Villagersonline : blogs : Karen : That 70s thing

From: Karen
Date: Fri Jul  2 14:37:53 MST 2004
Subject: That 70s thing

Responses
stevek: 70s (7/3/04)

Patricia: 6,000 miles east (7/3/04)

Karen: First day of kindergarten (7/3/04)

Karen: Hold the phone (7/3/04)

derek: No Subject (7/3/04)

MaryKay: We were there! (7/4/04)

GaryG: Memories.... (7/6/04)

Karen: Product of the 70s (7/15/04)

Karen: Affordable housing, etc. (7/15/04)

mike: mixed bag (7/20/04)

Responses (sorted by date)
mike: mixed bag (7/20/04)
Karen: Product of the 70s (7/15/04)
Karen: Affordable housing, etc. (7/15/04)
GaryG: Memories.... (7/6/04)
MaryKay: We were there! (7/4/04)
Karen: Hold the phone (7/3/04)
Karen: First day of kindergarten (7/3/04)
Patricia: 6,000 miles east (7/3/04)
derek: No Subject (7/3/04)
stevek: 70s (7/3/04)

I'm curious...those of you old enough to remember the 70s, what do you remember fondly? I'll go first.
--edgy Sesame Street songs, like "I Want a Monster to Be My Friend," sung by a torch-singer female muppet
--my parents' Keith Green & 2nd Chapter of Acts albums (pardon the Xian culture reference)
--Jiffy Pop popcorn in a foil container baked in the oven, until it, y'know, popped up (in those slow, easy-going, pre-microwave days)
--real jukeboxes in the pizza places...OK, I miss vinyl in general
--roller skating on those chunky polyurethane skates, everywhere..(pre-roller blades)
--bikes w/banana seats
--Johnny Whitaker on TV (He was my first celebrity crush, at the age of, like, 6... scary, huh? He played Tom Sawyer in a Disney musical version of the story, and for several months I played that album over and over.)
--watching "Little House on the Prairie" on Monday nights--Why can't *my* dad be like Pa, anyway? :-)
--"St. Jimmy" in the White House. I didn't know anything about politics back then, but he seemed kind, and he seemed real, which led me to believe that others might be, too... oh well. Too bad that saints don't make for very effective politicians.

