Disclaimer: In my mother’s defense, I’m going to admit right up front that I don’t actually have proof that my Mom had a garage sale in 1985 in which she profited from the sale of the memorabilia from my youth. But, I AM saying that the following items were once in my possession and ownership, and that sometime around 1986(ish) I realized that they no longer were in my possession and ownership, and I’m fairly certain that they didn’t vanish into THIN AIR. — Jenny
1. My Grease t-shirt
The first movie I was ever obsessed with was the musical Grease, starring John Travolta and Olivia Newton John. I was seven years old when I first saw it in the theater, and my Aunt Patty still tells the story of how I showed up at her house afterwards and performed some of the movie for her, the highlight of which was my rendition of “Greased Lightning.” Including the dancing and arm movements. Not including the cuss words and sexual innuendo. Anyway, at some point soon after, someone bought me a t-shirt just like the one in the picture above, except in a peachy-orange color. I wore the shirt proudly and regularly to school and other places like Skate World, paired with some Luv-It jeans and –
2. My roller skates – white leather boots with maroon wheels and maroon-tipped white pom poms
(Images of exact replicas not available and I know this because I Googled every possible variation of the search string “white boot roller skates with maroon wheels” and gave up after scouring in the ballpark of eleventy-quadrillion pages of Google images, so see comparable photos below and just use your imagination.)
In 1978, roller skating was the shiz. My cousins, my brother, my friends, and the rest of the tweens and teens in the Tulsa area spent many a Saturday and several birthday parties at Skate World, 69th & Lewis. I remember wishing I had someone to do the couples skate with and not because I actually wanted a boyfriend, but because the only other alternative during that song was to backwards skate, and falling down under disco ball lights while Steve Perry serenades you with “Open Arms” is a humiliating experience. I’ve heard.
3. My Hardy Boys Sing-A-Long record player
So, circa 1978, not only was I alone (skating backwards) (falling down) during the couples skates at Skate World, but also I spent many, many hours by myself skating circles on the smooth concrete floor of my garage, playing 45s of Bee Gees songs on my Hardy Boys record player. Because that’s how much I loved skating. And the Bee Gees. As you can see from the graphics in the image above, this record player paid homage to Shaun Cassidy’s immense popularity at the time (and probably did permanent damage to Parker Stevenson’s self-esteem). Also note — a kickass microphone for Singing-A-Long was included and I’m not one to brag, but you better believe that “Tragedy” sounded totally BOSS coming through that puppy.
4. My Kissing Barbie
I don’t have too much to say about this one, except that even though I wasn’t much of a “Barbie girl” growing up, I LOVED this doll. I had a lot of fun applying her lipstick (it came in that tube you see her holding in the picture and the applicator was basically a rubber stamp shaped exactly like her lips – the yellow part at the bottom housed the tiny ink pad of pink “lipstick”), and I would make her kiss scraps of paper because I didn’t have a Ken doll for reasons I touched on in the first sentence of this paragraph. But who wouldn’t love Kissing Barbie? She’s such a doll. Plus she’s been a positive role model to so many girls.
Introducing the new Kissing Heidi doll. Cool Shaving Spencer doll sold separately.
Moving on.
5. My copy of Are You There God It’s Me Margaret?
There is NO WAY any female card carrying member of Generation X survived pre-puberty and adolescence without the education and inspiration Judy Blume gifted us in the form of this book. Religion, boys, periods, natural breast enlargement techniques, Margaret had it all. It is a must read for every daughter, and if you tell me that you yourself have never read it we cannot be friends anymore.
*Disclaimer–These probably weren’t sold either—just thrown out.
1. Thumper-circa 1986′s trip to Disneyland-I got to choose anything I wanted as a souvenir….I chose a Thumper stuffed animal. Kasey got Pluto and still has it (go figure), Thumper (having been chewed on by Maggie) is now gone.
2. My *fake* Cabbage Patch doll—enough said.
3. Peaches N’ Cream Barbie–Now, I know you can buy “her” again in Target….and I want to SOO bad, but it’s not the same. I saw her on the shelf there, and thoughts of playing with her came flooding back…You can get her for me for Christmas, I guess!
4. My Garbage Pail Kids trading cards….I got to relive these in high school, when the guy I dated still had his full-blown collection in protective, plastic sheets in albums. LOVED these!
5.
—-One thing I DO still have–the freaky-ass clown that started it all. Why? I have no idea, but “Thanks, Mom.”
Whoa–I don’t know what happened to number 5.
Dude, me either. Talk about freaky-ass. I deleted all the gobbledygook and put a ? instead. Did you have a number 5? Inquiring minds want to know.
No, I didn’t have a number 5…I mean, I’m sure I do, but trying to think about what all I no longer have…I just may need therapy!
I totally remember those Garbage Pail Kids cards. And it would be monumental for you to still have the FAKE Cabbage Patch doll. I mean, it looked just like the real thing!!!!
Oh man, I had roller skates just like those too! My favorite, however, were the “moon shoes” I received for Christmas in fifth grade. When you put them on, they were meant to replicate what it was like to walk on the moon. I’m surprised they weren’t recalled–they caused so many sprained ankles for me!