HennessyRob
NOLA Raised
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Not too good of a time for Black people.
What Was The Best Decade To Grow Up In?? (1 Viewer)
- Thread starterMr. Blue Sky
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Not too good of a time for Black people.
Doobsdemons
No White Flags
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The '40's were a hoot in Poland, mid 1860's a laugh a minute in Georgia, but hands down the best of times (no STYX pun) was undoubtedly was the 1930's. Depression, mass starvation, rampant disease, suicides. What a great time for the family, in general. Blows Disney World out of the water.
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The future. I regret missing out on interstellar space travel.
I grew up in the 80s. I had parachute pants, ton's of black bangles (Madonna). Wore the whacky nothing matched outfits. I had a CocaCola shirt, Panama Jack was awsome! I rolled my jeans, and wore keds. Guess Jeans were HOT! Wearing flats with jeans was in. I had the big hair..who didn't? I could do the rainbow eyeshadow. Wearing a ring on every finger was in. I think I had 3 class rings at one point (same time) That looked goofy. Coin rings were a HUGE hit at my school.
I have to say the rock music was some of the BEST! ACDC, Def Leppard, Poison, Bon Jovi, White sname, Blue's Brothers....
Anyone remember Bananarama?
MTV....became popular. I don't remember the year it began, but I remember the first video they played was "Video killed the radiostar".
And a lot of our movies are now Classic favorites. Which is great, but makes me feel old at the same time. Police Academy, Airplane, Eddie Murphy movies! Too many to list. Deffinately had a lot of comedy movies. I think It seems to be more Horror and suspense thriller movies now adays being shown.
I have to say I was a huge fan of George Michael. Some things I didn't need to know.
The Drinking age was 18, not 21 which made life a lot more fun!
I could go on and on....
I have to say the rock music was some of the BEST! ACDC, Def Leppard, Poison, Bon Jovi, White sname, Blue's Brothers....
Anyone remember Bananarama?
MTV....became popular. I don't remember the year it began, but I remember the first video they played was "Video killed the radiostar".
And a lot of our movies are now Classic favorites. Which is great, but makes me feel old at the same time. Police Academy, Airplane, Eddie Murphy movies! Too many to list. Deffinately had a lot of comedy movies. I think It seems to be more Horror and suspense thriller movies now adays being shown.
I have to say I was a huge fan of George Michael. Some things I didn't need to know.
The Drinking age was 18, not 21 which made life a lot more fun!
I could go on and on....
B-Rich
Pro-Bowler
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I wrote these some time ago, which shows my age ( and thoughts on the matter)... If you grew up during the 70s, see which ones ring a bell....
The 70s-- overall, a sunny time, the more I look back on it. Maybe it’s because we only remember good memories, and thus most of my good memories were daytime ones; ones of summer, ones of daytime activities - as back then I was still a child and not able to go out at night... Things like summers at my grandparents’ in Biloxi, staying there for months at a time and seeing all those 70s summer movies (often with my cousins at the Surfside)-- 'Star Wars', 'Grease'... Going with my mom and step-dad to see 'Jaws 'at the only place it was playing in the city -- downtown at the Joy. It was a big deal, we sat in the balcony, and they loved the movie..... And the music -- you know, it’s hip to look back on it as being kitschy and sad, especially all the disco and dinosaur rock, but there were so many others that speak so well of time and place: riding in the back seat of my teen-aged uncle’s car, wet after going to the water slide in Biloxi, listening to Steve Miller’s 'Jet Airliner'. Me and my cousin Lisa dancing around to Alan O’Day’s 'Undercover Angel'. Walter Eagan’s 'Magnet and Steel' on the radio at night when we’re camping at Gulf Shores. And my favorite, KISS, with all their theatrics: superhero/monsters in black and silver, on stage, TV and on the radio -- the perfect band for adolescent boys coming of age; in the suburbs, in the seventies.... Even regular, non-summer, non-vacation times were okay. Growing up in the suburbs wasn’t so bad. Bikes brought us everywhere-- the lakefront’s linear park was always cool to ride to and there always seemed to be something new to find along there: lagoons, new parks, a rope swing on a tree.... In 1970’s Metairie, there was still a lot of undeveloped land and empty overgrown lots to ‘explore’ and make tree forts in, where we hid the Playboy and Penthouse magazines we sometimes found.... The schools were okay -- elementary schools actually taught us things, and although middle school/junior high covers a generally traumatic time of life-- the start of cliques and being ‘cool’, physical maturity, discovering the opposite sex, etc.