toilet - like an especially bad case of diarrhea.
I remember getting so caught up in that event that I drove to Winthrop, MA to see Mike Eruzione's victory parade as that song "99" by Toto played on the radio.
The 1980s decade was perfected bookended on Christmas Day of 1989 when the Ceausescu's were executed in Romania. That was the unofficial kickoff of the rapid fall of the Iron Curtain in Europe and the disintegration of the Soviet Union.
In between, well, those were some pretty good years. Lots of prosperity, eight years of Ronald Reagan, millions of high tech jobs being created, the future looked pretty darn bright back in the 1980s. If only I could go back to say, 1985, with $10,000 to invest in Microsoft!
It's a shame that people under the age of 40 never got to experience the optimism that used to exist here in the United States.
Depends on if you're talking import or domestic. I'd agree that American cars were in the doldrums in the 1980s, with a few exceptions (like the Corvette, which is beautiful). There are some great Japanese and European cars from that era though. I happen to like the angular styling that you call cubist. It was certainly more interesting than the nondescript jellybean curves of the 1990s.
I will say that the current generation of cars is absolutely fantastic in terms of styling -- the perfect mix of curvy and angular. That've learned their lessons and have really nailed it. The wonderfulness of modern cars is one reason I think we're not doomed. I think cars are a leading indicator of societal health and I think the general trend is positive.
I was reborn on 25 May 1983. At age 40, I underwent life-saving open heart surgery. I was a 250 pound slob who couldn’t walk up a flight of stairs without taking a nitro pill. Ninety days after the surgery I weighed 193, my current weight, and took up running. One hundred days after the surgery, I was jogging through the streets of Baghdad with the Hash House Harriers. Thank God! My late wife was so incredibly supportive, as was my leadership at work. I even liked the big hair of the 80s, and the Tigers beat the Padres.
Ditto AND Ronald Reagan. Was married in the 80s, but some bad stuff happened then, too...fire, almost got divorced, lay-off, stuff like that. I miss looking forward to having kids, which we never had.
I miss not having to worry about whether I'd wake up and my rights would have been stolen by some crack-pot, Liberal, commie, idiot.
Wow! My memory’s gone, what’s her name?
Again, WOW!
Still have the original “Wild Gift” in vinyl. I also have my ticket stub to The Clash at Chicago’s Aragon Ballroom. Best show I ever saw.
One hundred days after the surgery, I was jogging through the streets of Baghdad with the Hash House Harriers.
Gotta ask -- what were the Hash House Harriers?
Phoebe Cates - Fast Times at Ridgemont High (A silly movie with a remarkable cast and unforgettable bikini scene.)
“Hey Brad, you know how cute I always thought you were.”
Life is strange moving in stereo...
Classic!
That the 80’s weren’t the 70’s was enough for me. Being in my 20’s was just gravy.
What I loved about the 80’s... MY HAIR! I had an extremely radical style.. big hair, cut short at the ears with razor markings in the form of lightening bolts! I miss my big hair....
And of course Lady Thatcher
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