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You know you were part of the 1980s when...

If you've ever submerged yourself in a bathtub, fully clothed so your jeans would dry on your body skin tight - or if you've used a clothes hanger to pull the zipper up on a pair of jeans - you probably did so in the 80s. The jeans were probably acid washed, high waisted and pencil legged as well.

If you were a girl, you back-brushed your hair with a can of hairspray to get it just right for the Wham or Whitesnake concert you were going to. Probably you were sporting either leg warmers or a handkerchief tied around you wrist or boots. Your friend was wearing a zip up tiger-striped mini with a thin but double wrapped studded belt. Both of you wore tops you could smuggle a small car under. Could we believe what they wore in the 70s! Ridiculous! Pass us some neon and torn up mesh!

The 1980s were a definite turning point in North American history. The 60s and 70s had been tough era's of revolution, change and much-needed social upset.

By the 1980s, society in general decided it needed a break. And a break it took for the first half of the decade! No more standing on soap boxes. No more guilt and serious retrospection. Jobs were plentiful. Wealth was everywhere. Frankie told us to RELAX, and Cyndi pointed out "Girls just want to have fun!"

Okay sure, you worried about nuclear annihilation (you must have seen War Games!) - but what could you? If the world was really going to end, you might as well go out with a BANG! Watching Bill & Ted's adventure on your radical new Beta Machine! Or maybe playing Pitfall on Atari while listening to Duran Duran! Either way, it's not like your parents knew where you REALLY were anyway. You didn't have GPS, Cell Phones or Text Message files for them to snoop into!

The c'est la vie, throw caution to the wind sentiment was bolstered by the media. Music was upbeat. Movies were big-budget, full of action and fun - Indiana Jones, Romancing the Stone, Die Hard ONE. TV watchers thrived on light-hearted thirty minute sitcoms like Cheers, Night Court, and Who's the Boss? It looked like the new era of prosperity would never end. Boomers were busy working, their kids were busy playing. We all assumed we'd all go to university and get 100K jobs and big houses like our parents. And some did ... but most didn't.

As with all great parties the 80s eventually had to end. The rockers, metal-heads, preps and valley girls woke up with a hang-over by the closing of the decade. Gulf War. 20% mortgage rates. Housing shortages. Lay-offs. Recession. Depression. Credit-card debt levels never seen before. It was fun while it lasted though, wasn't it?

I think the sustained popularity with everything 80s is due to the happiness the era represented. Devil may care times we collectively yearn to return to.

Learn more about this author, Susan Huizinga.
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