Growing up in the 70's

Overall, I find the 1970's to be one long fashion don't, but sometimes in the midst of locating and destroying pictures of myself, the good things about growing up during that decade wash over me like a freshly baked easy oven cake.

My friend K, by way of our friend S, sent this list that sent me hurtling back to days of poly blend tweed and braids that ended in ribbons. If you grew up during the 70's, enjoy:

YOU WERE A LITTLE GIRL IN THE 70'S IF...

You wore a rainbow shirt that was half-sleeves, and the rainbowwent up one sleeve, across your chest, and down the other.
(*Not exactly, but I did have a rainbow sweater that had the stripes going all the way straight
aross both sleeves. I wore it when I played the planet Saturn in a school play in second grade, you know, because of the rings.)

You made baby chocolate cakes in your Easy Bake Oven and washedthem down with snow cones from your Snoopy Snow Cone Machine.
(*Check, although these kinds of things tended to belong to friends or kids on my block. I had a snoopy electic toothbrush though!)

You had that Fisher Price Doctor's Kit with a stethoscope that actuallyworked.
(*No need. I had a real stethoscope, courtesy of my Grandpa.)

You owned a bicycle with a banana seat and a plastic basket with flowers on it.
(*OK, now we're talking! That bike was the best bike EVER. Ribbons in the ends of each handle too.)

You learned to skate with actual skates (not roller blades) that had metal wheels.
(*I even spent two whole weeks completely on my skates during the day. Walking around after that seemed unbearably slow.)

You thought Gopher from Love Boat was cute (admit it!)
(*Uh, no. Sorry! I did think Chachi from Happy Days was cute. And Almanzo Wilder from Little House on the Prairie.)

You had nightmares after watching Fantasy Island.
(*Of course. And one very scary episode of Candid Camera, where they had a wanna-be actress do a scene from a movie and walk up behind an old lady in a rocking chair. But when she tapped her shoulder to get her to turn around, her face ws just a skeleton! AAAUUUUUUUUUGGHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)

You had rubber boots for rainy days and Moon boots for snowy days.
(*No moon boots. And I tended to wear sneakers for rain, and for snow unless it was serious. As some of you may know, I used to not want to wear bad weather boots.)

You had either a "bowl cut" or "pixie," not to mention the "Dorothy Hamil" because your Mom was sick of braiding your hair. People sometimes thought you were a boy.
(*Nope! Even during one unmentionable hair crisis, it was only as short as my shoulders. I have never had it shorter than that.)

Your Holly Hobbie sleeping bag was your most prized possession.
(*My Snoopy Sleeping bag was awesome! My brother had a matching one in a different color and we camped out in the living room.)

You wore a poncho, gauchos, and knickers.
(*No, no, and... um... a side order of no with that.)

You begged Santa for the electronic game, Simon.
(*Simon surely started my obsession with computer games. Simon was good, oh, very very good. Then I made a clean break and played cards with actual people in college. I know, how weird, right? Then I started hitting the hard stuff... Tetris. Pipe Dream. Shanghai. Word Whomp. Pyramids. But don't you worry, I know I am not addicted to these games because when I close my eyes at night, I can still see every detail about the game. I have even been known to design game enhancements while I sleep. So, you see, perfectly under control.)

You had the Donnie and Marie dolls with those pink and purple satiny shredded outfits.
(*No.)

You spent hours in your backyard on your metal swing set with the trapeze. The swing set tipped over at least once.
(*Hahaha! So many of my friends had those and they rocked (literally)! We had a geodesic jungle gym dome which was so cool. Amazing we survived our helmet-free childhoods.)

You had homemade ribbon barrettes in every imaginable color.
(*No, my ribbons and my barettes were separate. I had a lot of those ponytail holders with the figure-8 shaped elastic and the beads on each end.)

