40 Years in a Nutshell

As I'm now 40, I decided to write down some memories from the good ol' days just to draw the perspective of how long I've been around.

I remember discussing the Cold War (the original one between the Soviets and U.S.) while at University.

I remember when South Africa was still ruled by whites exclusively and Nelson Mandela was a dangerous terrorist.

I remember the Iran-Iraq war and, like everyone, was cheering for Iraq.

I remember the Iranian Revolution and all the characters who were featured on the news everyday. They were crazy ragheads to us because we didn't know any better and the news made them all out to be evil. (Hmm, the more things change...)

I remember the Afghan war against the Soviets, the Mujahedeen who we all praised as Freedom Fighters despite the fact Mullah Omar and Osama Bin Laden would have been among them.

I remember watching the shuttle Challenger blow up while at University and I remember the irony of the first teacher going to outer space, Christa MaCauliffe, who had the eyes of every child in North America watching her blast off, or in this case, just blast.

I remember the jokes afterwards: NASA, Need Another Seven Astronauts.

I remember playing Pong at a friend's house.

I remember the first video game "Battle Tanks" that appeared at Pinball Alley. It was the end of pinball, or so everyone thought.

You wouldn't play battle tanks for free today. It sucked.

I remember when sixteen year olds could still buy cigarettes and if you looked a bit older, fifteen. I remember when no one ever questioned driving drunk. You had to get home right?

I remember when cops would break up parties and tell everyone, even those drunkards who got behind the wheel, to drive home.

I remember when "Bush Parties" were the norm and you could buy marijuana with such names as "Thai Stick" and "Cambodian." Hashish was all the rage, or so I was told.

I remember the first computer. An Apple. I remember the Telex machine and the magical holey tape getting gobbled up and spewing information. Modems back then fit both ends of the phone.

I remember when people that went into computer programming were considered "loosers."

I remember Acid Rain.

I remember Zebra Mussels.

I remember Purple Loostrife.

I remember Selanne as a rookie.

I remember Gretzky as a rookie.

I remember the Broad Street Bullies.

I remember Hugo: Man of a Thousand Faces.

I remember when Lego was just blocks.

I remember the Denim Machine.

I remember "Stay Real."

I remember "Up With People."

I remember when Coca-Cola and Sprite yo-yos were all the rage, Rubbick's Cube, Cabbage Patch Kids, Pet Rocks, and car horns that played "Charge" were cool.

I remember when Jim Henson died, when Peter Sellers died, when John Lennon died, when Peter Tosh died, when Elvis died, but I don't remember JFK!

I remember Happy Days in its peak, the start and end of Cheers, the start and end of Fraser. I watched the pilot for Friends, Seinfeld, The David Letterman Show and I remember Johnny Carson--vividly.

I remember when the push-button phone first came out. No more damn rotary dials--it was a beautiful thing.

I remember when "remote controls" for your television were still attached by cord.

I remember when Beta machines were all the rage and people thought fake wood-grain made nifty electronic appliances.

I remember when everyone had wall paper and shag carpet was all the rage. I remember think shag carpet resembled a floor made of spaghetti.

I remember when everyone had charcoal barbeques and it was still okay to burn you garbage in Saskatoon city limits. Everyone had a "burn barrel" in their backyard and would gather on weekends to incinerate their old chemical laden trash.

I remember the whole Oiler Dynasty.

I remember the Islanders Dynasty.

I remember Maradona.

I remember Jordan.

I remember Borg, McEnroe, Theismann and the list goes on.

I remember video dances and how stupid they were.

I remember being thirty, twenty and ten. I remember a lot of crap: I'm forty!