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	From: stevek Date: Fri Jul 2 17:10:58 MST 2004 Subject: 70s The '70's were a mixed bag, so this isn't all "fondly," but more of a trip (maybe not a bad description) through the decade... - how about phones that you really did have to dial - or televisions and radios that you waited for 30 seconds for them to warm up after you turned them on (and black and white images!) - or bell bottoms, tie-dye, beads, bongs and trying to demonstrate what an independent thinker you were while doing what everyone else in your cohort was doing - Hendrix, Joplin, The Doors/and dying from O.D.'s - and tear gas - and anti-war protests - and watching for your lottery # (not the Arizona lotto) - finally leaving high school, but in total rebellion to God - then finding Christ during the Jesus Freak Movement - Baptist church/feeling very hemmed in by legalism which clashed violently against my felt need to express my faith in a non-traditional way, - so, leaving Christ and back to chasing after career, fun and babes - but thankfully, one of the babes turned out to be my beautiful bride (and she still is.) So, all things end well in the '70's/well, not all things. I had my lady, but it took me several more years of running after things that didn't matter to reestablish my rapport with our Creator again. Edit this response Write a response Email the author From: Patricia Date: Fri Jul 2 18:55:05 MST 2004 Subject: 6,000 miles east Fond memories of the '70s way out there where the West ended and the East began: Well how about - pig tails with long ribbons - knee-high socks - in all colors - clunky shoes (in yellow patent leather...) - polka dots everywhere - coloful trim on the edge of your bell bottoms - cars that you could recognize by their sound as well as by their very distinct looks - getting to lay across the backseat (no seat belts) - not enough traffic to really worry about seat belts - kids walking and biking and playing anywhere - gasoline rations - walking with the family more - BeeGee's music - variety shows with lots of dancing and matching outfits (- protest songs because of their quiet, mournful sound) - refund for cans and bottles (- "new math" - not really a fond memory...but still) - pinball machines - a cross-eyed lion named Clarence Very much different? Edit this response Write a response Email the author From: Karen Date: Fri Jul 2 23:40:00 MST 2004 Subject: First day of kindergarten Yeah, Patricia...my first day of school I wore a white dress w/pink polka dots, white socks all the way to the knees, & those wonderfully clunky shoes. Standing at the bus stop w/my folded nap-mat under my arm, I thought those bumbling fourth graders were demi-gods... When did I stop believing in demi-gods, anyway? Hmmm... (I hope that I have, but I fear deep down that I haven't.) Edit this response Write a response Email the author From: Karen Date: Fri Jul 2 23:49:37 MST 2004 Subject: Hold the phone My grandparents' only phone until sometime well into the 90s was a rotary phone attached to the dining room wall. Just sitting here thinking about the feel of the solid dial under my fingers takes me back to so many mornings, afternoons, evenings spent in their home. They also had a stacking turntable hi-fi...the early entertainment "system." Hendrix, Joplin, Morrison... there, but for the grace of God go I. It's scary to play music in front of people...it just opens you up...the deeper the passion you have for it, the scarier it becomes, and without God, I don't think the fear would ever quit, and neither would the compulsion to express myself and be heard "better." It's cool how you morphed this blog thread into your (pardon the expression) testimony. I recommend that you tell it this way whenever possible. Edit this response Write a response Email the author
	From: derek Date: Fri Jul 2 17:57:29 MST 2004 Subject: Non-existence. Edit this response Write a response Email the author From: MaryKay Date: Sun Jul 4 11:20:18 MST 2004 Subject: We were there! Though most of my world consisted of being in the mommy whirlwind during the 70's I do have some memories that depending on the reader may be considered either good or bad. How about: Avocado green and harvest gold appliances Brown, orange and gold everything else Shag carpeting Affordable housing Pregnancies without ultrasounds Unsafe child car seats Cloth diapers Big wheels Plaid pants for men 8 track tapes Explo 72 by Campus Crusade Bill Gothard conference Ice cube trays Wood wall paneling Lots of wallpaper Compact economy cars i.e. Chevy Vega ...and those are the facts! Edit this response Write a response Email the author From: GaryG Date: Tue Jul 6 10:14:44 MST 2004 Subject: Memories.... The 70's were for me an incredibly wide ranging time-going from a grade school kid to high school graduate and all the experiences in-between, the things that really lay the bedrock of who you are. Mind you, although I had a vague concept of God and occasionally turned to Him in times of crisis, most of the time was spent in the pursuit of hedonism, especially after becoming a teenager, and drug use was a big part of who I was in my teen years, so not all of these stories are Brady-bunch or Waltons worthy. So, in stream of consciousness style,the 70's to me was: The end of childhood and the beginning of adolescence, and all the pain/fun/fear that goes with that. The death of many of my favorite relatives. Realizing that "H.R. PuffnStuff" was full of thinly veiled drug references. Starting to feel more awkward around my parents, especially my father. Meeting my idol Tony Esposito at Yorktown Mall. Two very painful Stanley Cup Finals losses for my beloved Blackhawks to the hated Montreal Canadiens. The sad state of all Chicago sports teams. Seeing "The Godfather" at the drive-in with my parents, my first "R" rated movie (I was 12) Realizing my dreams of being an NHL goalie were unrealistic, and aspiring to be a rock