You had a pair of Doctor Scholl's sandals (the ones with hard sole& the buckle). You also had a pair of salt-water sandals.
(*I tried so hard to be comfortable in those Dr. Scholl's sandals. Never was.)

You wanted to be Laura Ingalls-Wilder really bad; you wore that Little House on the Prairie-inspired plaid, ruffle shirt with the highneck in at least one school picture; and you despised Nellie Olson!
(*I only wanted to be Laura after I discovered she was a writer and after she discovered Almonzo ;) And who didn't despise Nellie Olson? That girl needed the whole town to open an old fashioned barrel of whoop ass.)

You wanted your first kiss to be at a roller rink.
(*Was anyone's first kiss like what they wanted or imagined in any way at all?)

Your hairstyle was described as having "wings" or "feathers" and you kept it "pretty" with the comb you kept in your back pocket.
(*I just bought a flat iron for my hair, the iron-y being that it took all of the 70's and half the 80's to stop trying everything to straighten my hair and just let it be curly the way it wants. But curly hair will not feather, trust me! At it's most serious, my hair took me 45 minutes every single morning. Gah!)

You know who Strawberry Shortcake is, as well as her friends, Blueberry Muffin and Huckleberry Pie.
(*I know Strawberry Shortcake, but not the rest of 'em.)

You carried a Muppets lunch box to school and it was metal, not plastic.
(*Again, snoopy. Got to love the Snoopmeister!)

You and your girlfriends would fight over which of the Dukes ofHazzard was your boyfriend. Every now and then "It's a Hard Knock Life" from the movie, "Annie"will pop into your brain and you can't stop singing it the whole day. Damn you! YOU had Star Wars action figures, too!
(*No, no, no. Charlies Angels trading cards? Yes.)

It was a big event in your household each year when the "Wizard of Oz" would come on TV. Your mom would break out the popcorn and sleeping bags!
(*And we had a picnic in the living room for dinner when Herbie the Lovebug was on.)

You often asked your Magic-8 ball the question: "Who will I marry? Shaun Cassidy, Leif Garrett, or Rick Springfield?"
(*Magic-8 ball knows and sees all, but rarely gives good advice.)

You completely wore out your Grease, Saturday Night Fever, and Famesoundtrack record album.
(*Nope. My first album - we are talking vinyl here, people - was Billy Joel's Glass Houses. The only soundtracks I have everhad are The Big Chill and Pump Up The Volume.)

You tried to do lots of arts and crafts, like yarn and Popsicle-stick God's eyes, decoupage, or those weird potholders made on a plastic loom. Pot holders - I believe they were called "loom loopers"
(*OK. Act calm. Whoever made up this list must have followed me around since the 70's. I must now decode the rest of the list for hidden messages.)

You made Shrinky-Dinks and put iron-on kittens on your t-shirts!
(*Shrinky Dinks! Shrinky Dinks!! Do they still make them?)

You used to tape record songs off the radio by holding yourportable tape player up to the speaker.
(*Nope, because my tech-savvy Dad got me a tape recorder-radio combo, so I taped songs right off the radio!)

You couldn't wait to get the free animal poster that came when you ordered books from the Weekly Reader book club. Double score if it was a teddy bear dressed in clothing.
(*Eh?)

You learned everything you needed to know about girl issues from Judy Blume books.
(*Oh, like you didn't.)

You thought Olivia Newton John's song "Physical" was about aerobics.
(*It wasn't???)

You wore friendship pins on your tennis shoes, or shoelaces withheart or rainbow designs.You wanted to be a Solid Gold dancer.You had a Big Wheel with a brake on the side, and a Sit-n-Spin.You had subscriptions to Dynamite and Tiger Beat.You spent all your allowance on smurfs and stickers for your sticker album!
(*Neighbor kids had a Sit-N-Spin, and that may help explain why even today I walk a little bit off kilter. I stayed away from the Smurfs... living in brightly colored 'shrooms? No thanks, man, I was dizzy enough from the Sit-N-Spin.)