-- all in all, it was an okay time. It was a time of wearing krewe beads from the night before’s parades to school the next day, a time of G/T classes, a time of epic battleball games in gym. Haynes wasn’t bad, no matter what my friend Mark says: it had a decent library, two types of lunch, pretty good teachers, and generally good kids from Bucktown, Old Metairie, Shrewsbury and the newer suburbs in-between.... Maybe it’s just me getting older, but it does seem that things were simpler then. Race relations weren’t so bad -- at least up until the advent of disco, there seemed to be no schism between black and white radio or songs -- you could jam on both Stevie Wonder and Steve Miller. Compare that to the almost completely segregated radio scene today. Back then, both black and white kids seemed to realize that we were moving towards a better time, and for the most part, we were ‘coming together’ -- we had all been going to school together since the earliest grades, even if we didn’t live in the same neighborhoods. Nowadays, that doesn’t seem to be the case-- there seems to be nothing at all but separation and divisiveness. The seventies were okay, no matter what people say.
The 70s-- overall, a sunny time, the more I look back on it. Maybe it’s because we only remember good memories, and thus most of my good memories were daytime ones; ones of summer, ones of daytime activities - as back then I was still a child and not able to go out at night... Things like summers at my grandparents’ in Biloxi, staying there for months at a time and seeing all those 70s summer movies (often with my cousins at the Surfside)-- 'Star Wars', 'Grease'... Going with my mom and step-dad to see 'Jaws 'at the only place it was playing in the city -- downtown at the Joy. It was a big deal, we sat in the balcony, and they loved the movie..... And the music -- you know, it’s hip to look back on it as being kitschy and sad, especially all the disco and dinosaur rock, but there were so many others that speak so well of time and place: riding in the back seat of my teen-aged uncle’s car, wet after going to the water slide in Biloxi, listening to Steve Miller’s 'Jet Airliner'. Me and my cousin Lisa dancing around to Alan O’Day’s 'Undercover Angel'. Walter Eagan’s 'Magnet and Steel' on the radio at night when we’re camping at Gulf Shores. And my favorite, KISS, with all their theatrics: superhero/monsters in black and silver, on stage, TV and on the radio -- the perfect band for adolescent boys coming of age; in the suburbs, in the seventies.... Even regular, non-summer, non-vacation times were okay. Growing up in the suburbs wasn’t so bad. Bikes brought us everywhere-- the lakefront’s linear park was always cool to ride to and there always seemed to be something new to find along there: lagoons, new parks, a rope swing on a tree.... In 1970’s Metairie, there was still a lot of undeveloped land and empty overgrown lots to ‘explore’ and make tree forts in, where we hid the Playboy and Penthouse magazines we sometimes found.... The schools were okay -- elementary schools actually taught us things, and although middle school/junior high covers a generally traumatic time of life-- the start of cliques and being ‘cool’, physical maturity, discovering the opposite sex, etc.-- all in all, it was an okay time. It was a time of wearing krewe beads from the night before’s parades to school the next day, a time of G/T classes, a time of epic battleball games in gym. Haynes wasn’t bad, no matter what my friend Mark says: it had a decent library, two types of lunch, pretty good teachers, and generally good kids from Bucktown, Old Metairie, Shrewsbury and the newer suburbs in-between.... Maybe it’s just me getting older, but it does seem that things were simpler then. Race relations weren’t so bad -- at least up until the advent of disco, there seemed to be no schism between black and white radio or songs -- you could jam on both Stevie Wonder and Steve Miller. Compare that to the almost completely segregated radio scene today. Back then, both black and white kids seemed to realize that we were moving towards a better time, and for the most part, we were ‘coming together’ -- we had all been going to school together since the earliest grades, even if we didn’t live in the same neighborhoods. Nowadays, that doesn’t seem to be the case-- there seems to be nothing at all but separation and divisiveness. The seventies were okay, no matter what people say.
