I loved Girls Just Wanna Have Fun ... so add this girl to the bunch of girls who enjoyed your trek through memory-land. Are you planning to do a follow up, a part 2?
You guys are outta my age bracket. I was 41 in 1990. My daughters are closer to your ages! <sigh>
Thanks C.J.--- Debbie was 40 in 1990. I maybe plan on publishing my recollection of the 1990's posthumously and am eternally grateful the phones didn't have cameras because I spent a significant portion of the 90's in New York City clubs, when I wasn't in also nearby Philadelphia. I hope you and your girls will meet us along our imaginary planned road trip someday.
Kristin, you and I were born the same year so so much of this is familiar!
I loved Lady Di too - my Granny bought me a paper doll cutout book of the Royal couple one year. And oh, my Cabbage Patch Dolls! I think I had 4 of them. I bought my very first one with my own piggy bank money and it was a lot for a kid - 30 bucks!
I played Pong and Pac-Man and Donkey Kong but not much else in terms of video games. I remember the t.v. had a ‘remote control’ that was attached to the television by a cord. You’d press a button for the channel you wanted and the last button pressed would pop back up, making a loud clicking sound. I don’t know why I remember that so clearly.
I would walk home from school with my older brother who had a key around his neck. We’d be home alone until my parents got back from work but that was normal then. Yeah, we were free range kids. They were different times for sure!
Oh I absolutely love the paper doll books! I still give them as gifts actually and the magnet ones are cool too. Eventually we obtained more cabbage patch kids and I love visiting the American Girl doll store in NYC with my girls. I try to bond with my son and can beat him at PAC Man any day of the week! Thanks so much for sharing your memories with us too! 💗
PS I think my sister and I were the channel changers of the 80’s 😂
This is a wonderful retrospective, Kristin. Love the collaborative vibe of it and all of the nuance and detail that you bring to this memoir. I can hear so much of the music that you mention, almost a soundtrack to the article and the 80s as a decade.
Haha! Yes, kind of a neuro way of reading! I started college in 1980. So much of the music from that time, and that particular dorm!, really broadened my world view.
Sweet. Nice to hear from you two lovelies. Brought back lots of memories. I was born 74 so relate to both pieces. Music wise I love all the stuff you both said, was a huge 80’s music fan. Still am. I loved Debbie Gibson because I always wrote songs as a kid and of course she wrote all her own songs.
The computer games back then were ace. I remember the first time we had the one with the two sticks and the ball playing ‘Tennis’ hooked into our TV, was a huge moment! 😂😂 and no-one mentioned Barbie or her British counterpart Sindy??? I had both.
Oh I didn’t mention my massive Barbie collection for the sake of time!!! I have several (still in the boxes actually) that Nanny Shirley bought for me every Christmas until she passed on in 2000. Every year I give my daughters a holiday Barbie ornament and we remember my Nanny who they never got to meet.
Thank you so much Julie. I truly enjoy all of my British friends as well ❤️
I love Debbie Gibson too! Definitely a little ahead of her time and the 80s were a good time to be a female musician. I love the way music connects us all.
Oh I LOVED my Sindy, Julie. Until one of her hands fell off - I think she was a ballerina and they were hinged? My best friend had the tall Sindy house and I played with it whenever I could. The tennis game is a classic!
This was a fun read! I️ remember hands across America, told my kids about it recently. They could not imagine standing in the road holding hands with strangers. Also, I️ was born at midnight and the covered NEw Year’s baby prize was a year of diaper service 😆
Oh no way!!!! I swear my mom is still mad about me being born on the Eve! I don’t mind so much, it was a great birthday to have in my 20’s. Even if we don’t ever celebrate until about the 5th of January.
This was a fun read, Kristin. Although I’m more like your dad (Fleetwood, Eagles…), more 70s than 60s or 80s, this in itself was a nostalgic ride. The music, cassettes, malls and stores, and games (Commodore ! Donkey Kong ! Really !). The funny thing is in reading, I felt like I was reading stuff my sister 😇 might have written - and she was only 4 years behind me, so yet she was still a little older than you ! But the music choices, the magazines, the heartthrobs (her biggie was Tony De Franco - ugh 🙄), hair cuts, damn oh so similar and brings back memories of better times !
