In a message dated 5/28/98 11:48:05 AM, messinaman@mail.utexas.edu wrote:


>>WE ARE NOT THE LOST GENERATION
>>Friends,
>>
>>This is my favorite e-mail of all-time. If you were born between
>>1967 and 1977 (give or take a year or two), you will certainly
>>enjoy this as much as I did. Don't skip a line, read this when you have
>>time to take it all in.
>>
>>__________________________________________________________________
>>I am a child of the 70's and 80's. That is what I prefer to be
>>called. The 90's can do without me. Grunge isn't here to stay, fashion
>>is fickle and "Generation X" is a myth created by some over-40 writer
>>trying to figure out why people wear flannel in the summer.
>>
>>When I got home from school, I played Atari 2600. I spent hours
>>playing Pitfall or Combat or Breakout or Dodge'em Cars or
>>Frogger. I never did beat Asteroids. Then I watched "Scooby Doo." Daphne
>>was a Goddess, and I thought Shaggy was smoking something synthetic in
>>the back of the mystery machine. I HATED SCRAPPY. I would sleep over at
>>friends' houses on the weekends. We played army with G.I. Joe figures,
>>and I set up galactic wars between Autobots and Decepticons. We never
>>beat Rubik's cube, unless you count taking off the stickers. We got up
>>on Saturday mornings at 6 a.m. to watch bad Hanna-Barbera cartoons like
>>"Captain Caveman," and "SpaceGhost." In between I would watch "School
>>House Rock." ("Conjunction junction, what's your function?!") On
>>Friday Night Daisy Duke was my future wife. I was going to own the
>>General Lee and shoot dynamite arrows out the back. Why did they weld
>>the doors shut? Did your dad turn from mild-mannered Bill Bixby into
>>"The Incredible Hulk" when he got upset? At the movies the Nerds got
>>revenge on the AlphaBetas by teaming up with the Omega Mu's. I watched
>>Indiana Jones save the Ark of the Covenant, and wondered what Yoda meant
>>when he said, "No,there is another."
>>Ronald Reagan was cool. My family took summer
>>vacations to South Florida and collected "Muppet Movie" glasses along
>>the way. (We had the whole set.) At the hotel we found creative uses
>>for Connect Four pieces like throwing them in that big air conditioning
>>unit. I listened to John Cougar Mellencamp sing about Little Pink
>>Houses for Jack and Diane. I was bewildered by Boy George and the colors
>>of his dreams, red, gold and green. I was a "Wild Boy," Duran Duran.
>>MTV played MUSIC videos. Nickeloden played "You can't Do That On
>>Television" and "Dangermouse". Does anyone remember the "Banana Splits?"
>>I drank Dr. Pepper. "I'm a Pepper, you're a Pepper,
>>wouldn't you like to be a Pepper too?" Shasta was for losers. TAB was a
>>labratory accident. Capri Sun was a social statement. Orange
>>Juice wasn't just for breakfast anymore. My mom put a thousand Little
>>Debbie Snack Cakes in my Charlie Brown lunchbox and filled my Snoopy
>>Thermos with Grape Kool-Aid. I got two thousand cheese and cracker snack
>>packs. I went to school and had recess. I went to the same classes
>>everyday. Some wierd guy from the 8th grade always won the
>>science fair with the working hydro-electric plant that leaked on
>>my project about music and plants. Field day was bigger than
>>Christmas, but it always seemed to rain just enough to make everybody
>>miserable. Rubber band fights were cool. A substitute teacher was a
>>marked woman. Nobody deserved that. I went to Cub Scouts. I got my
>>arrow-of-light, but never managed to win the Pinewood Derby. I got
>>almost every skill award but don't remember ever doing anything. The
>>world stopped when the Challanger exploded. Half of your friend's
>>parents got divorced. People did not just say "no" to drugs. AIDS
>>started, but you knew more people who had a grandparent die from cancer.
>>Somebody in your school died before they graduated.
>>We are the ones who played with Lego Building Blocks when they
>>were just building blocks and gave Malibu Barbie crewcuts with safety
>>scissors that never really cut. Big wheels and bicycles with
>>streamers were the way to go, and sidewalk chalk was all you needed to
>>build a city. Imagination was the key. It made the Ewok Treehouse big
>>enough for you to be Luke. And the kitchen table and that old sheet,
>>dark enough to be a tent in the forest. Your world was the backyard
>>and it was all you needed. With your pink portable tape player, Debbie
>>Gibson sang back up to you and everyone wanted a skirt like the Material
>>Girl and a glove like Michael Jackson's. Today, we are the ones who sing
>>along with Bruce Springsteen and The Bangles perfectly and have no idea
>>why. We recite lines with Ghostbusters and still look to the Goonies for
>>a great adventure. We flip through T.V. stations and stop at the A-Team
>>and Knight Rider and Fame, and laugh with The Cosby Show and Family Ties
>>and Punky Brewster and "What you talkin' bout Willis?" We hold strong
>>affections for The Muppets and why did they take the Smurfs off of the
>>air? After school specials were about cigarettes and step-families.