B-Rich
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Good Seventies remembrances (in no particular order):
--Riding bikes to Smith’s Records and Tapes in Lakeside Mall, looking at the ganja-smoking Bob Marley albums and cool zodiac posters....
-- Fleetwood Mac (in 1977).
-- Action Figures: G.I. Joe, Big Jim, 8-inch Superheroes and Star Trek from Mego and the Six Million Dollar Man, with the eye you could look through.
-- Kickball and paper football games in elementary school during recess.
-- Putting together model kits of ships, planes, tanks, super-heroes, monsters, cars, spacecraft, and Shogun Warriors, then hanging some of them from my ceiling.
-- Posters on the wall of rock bands, sports teams, and superheroes;
-- Charlie’s Angels, and arguing over who was the best-looking angel.
-- 25¢ comic books: in Metairie at K&B, in Biloxi 4 blocks down from Grandma’s at the Li’l General.
-- Touch football games in Miss Nancy’s yard next door w/ neighborhood kids.
-- Thinking a black and white TV in my own room was really something.
-- Summer birthday parties at Pontchartrain Beach.
-- 'Saturday Night Live' in its infancy, with Chevy Chase, the Muppets and such.
-- ‘Freezie’ sticks in the summer, and before 2-liter bottles: glass six-packs of 1/2 gallon Cokes, returnable for a deposit.
-- Watching reruns of 'Gilligan’s Island' , 'Batman', and 'The Brady Bunch' nearly every day after school.
-- Tube sox w/ superheroes on them.
-- Weekend crawfish boils at my parents’ on the covered back porch, w/ tons of guests coming over, and all the kids playing ‘blubber monster’ outside.
-- The green shag carpet in our new house in 1974.
-- Over-abundant Christmases, with bikes, action figures, games, model kits, gas-powered planes, toy railroads, and more.
-- New Orleans Jazz games -- going with my step-dad if I did my homework.
-- Playing frisbee and throwing the football in the street.
-- 'The Ocean' by Led Zeppelin.
-- Relatives coming in town for Mardi Gras, to see ‘Fonzie’ & ‘Laverne & Shirley’ in person.
-- 'Planet of the Apes'.
-- Hungry? ...Ground P’ati, on Severn, with reel-to-reel tapes, stained glass windows and pewter mugs and plates.
-- Junior high dances in the gym, with faux-silk shirts, neck chains, & slacks being the dress of choice; slow-dancing and doing the bump
-- Dropping a dollar at The Fun Arcade nearly every day after school.
-- The cool new stereo system we got (with internal taping--wow!!); first song ever played on the turntable was 'Barracuda' by Heart.
-- My friends and I playing as spies and sneaking into and climbing atop suburban office buildings.
-- The Bicentennial hoopla, and the election of Carter in 1976 -- on election night, I was at the Jazz vs. the Celtics at the Superdome, catching election returns on the gondola while watching the game.
-- Countless Friday nights at Pelican Bowling Lanes, then later Friday nights alone engaging in mischief (while parents were league bowling).
-- "Starsky and Hutch" and their wild red Torino.
-- Cub Scouts; and pee-wee football at JPRD playgrounds.
-- Super teams in the Superbowl: always the Dolphins, the Steelers, the Cowboys, the Vikings.
-- The 'Saturday Night Fever' soundtrack, and disco ending the decade (‘I am the genie of funk - everybody get down, hunh!’
.
--Riding bikes to Smith’s Records and Tapes in Lakeside Mall, looking at the ganja-smoking Bob Marley albums and cool zodiac posters....
-- Fleetwood Mac (in 1977).
-- Action Figures: G.I. Joe, Big Jim, 8-inch Superheroes and Star Trek from Mego and the Six Million Dollar Man, with the eye you could look through.
-- Kickball and paper football games in elementary school during recess.
