The 80s sucked, but...

So after posting about the goings on in 1985/1986, I've been really reflective. I'm not missing flag camp or Young Republican meetings or anything like that. I'm just wistfully missing that time in your life when you get to be so irresponsible, and it's okay. I mean, my only "job" as a 17 year old was to be good. I wasn't always, mind you, but I managed to play the odds, always ending up at least 51% good. I'm sure I kept my mom up some nights, worrying about what the hell I was doing. But given how bad I could have been, I was a pretty good kid. But back then, my biggest worries were not wrecking my car, not getting caught drinking wine coolers or doing the few drugs that I did, not getting a bad reputation, not wearing the wrong thing to school, my hair, and keeping my grades up. That was pretty much it. I didn't worry about my weight because I was skinny and could eat anything I wanted to. I didn't worry about money because I had an allowance. I didn't worry about politics and terrorism was an alien concept to me. I was carefree and wore a size 4.

And all of that was TWENTY FREAKIN' YEARS AGO!! Don't you remember looking at people in their late 30s when you were a teen-ager and thinking they were dinosaurs? Because I sure a hell do.

Don't get me wrong: my teen years were not all unicorns and rainbows. I would never want to BE 17 again (especially if I had to do it in 2005...no thank you). But having a life where you didn't have to worry so much about the shit of the world...and your parents and grandparents are all still alive...and you can eat a Whaterburger Jr. with cheese and small onion rings as a snack every day on your way home from school and still fit into your size 25 Guess acid wash jeans sounds like a pretty good life to me.