star instead. The first time my parents left me alone for an evening (I was 12), I drank a whole bottle of Andre's Cold Duck and vomited reddish purple bile all over the house. Being left in my older sister's care, and going to parties with her high school friends-I thought I was so cool! Going from being popular and well liked in K-6 to being a nobody in Junior High. Discovering marijuana and other drugs gave me an "identity" and helped me to adjust to (actually, to not deal with) my new environment. Going on "family rides" on the weekends to force family togetherness. Deciding going to college would interfere with my plan of being a rock star, and having to explain that to my parents. Going from being a Nixon supporter in '72 to a liberal Democrat in a few short years, much to my father's chagrin. Writing "Impeach Nixon" on all my folders at school. Seeing my first concert-Aerosmith at Comiskey Park in '76. Seeing Disco as the enemy. Learning to drive, and the subsequent near-death experiences. Seeing Led Zeppelin at Chicago Stadium in '77, and being hurt/disappointed that my then-idol Jimmy Page was chock full of heroin and Jack Daniels and could hardly stand, let alone play guitar. Taking guitar lessons and spending hours practicing. Starting my first band, and how bloody awful we were. Puberty and all the stuff that goes with that.... Band practice in Ed's basement. Keg parties in Ed's backyard. Taking LSD in school and getting A's on tests. Getting a haircut before my Senior picture ('70's feathered shag), brushing it right before the picture, not looking in a mirror, and ending up with HUGE poofy hair in my Senior picture. Passing a joint around during our graduation ceremony. Getting a crappy job at Service Merchandise and deciding maybe college wasn't such a bad idea after all. Seeing our drummer marry his pregnant girlfriend. Falling in love and thinking I wanted to get married too. (thank God that didn't happen!) The blizzard on New Year's eve '78-and taking a sled to the liquor store to pick up the keg. Going to New Jersey to visit my cousin and going into New York City for the first time. "Taxi Driver", "Network", "Jaws", "Godfather II", "Carrie", "The Song Remains the Same", "The Last Waltz", "The Exorcist", "The Omen", "Halloween"...the list goes on. Edit this response Write a response From: Karen Date: Thu Jul 15 12:19:54 MST 2004 Subject: Product of the 70s I loved your non-linear testimony-story. I, too, am technically a spiritual product of the 70s. My mom & dad were cultural church attenders, you know, those nice people who went on Sundays but kept God at a very comfy long-arm's length. Then my mom went to Franco Zefferelli's movie, "Brother Sun, Sister Moon," very hipppie piece of film with a Donovan soundtrack, flowery fields, flowing robes. She was floored by Zefferelli's portrayal of Francis of Assisi, his jaded soul being captured by a mystical, empathic, eyes-wide-open, very present Christ. To put it into Reformed terms, that's how God began to reach down and pulled her off her quiet, sad housewife hell-path. My father wavered for months in the face of her Jesus-freakness, then chose to follow God, too. Then at a Jesus-movement outdoor show in our small town park, 27 years ago this month, I answered God's call to little-old-me. Have I looked back? Sure. I think it's a choice I keep re-making all the time. Have I ever gone far backward? I doubt that's even possible, because I don't understand salvation as a "line." OK, maybe a parabola (like in advanced algebra, or even calculus) but definitely not a straight line. When I was nine, my parents and I sought to join a Southern Baptist church in Tennessee and therefore had to be approved for the aforementioned believer's baptism. Brother Calvin pulled me into his office and asked, "If you died today and were standing before God in heaven, if he asked you, `Why should I let you in here?' what would you say?" (Nevermind whether this is really an appropriate question to ask a nine-year-old....I went with the flow anyway.) "I'd say, `Because you told me you would.'" He was puzzled by that, pressed for clarification. "He said that all I had to do was believe, and then he would." That was my 9-year-old awkward attempt to communicate my understanding of Sola Gratia to an Arminian of sorts... I knew my connection to God wasn't about what I did, and yet.... There's that tension. That's how I end up 'round about 2.6. Edit this response Write a response Email the author From: Karen Date: Thu Jul 15 12:02:27 MST 2004 Subject: Affordable housing, etc. Hmm, yeah, I could go for some of that right now. I'd even be willing to tear out the shag carpeting and the faux-wood paneling. When Mom was hugely pregnant with Sarah (my youngest sister) in '75, it was pre-ultrasound, at least in rural Iowa. So Dr. Van thought she was carrying twins until a few weeks before. We have learned that in my family, a 7 pound newborn is running on the small side :-) Edit this response Write a response Email the author
	From: mike Date: Mon Jul 19 21:24:10 MST 2004 Subject: mixed bag Had to think about this one for a while. The Seventies were such a mixed bag of good and bad for me. Seeing Ted Nugent in concert drunk, ( the both of us) twice. Living in California after running away, and relating to the words of Hotel California. The terrible waste of life the Vietnam war was. There was disco, and polyester, and having to sit in school watching the Watergate hearings. Then there was cruising down the freeway to the beat of Foghat, or Aerosmith. Probably was not a good idea. My first LP was Aerosmith "Rocks" The summer of '76 was fun. In general it was a fun year. Sitting on a pier on San Francisco bay and smoking weed. I actually had a full head of hair then that hung down to my shoulders, was very blond with not even a hint of grey. Edit this response Write a response Email the author

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