Girls are all just girls - having fun comes with the territory 🙂
Thanks so much! As you might guess my family is filled with boys and because I’m such a daddy’s girl at heart, I usually come off like a real guys girl. I can drive stick, still do actually, I can also handle multiple weapons and that’s all I say about that. I didn’t even touch on camping which is my favorite thing in the world. So much to argue over always, but always more to connect with. Just start with the music 🎵
PS I have faith that we all survived 1984 TWICE here in New Jersey and I believe we’re going to do it again no matter what. It’s the media making us all feel mad at each other. If only we could settle it with a dodge ball. 😂
OMG this was hilarious! So much fun to read! Crazy because I had a George Michael playlist on yesterday!!! 😭 Now I want to write about just being a teen in the 70's and a pregnant creamsicle in the 80's😭😭
This is great. I married my first husband in 1975, but was divorced in 1982, so this is part of my "single" era. It's as if someone/something hit "pause" for me while I was living in Puerto Rico and in the midst of my starter marriage.
Haha I had quite a bit of fun myself between my first and second marriages. 😈
This next chapter of mine remains to be seen. My mom and dad have been going strong since 1971 when they met at the ripe old age of 17 and 18. My mom’s a few months older.
Lol!! Love Jane's addiction. My son actually picked out the name of Substack!!! He said "Why not Jane Says?" It was perfect. I changed spelling for copy write haha
.. you wuz 15 in 1990 ? & I was an up n coming Separated > Divorced dad in The Beaches & still wondering ‘what hit me.. that I totally ‘don’t get ! ? !
(April of ‘86 baby Dylan came home from Toronto East General & you were 11 or so.. haha !)
Love yer ‘Totally Off Planet - True Confessions - No Holds Barred .. ‘story & images .. as evidence ! We were BOTH on Different Planetary WORLDS ! Circa 1990 ! Dad/Guy vs Teen/Girl
Haha! Also the Baby Boomers here still think of me as a baby yet I'm almost half a century old. I don't mind because I can always seem to get along with everyone anywhere. Now the only one question remains is whether or not Die Hard is a Christmas movie?
I grew up in The Beaches too! But I’m the same age as Kristin - born in ‘75. I lived there until I left for Montreal in ‘94 to go to university. The Beaches was a great place to grow up.
It’s a great neighbourhood in Toronto surrounding Kew Beach on Lake Ontario. It’s very touristy now! I guess it has been for a while. It’s got its own vibe for sure.
Kristin, so many of your references made me laugh! Cabbage patch dolls, Tiffany (I remember the dance, lol), Are you there God? (I loved Judy Blume) and Molly Ringwald. So many similarities despite the lack of tech and connectivity we have today. Love your writing!💕
Thank you !! I love that we did this. See I was absolutely obsessed with Princess Diana, still kind of am actually. I also had a pen pal from France named Sophie and Judy Blume is the best, she’s also from NJ! ❤️❤️
I loved Di too. Not as much as my Mum, who had every scrap of memorabilia and NEVER got over Charles' betrayal of Di. But a huge influence as a young girl. She visited York once and we had the day off school to go wave flags at the station. I saw the top of her hat!😂
Yes Debbie and I are huge fans and we all watched The Crown. My children are much more forgiving than mom and I are when it comes to Charles. Lol. Margaret is my absolute favorite royal though, I love the sisterly love she shared with Elizabeth ❤️❤️
I loved Girls Just Wanna Have Fun ... so add this girl to the bunch of girls who enjoyed your trek through memory-land. Are you planning to do a follow up, a part 2?
You guys are outta my age bracket. I was 41 in 1990. My daughters are closer to your ages! <sigh>
Thanks C.J.--- Debbie was 40 in 1990. I maybe plan on publishing my recollection of the 1990's posthumously and am eternally grateful the phones didn't have cameras because I spent a significant portion of the 90's in New York City clubs, when I wasn't in also nearby Philadelphia. I hope you and your girls will meet us along our imaginary planned road trip someday.
Oh what fun! Absolutely! Thank you!
hugs
P.S. Nanny Shirley will be there too! kisses
❤️❤️💕💕
Ah, the 80s.....a blur of grief, rage, new wave, and California summers. 😎
Ohhh maybe you can find someone to do a duet with ? California dreamin? Maybe a skier?
Thank you John 🙏🏻
My singing days are long gone. Lol... The wife was a big skier. I've never been once. I was a skater and eventually a surfer. 🏄
Maybe you’ll finally convince her to write 🤔
Sk8tr Boy 🤙
😅
I immediately hit the ♥️ button! I am reading this now! And I am so excited!
Thank you Charlotte! I always look forward to reading your comments 💗
Kristin, you and I were born the same year so so much of this is familiar!
I loved Lady Di too - my Granny bought me a paper doll cutout book of the Royal couple one year. And oh, my Cabbage Patch Dolls! I think I had 4 of them. I bought my very first one with my own piggy bank money and it was a lot for a kid - 30 bucks!