>>
>>The Polka Dot Door was nothing like Barney, and aren't the Power
>>Rangers just Voltron reincarnated? We are the ones who read Nancy
>>Drew, The Hardy Boys, The Bobbsey Twins, Beverly Cleary, and Judy
>>Blume. Friendship bracelets were ties you couldn't break and
>>friendship pins went on shoes - preferably hightop velcro Reebok.
>>And pegged jeans were in, as were unit belts and layered socks and
>>jean jackets and JAMS and charm necklaces and side pony tails and just
>>tails. Rave was a girl's best friend; braces with colored
>>rubberbands made you rad. The backdoor was always open and Mom served
>>only red kool-aid to the neighborhood kids. YOU NEVER drank the New
>>Coke. Entertainment was cheap and lasted for hours. All you needed to
>>be a princess was high heels and an apron; the Sit'n'Spin always made
>>you dizzy but never made you stop; Pogoballs were dangerous weapons
>>and Chinese Jump Ropes never failed to trip someone.
>>In your underoos you were Wonder Woman, Spider Man or Robin and
>>in your treehouse you were king. Star Wars was not only a movie. Did
>>you ever play in a bomb shelter? We didn't start the fire Billy
>>Joel. We had neighborhoods where in the day we could play kick-the-can,
>>"guns" and all of the things that made us Grow up. There was always that
>>one field" that could be used for either baseball, football, homerun
>>derby, or just a place to hang out. That was my field of dreams Mr.
>>Costner. At night we would play flashlight tag. Just like we could
>>trick-or-treat at night without the fear of being shot and killed. Just
>>like our guns had caps or "lasers". If we didn't
>>have the Jessie James guns we could just get a rock and smash the caps
>>on the ground! We loved those orange race tracks...that was until our
>>mother realized she could smack us with them. We too collected football
>>and baseball cards but it was because we wanted to be the first in the
>>neighborhood to have the "complete" set. In our neighborhoods we played
>>with He-man and Skelator. Going to
>>get a Happy Meal on Saturday with dad or mom was worth waiting the
>>other six days of the week. No, we are the furthest thing from a lost
>>generation.
>>
>>Does -- going to arcades on saturday, getting carpooled to
>>football with your best friend, eating fruit roll-ups, having birthday
>>parties at McDonalds or Godfather's pizza or Noble Romans where you
>>could make your own pizza -- express you are lost? How many people
>>melted their army figures that were given to them by their parents? Was
>>Green Latern the Coolest Super Hero or Aquaman? "Wonder twin powers
>>activate!" How's about coming home at night and separating your
>>Halloween candy into: The cool stuff, the homemade stuff, and the
>>pennies... how's about the candy that came in that awful orange
>>and black wax paper? Did you ever try it? Do you remember the one
>>house that had a sign in the candy bowl that said, "Take One." How many
>>did you take if you liked it? Were you desperate one year and as a
>>teenager you trick-or-treated? Our generation had character and heart.
>>We played with real baseballs and "Putt putt for the fun-of-it." "Hey,
>>my mom will take us if your mom picks up!" Could you ever really beat
>>Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom...? Did you have sliced oranges or
>>grapes for your half-time treat? How about the hot dog and coke after
>>each football and baseball games? Star Crunches? Whippy Dip? Twinkies?
>>Ho-ho's? This is what
>>WE are all about! When you put all this stuff together, you have my
>>childhood. If this stuff sounds familiar, then I bet you are one, too.
>>We are the children of the "80's". That is what I prefer they call us.
>>We are not the first "lost generation" nor today's lost generation. In
>>fact, we think we know just where we stand - or are discovering it as
>>we speak.
>>
>>So if you are reading this and it ALL hit's home then you do
>>indeed have a heritage or a generation. This is what makes us the most
>>unique generation of all. Please pass this on to all who can relate!
>
>**************************************************
>*************** troy c. messina ****************
>********** messinaman@mail.utexas.edu **********
>********** messina@physics.utexas.edu **********
>****** http://ccwf.cc.utexas.edu/~messina ******
>**************************************************
>
>-- "There is a theory which states that if ever anybody
>discovers exactly what the Universe is for and why it is here, it will
>instantly disappear and be replaced by something even more bizarre and
>inexplicable. There is another theory which states that this has already
>happened." -- Douglas Adams

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