For the last 24-hours, I've been bombarded with Facebook updates and Tweets proclaiming 2011 is gonna be the best year ever. Sorry all you silly, hungover hopefuls, this year is probably gonna suck just like 2010, 2009, 2008, etc. If it were up to me ... if I had full control ... we'd be ringing in 1982. 1982 was my year. 1982 was one of the best years ever. Even though it wasn't the year I met my husband, or the year I met Micky Dolenz, or the year I graduated high school or college, it was an amazing year.
1. I was 10! Who wouldn't want to be 10 back in the 80s? Old enough to have fun, but not worry about pimples, boys, weight, makeup, a part-time job, SATs, college, etc.
2. E.T.! E.T. was the best movie EVER. Remember, I saw it 14 times that year!
3. The best music! The Motels, Hall & Oates, Rick Springfield, etc. Looking over the list of Top 40 songs from 1982, almost every song is awesome.
4. Politics Shmolitics! I didn't care that Ronald Reagan was president. I was 10, it didn't really affect me.
5. Baby aspirin was still magical! Yes, I know in October, 1982 there was that whole Tylenol scare issue going on, but my mom still let me chew St. Joseph's baby aspirin. Although I cared, I was 10, the Tylenol thing didn't really affect me.
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| One Day At A Time, awesome show! |
6. TV was terrific! Love Boat, One Day At A Time, Alice, Joanie Loves Chachi, Dukes of Hazard, etc. I loved prime time network television. Some of the best TV ever!
7. California Girl! I went to California for the very first time for free! It was my favorite trip ever! My parents had given up our four seats while heading home to New York from Florida one day. We were asked to accommodate a family of four who needed to get on that particular flight. In exchange for giving up our seats, the airline bought us all dinner while we waited for the next flight home. They also gave my parents four free plane tickets to anywhere in the continental US. We went to Universal Studios and Disneyland. We traveled to San Fransisco and LA and even stayed at the Beverly Hills Hotel.
8. Atari! I loved playing what would become timeless classics such as Donkey Kong and Pac-man! Best video games ever!
9. Soooo stylin'! Tiny Jordache bags, ribbon barrettes, feathered clips, hearts, rainbows and 3/4-length jersey shirts with iron-on images were all the rage and I loved it all! Best fashions ever!
10. Recession-proof! In 1982 there was a recession and the unemployment rate reached like 10%. My parents were teachers and their jobs were safe. I was 10, it didn't really affect me. Today, in 2011, I'm no longer 10 and the recession really affects me.