-- Putting together model kits of ships, planes, tanks, super-heroes, monsters, cars, spacecraft, and Shogun Warriors, then hanging some of them from my ceiling.
-- Posters on the wall of rock bands, sports teams, and superheroes;
-- Charlie’s Angels, and arguing over who was the best-looking angel.
-- 25¢ comic books: in Metairie at K&B, in Biloxi 4 blocks down from Grandma’s at the Li’l General.
-- Touch football games in Miss Nancy’s yard next door w/ neighborhood kids.
-- Thinking a black and white TV in my own room was really something.
-- Summer birthday parties at Pontchartrain Beach.
-- 'Saturday Night Live' in its infancy, with Chevy Chase, the Muppets and such.
-- ‘Freezie’ sticks in the summer, and before 2-liter bottles: glass six-packs of 1/2 gallon Cokes, returnable for a deposit.
-- Watching reruns of 'Gilligan’s Island' , 'Batman', and 'The Brady Bunch' nearly every day after school.
-- Tube sox w/ superheroes on them.
-- Weekend crawfish boils at my parents’ on the covered back porch, w/ tons of guests coming over, and all the kids playing ‘blubber monster’ outside.
-- The green shag carpet in our new house in 1974.
-- Over-abundant Christmases, with bikes, action figures, games, model kits, gas-powered planes, toy railroads, and more.
-- New Orleans Jazz games -- going with my step-dad if I did my homework.
-- Playing frisbee and throwing the football in the street.
-- 'The Ocean' by Led Zeppelin.
-- Relatives coming in town for Mardi Gras, to see ‘Fonzie’ & ‘Laverne & Shirley’ in person.
-- 'Planet of the Apes'.
-- Hungry? ...Ground P’ati, on Severn, with reel-to-reel tapes, stained glass windows and pewter mugs and plates.
-- Junior high dances in the gym, with faux-silk shirts, neck chains, & slacks being the dress of choice; slow-dancing and doing the bump
-- Dropping a dollar at The Fun Arcade nearly every day after school.
-- The cool new stereo system we got (with internal taping--wow!!); first song ever played on the turntable was 'Barracuda' by Heart.
-- My friends and I playing as spies and sneaking into and climbing atop suburban office buildings.
-- The Bicentennial hoopla, and the election of Carter in 1976 -- on election night, I was at the Jazz vs. the Celtics at the Superdome, catching election returns on the gondola while watching the game.
-- Countless Friday nights at Pelican Bowling Lanes, then later Friday nights alone engaging in mischief (while parents were league bowling).
-- "Starsky and Hutch" and their wild red Torino.
-- Cub Scouts; and pee-wee football at JPRD playgrounds.
-- Super teams in the Superbowl: always the Dolphins, the Steelers, the Cowboys, the Vikings.
-- The 'Saturday Night Fever' soundtrack, and disco ending the decade (‘I am the genie of funk - everybody get down, hunh!’
.
Last edited:
B-Rich
Pro-Bowler
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Going, going gone: a before and after analysis of East Jefferson between the 70s and now:
Schweggmann on Vets: Lowes
Shoe Lodge: Storehouse Furniture
Shoe Town on Vets & Papworth: Small shops
House of Lee and “the beer store”: Borders Bookstore
Wilshire Plaza A&P: Gordon’s of Metairie
Wilshire Plaza Atlantic/Gaylord’s/Zayre: Office Depot, Big Lots, Fabrixx
Pelican Lanes: Heritage Plaza Office Building
Security Homestead Building: Rite-Aid Drugstore
Paradise Lanes: Barnes & Noble
Godchaux’s at Lakeside: Assorted shops
D.H. Holmes: Dillard’s
Maison Blanche: first Dillard’s, now Target
Lakeside Western Auto: Bravo, Starbucks, & AT&T cellular
Barker’s/House Works!: Steinmart & Sav-a-Center
Latter Center: K-Mart
Empty Lot at Bonnabel and Vets: Lamana Panno Fallo Funeral home
Shakey’s Pizza: Shogun Japanese Restaurant
Do Drive-In: DeLimon Place Condos
Airline Drive-In: was Real Superstore, now Sam’s Club