I played Pong and Pac-Man and Donkey Kong but not much else in terms of video games. I remember the t.v. had a ‘remote control’ that was attached to the television by a cord. You’d press a button for the channel you wanted and the last button pressed would pop back up, making a loud clicking sound. I don’t know why I remember that so clearly.
I would walk home from school with my older brother who had a key around his neck. We’d be home alone until my parents got back from work but that was normal then. Yeah, we were free range kids. They were different times for sure!
Thanks to you and Trudi for this fun read!
Oh I absolutely love the paper doll books! I still give them as gifts actually and the magnet ones are cool too. Eventually we obtained more cabbage patch kids and I love visiting the American Girl doll store in NYC with my girls. I try to bond with my son and can beat him at PAC Man any day of the week! Thanks so much for sharing your memories with us too! 💗
PS I think my sister and I were the channel changers of the 80’s 😂
I love these new memories you’re making with your kids. Something for them to reminisce about one day too. ❤️
Yes that’s my plan 💗
I’m slightly more of a minimalist than my hoarding Nanny was. I saw no point in buying dolls that couldn’t be taken out of the box. 😊
You're welcome, Serena! I remember those cut out dolls - I loved them! I never had Princess Di - I bet that was fabulous.
This is a wonderful retrospective, Kristin. Love the collaborative vibe of it and all of the nuance and detail that you bring to this memoir. I can hear so much of the music that you mention, almost a soundtrack to the article and the 80s as a decade.
Hmmm sounds like a classic case of synesthesia!! Thank you 🙏🏻 ❤️
Long live those 80s friendship vibes!
Haha! Yes, kind of a neuro way of reading! I started college in 1980. So much of the music from that time, and that particular dorm!, really broadened my world view.
The kids introduced me to a ton of great new music they learned in the dorms! 😊
Sweet. Nice to hear from you two lovelies. Brought back lots of memories. I was born 74 so relate to both pieces. Music wise I love all the stuff you both said, was a huge 80’s music fan. Still am. I loved Debbie Gibson because I always wrote songs as a kid and of course she wrote all her own songs.
The computer games back then were ace. I remember the first time we had the one with the two sticks and the ball playing ‘Tennis’ hooked into our TV, was a huge moment! 😂😂 and no-one mentioned Barbie or her British counterpart Sindy??? I had both.
Oh I didn’t mention my massive Barbie collection for the sake of time!!! I have several (still in the boxes actually) that Nanny Shirley bought for me every Christmas until she passed on in 2000. Every year I give my daughters a holiday Barbie ornament and we remember my Nanny who they never got to meet.
Thank you so much Julie. I truly enjoy all of my British friends as well ❤️
Traditions are wonderful things to initiate. Sounds nice ❤️
I love Debbie Gibson too! Definitely a little ahead of her time and the 80s were a good time to be a female musician. I love the way music connects us all.
Oh I LOVED my Sindy, Julie. Until one of her hands fell off - I think she was a ballerina and they were hinged? My best friend had the tall Sindy house and I played with it whenever I could. The tennis game is a classic!
I was confused, not sure if it was Sandy here or Cindy? Someone help me recall..
Sindy in the Uk but not sure about the US
I had the ballerina one too. My first of all the many Sindys and Barbies. Yes the legs were really bendy weren’t they? Loved mine.
Me too. She was bendy! I spent hours sewing little outfits for my Sindys as I got older.
This was a fun read! I️ remember hands across America, told my kids about it recently. They could not imagine standing in the road holding hands with strangers. Also, I️ was born at midnight and the covered NEw Year’s baby prize was a year of diaper service 😆
Oh no way!!!! I swear my mom is still mad about me being born on the Eve! I don’t mind so much, it was a great birthday to have in my 20’s. Even if we don’t ever celebrate until about the 5th of January.
Thanks so much Lisa
This was a fun read, Kristin. Although I’m more like your dad (Fleetwood, Eagles…), more 70s than 60s or 80s, this in itself was a nostalgic ride. The music, cassettes, malls and stores, and games (Commodore ! Donkey Kong ! Really !). The funny thing is in reading, I felt like I was reading stuff my sister 😇 might have written - and she was only 4 years behind me, so yet she was still a little older than you ! But the music choices, the magazines, the heartthrobs (her biggie was Tony De Franco - ugh 🙄), hair cuts, damn oh so similar and brings back memories of better times !
