Looking Back

So, tomorrow is St. Patrick’s Day.  I remember that day back in 1995, because my wife and I closed on our first home purchase on St. Patrick’s Day.  We bought a 1480 square foot, 2 bedroom home with a 16,000 square foot lot in Bend, Oregon.  The list price?  $89,900.  Obviously, that was before the HUGE Real Estate Boom in Central Oregon.  It just went crazy from 2003-2006.  That same home would have sold in 2004 for nearly $300,000.  That’s a great investment, if you can afford to hold on to it.  We couldn’t.  Someone else is realizing that incredible increase in value and profiting from it. 

I was thinking earlier about the 1980’s and what a fun decade that was for me.  I was 10 in 1980, so it was a decade filled with life-change and high emotion for me.  Those years from 10-20 are some of the most turbulant of your life and you really remember what was going on during those times.  To this day certain songs and movies bring me right back to the emotional state I was in back then.  Some of the number one songs for the month of March in the 80’s were:  1987- Livin’ On a Prayer by Bon Jovi, 1983- Billie Jean by Michael Jackson, 1986- Sara by Starship, 1982- I Love Rock n’ Roll by Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, 1981- 9 to 5 by Dolly Parton. 

I vividly remember the movie Back to the Future starring Michael J. Fox, Lea Thompson and Christopher Lloyd.  It is still one of my favorite feel-good movies.  The Olympics were a big deal to me, as I was really into Hockey, Track and Field and Cycling.  The Coors Light Water Ski Tour was a big deal for me as well, the sport has never regained that success it had in the late 1980’s.  The Chicago Bears Washington Redskins and San Francisco 49er’s were great NFL teams that I remember watching a lot of. 

Who can forget the Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Lakers NBA teams back then?  Michael Jordan was just getting ready to Dominate the NBA.  Really the glory years of the NBA to me.  I also remember watching the World series in 1989 when the LA Dodgers won, thanks in large part to Kirk Gibson.  That was the very first World Series that I had actually watched every game.  It was also the last.  I figured it would be hard to top that, and I never really liked watching baseball much.  I loved playing it though.

The 80’s was a decade of blockbuster movies.  Unbelievable decade for the silver screen.  Here are some of the top movies from the 80’s:  The Empire Strikes Back, Return of the Jedi, Stripes, E.T, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Rainman, Top Gun, St. Elmo’s Fire, The Breakfast Club, Terminator, Rambo, Silverado, Footloose, Nightmare on Elm Street, Batman, Lethal Weapon, Star Trek-the Wrath of Khan, An Officer and a Gentleman, Ghostbusters, National Lampoon’s Vacation and Christmas Vacation, Ferris Beuller’s Day Off, Fatal Attraction, Goonies, Weird Science, Airplane, Superman, War Games, The Right Stuff, Beverly Hills Cop, Flashdance, Porky’s, Sixteen Candles,  and The Karate Kid.  Wow.  That’s just a small list of movies that came out in the 80’s.  Their influence is still very strong today.  The country seemed to be very creative in the 80’s.

I graduated from High School and moved away from home to attend College in 1988.  What a year that was.  Talk about life-change.  I’ll never forget being on the campus of the University of Oregon and thinking that everyone else had it all figured out.  Everyone else but me.  I didn’t really know what I wanted to do, or be when I graduated.  It always seemed like everyone else had a plan and a clear direction.  Of course I found out later that most people were like me, uncertain and somewhat overwhelmed, not the other way around.  But the stress of new surroundings, new responsibilities and uncertain life goals really imprints on your mind.  I still get a little twinge of nervousness whenever I go to the campus, those old memories come bubbling up to the surface when I see the busy college kids rushing around.  It’s a good stress now, motivating.  But back then it wasn’t always fun.

It’s those feelings of stress that make the decade so memorable to me.  I can remember several years of the 10 very vividly.  I remember what I was doing, what was important to me, etc.  The 90’s are not nearly so clear to me.  Neither is 2002-2005.  Those years just melted together somehow.

I guess I’m not alone, judging by the continued popularity of 80’s music and movies.  There are a lot of other 30 somethings that feel the same way I bet.

We are over halfway through March already.  We are compiling the information for the April Newsletter and the Dad of the Month.  We will also be unveiling some new car reviews and products.  Thanks for all of your support, and keep helping us grow.

I will reminisce some more later. 

Tags: 1980's, baseball, movies, music, NBA, NFL, pop-culture