Westgate Drive-In: Wal-Mart & strip shopping center
Chateau Ice Rink: Offices
Bonanza restaurants: Copeland’s (now Sweet Fire and Ice) and Straya (now Cheesecake Bistro)
Sena Mall Theater: Martin’s Wine Cellar
Putt-Putt: Ochsner Pediatric Clinic
Roy Rogers’at Oaklawn: Daiquiri’s & Creams
Water slide I: Ochsner Metairie clinic
Water slide II: Shoney’s Inn
Jefferson Downs: Gabriel Subdivision
East End Shopping Center: Winn-Dixie Market Place Shopping Center
Joy’s Aereon 3: Eckerd Drugstore, now CVS Pharmacy
Joy’s Panorama 4: Auto Zone and gas station
Joy’s Cinema City – vacant (to be car dealership)
Leonard Krower @ Vets & Cleary: Blockbuster, French Riviera & Discovery Zone
Time Savers: first E-Z Serves, now mostly Discount Zones
K&Bs: Rite-Aids
K&B @ Clearview Mall: Zea’s
Empty Lot by Dorignacs: Foodies Kitchen (now closed)
The old quaint Bonnabel Boat launch: new, ugly Bonnabel Boat launch
Lakeside Cinema & Winn Dixie: Linens N’ Things & other shops
A&G Cafeteria at Lakeside: additional parking
Fairchild Middle School: Riverdale Middle School
Bunche Braves: Bunche Bulldogs
Metairie Playground: Pontiff Playground
The Beverly Dinner Theatre: Ochsner satellite parking lot
Pizza Hut at Vets and Nursery: burned down
Trahan Texaco @ Aris and Vets: gone
Trampoline Jump Center: Discount Zone Spur station
PDQ Car Wash @ Metairie Road & 17th street Canal: Metairie Small Animal Hospital
Sclafani’s: Causeway Animal Hospital
Pat Gillen’s, Chocolate Soup, other shops on Met. Rd: AmSouth Bank
JC restaurant: Sevin’s, then Ralph & Kacoo’s, now King Buffet
The Fun Arcade, which (before my time) was a Burger Chef, IS STILL THERE….
Schweggmann on Vets: Lowes
Shoe Lodge: Storehouse Furniture
Shoe Town on Vets & Papworth: Small shops
House of Lee and “the beer store”: Borders Bookstore
Wilshire Plaza A&P: Gordon’s of Metairie
Wilshire Plaza Atlantic/Gaylord’s/Zayre: Office Depot, Big Lots, Fabrixx
Pelican Lanes: Heritage Plaza Office Building
Security Homestead Building: Rite-Aid Drugstore
Paradise Lanes: Barnes & Noble
Godchaux’s at Lakeside: Assorted shops
D.H. Holmes: Dillard’s
Maison Blanche: first Dillard’s, now Target
Lakeside Western Auto: Bravo, Starbucks, & AT&T cellular
Barker’s/House Works!: Steinmart & Sav-a-Center
Latter Center: K-Mart
Empty Lot at Bonnabel and Vets: Lamana Panno Fallo Funeral home
Shakey’s Pizza: Shogun Japanese Restaurant
Do Drive-In: DeLimon Place Condos
Airline Drive-In: was Real Superstore, now Sam’s Club
Westgate Drive-In: Wal-Mart & strip shopping center
Chateau Ice Rink: Offices
Bonanza restaurants: Copeland’s (now Sweet Fire and Ice) and Straya (now Cheesecake Bistro)
Sena Mall Theater: Martin’s Wine Cellar
Putt-Putt: Ochsner Pediatric Clinic
Roy Rogers’at Oaklawn: Daiquiri’s & Creams
Water slide I: Ochsner Metairie clinic
Water slide II: Shoney’s Inn
Jefferson Downs: Gabriel Subdivision
East End Shopping Center: Winn-Dixie Market Place Shopping Center
Joy’s Aereon 3: Eckerd Drugstore, now CVS Pharmacy
Joy’s Panorama 4: Auto Zone and gas station
Joy’s Cinema City – vacant (to be car dealership)
Leonard Krower @ Vets & Cleary: Blockbuster, French Riviera & Discovery Zone
Time Savers: first E-Z Serves, now mostly Discount Zones
K&Bs: Rite-Aids
K&B @ Clearview Mall: Zea’s
Empty Lot by Dorignacs: Foodies Kitchen (now closed)
The old quaint Bonnabel Boat launch: new, ugly Bonnabel Boat launch
Lakeside Cinema & Winn Dixie: Linens N’ Things & other shops
A&G Cafeteria at Lakeside: additional parking
Fairchild Middle School: Riverdale Middle School
Bunche Braves: Bunche Bulldogs
Metairie Playground: Pontiff Playground
The Beverly Dinner Theatre: Ochsner satellite parking lot
Pizza Hut at Vets and Nursery: burned down
Trahan Texaco @ Aris and Vets: gone
Trampoline Jump Center: Discount Zone Spur station