Girls are all just girls - having fun comes with the territory 🙂
Thanks so much! As you might guess my family is filled with boys and because I’m such a daddy’s girl at heart, I usually come off like a real guys girl. I can drive stick, still do actually, I can also handle multiple weapons and that’s all I say about that. I didn’t even touch on camping which is my favorite thing in the world. So much to argue over always, but always more to connect with. Just start with the music 🎵
PS I have faith that we all survived 1984 TWICE here in New Jersey and I believe we’re going to do it again no matter what. It’s the media making us all feel mad at each other. If only we could settle it with a dodge ball. 😂
OMG this was hilarious! So much fun to read! Crazy because I had a George Michael playlist on yesterday!!! 😭 Now I want to write about just being a teen in the 70's and a pregnant creamsicle in the 80's😭😭
Great job both of you! LOVE the pictures!!! 😘😘
Please please write that! Like I said taking the secrets of the 90’s to my grave 😂
It’s okay the God I know is a loving and merciful God. Thanks Deb I’m so happy you enjoyed it. oxox
This is great. I married my first husband in 1975, but was divorced in 1982, so this is part of my "single" era. It's as if someone/something hit "pause" for me while I was living in Puerto Rico and in the midst of my starter marriage.
Haha I had quite a bit of fun myself between my first and second marriages. 😈
This next chapter of mine remains to be seen. My mom and dad have been going strong since 1971 when they met at the ripe old age of 17 and 18. My mom’s a few months older.
God bless them and thanks for reading Anne 🙏🏻😘
Just brilliant! Thanks for the trip :)
Thank you Lisa!
Thanks for sharing your memories with us. You took me back!
You're welcome Jane sez. Can't seem to say your name without hearing the song or thinking of a band.
Lol!! Love Jane's addiction. My son actually picked out the name of Substack!!! He said "Why not Jane Says?" It was perfect. I changed spelling for copy write haha
Me too Jane!! Me too! 😭
Ha my middle child calls me Krispy K, a nod to our shared love of Salt-n-Pepa!! She can spit lyrics out to any of their jams with me 😂
That's impressive! My son is into 90s and 00 music like I was onto 60s and 70s music
You know classic rock
Haha I hear Bon Jovi is classic rock these days
"When did Montley Crew become classic rock." 🎵 🎶
1985. I heard that the other day. I've become Debbie. I am Debbie
.. you wuz 15 in 1990 ? & I was an up n coming Separated > Divorced dad in The Beaches & still wondering ‘what hit me.. that I totally ‘don’t get ! ? !
(April of ‘86 baby Dylan came home from Toronto East General & you were 11 or so.. haha !)
Love yer ‘Totally Off Planet - True Confessions - No Holds Barred .. ‘story & images .. as evidence ! We were BOTH on Different Planetary WORLDS ! Circa 1990 ! Dad/Guy vs Teen/Girl
Haha! Also the Baby Boomers here still think of me as a baby yet I'm almost half a century old. I don't mind because I can always seem to get along with everyone anywhere. Now the only one question remains is whether or not Die Hard is a Christmas movie?
I hear ya. I'm a few years older than you. Old enough to live in a 55+ community. Yeah!
.. absolutely is ! & man - I feel for Bruce & Family !
Yeah me too, still a legend though from Moonlighting to now.🙏
I grew up in The Beaches too! But I’m the same age as Kristin - born in ‘75. I lived there until I left for Montreal in ‘94 to go to university. The Beaches was a great place to grow up.
What are these beaches you speak of ?!!
It’s a great neighbourhood in Toronto surrounding Kew Beach on Lake Ontario. It’s very touristy now! I guess it has been for a while. It’s got its own vibe for sure.
Good to know! I 💗 every beach ever
.. welcome back Serena !
https://thomasdarcyodonnell.substack.com/p/the-beaches
Wow, great pics! One of them looks like Wineva Avenue where I lived from age 8 until 19. Before that I lived on Spruce Hill.
Kristin, so many of your references made me laugh! Cabbage patch dolls, Tiffany (I remember the dance, lol), Are you there God? (I loved Judy Blume) and Molly Ringwald. So many similarities despite the lack of tech and connectivity we have today. Love your writing!💕
Thank you !! I love that we did this. See I was absolutely obsessed with Princess Diana, still kind of am actually. I also had a pen pal from France named Sophie and Judy Blume is the best, she’s also from NJ! ❤️❤️
PS Ditto on your writing 😉😉
I loved Di too. Not as much as my Mum, who had every scrap of memorabilia and NEVER got over Charles' betrayal of Di. But a huge influence as a young girl. She visited York once and we had the day off school to go wave flags at the station. I saw the top of her hat!😂
Yes Debbie and I are huge fans and we all watched The Crown. My children are much more forgiving than mom and I are when it comes to Charles. Lol. Margaret is my absolute favorite royal though, I love the sisterly love she shared with Elizabeth ❤️❤️
She was a diva and incredibly beautiful. I loved The Crown, too! Margaret sacrificed so much 😢