PDQ Car Wash @ Metairie Road & 17th street Canal: Metairie Small Animal Hospital
Sclafani’s: Causeway Animal Hospital
Pat Gillen’s, Chocolate Soup, other shops on Met. Rd: AmSouth Bank
JC restaurant: Sevin’s, then Ralph & Kacoo’s, now King Buffet
The Fun Arcade, which (before my time) was a Burger Chef, IS STILL THERE….
Last edited:
ArmoredNOSaint
Metroplex Who Dat
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As a fellow child of the '80s, I concur. It was a great time for one's formative years. Speaking of using our imaginations, D&D was huge in that decade.
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Even though I'm 52, I'm still growing up - so i'll just enjoy the moment - thanks
OP
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...Thanks for some good memories, B rich- I was a little kid in the late 70s, so I remember a lot of what you wrote about. Couple things- Cheryl Ladd was the best-looking Charlie's Angel... Pontchartrain Beach rocked and whoever the developers are that came up with the brilliant idea to shut it down then do absolutely nothing with it should be brought up on criminal charges if the statute of limitations hasn't expired after 23 years... Jazz vs. Celtics in the Superdome in 1976 seems like another lifetime- what a cool memory you have of watching election returns there; do you remember free fries at Burger King if the Jazz won??...
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mister pc
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music of the 80s <<<<< music of 90s, 60s, or 70s
80s music/fashion/pop culture is for the most part an embarassment. There are a few exceptions, but generally 80s music in my mind is characterized by cheesy synths and way too much reverb.
90s was pretty good time to grow up in, until clear channel took over the radio and "teenybop" music became so popular. But if you grew up outside of that mainstream, it was really great.
80s music/fashion/pop culture is for the most part an embarassment. There are a few exceptions, but generally 80s music in my mind is characterized by cheesy synths and way too much reverb.
90s was pretty good time to grow up in, until clear channel took over the radio and "teenybop" music became so popular. But if you grew up outside of that mainstream, it was really great.
hardhead233
In Bresus we trust
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I loved the 80's(born in 80) and loved being a little kid and had a great childhood, but I kind of liked the 90's better, had some FUN, FUN(some not so fun but I can laugh about it now) times as a teenager..
I especially loved my kind of music in the 90's then in the 80's(R&B)...
The one thing that makes the 80's so memorable though for me was GIJOE, I loved my GIJOE's..I always wanted that damn Aircraft Carrier but my mom and dad never got it for me(they said it wouldn't fit in my closet), I think the $100 price tag was the REAL reason.. Still to this day I'm kind of hurt for not getting it for my birthday...
I think every decade has something that was cool about it though..
I especially loved my kind of music in the 90's then in the 80's(R&B)...
The one thing that makes the 80's so memorable though for me was GIJOE, I loved my GIJOE's..I always wanted that damn Aircraft Carrier but my mom and dad never got it for me(they said it wouldn't fit in my closet), I think the $100 price tag was the REAL reason.. Still to this day I'm kind of hurt for not getting it for my birthday...
I think every decade has something that was cool about it though..
hardhead233
In Bresus we trust
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The 80's did have some MAJOR classic blockbuster movies though....80's probably has the 90's in that department...
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