Ten on Tuesday

Posted on Jan 23, 2008 02:52:43 AM

“I’ve gotten to the age where I’ve caught myself thinking, “Man, this was a lot better when I was a kid…” So tell us - how was life a little better when you were young?”

1. Less gimmicks

2.Cooler playgrounds (where it was possible to get a boo-boo)

3. Affordable real estate, even in cities. Likewise, less of a financial trap for two-income families. It was a lot more realistic for a mother or father to stay home with the kids and actually make ends meet.

4. Less over-medicating. I’ve met too many people who are on crazy pills in order to cure the crazy, and then on more pills to combat the side effects of the induced crazy, and yet in the end they’re still crazy. There are people out there who genuinely suffer from real mental disorders, and the people out there who pop 10 different pills because they’re a little sad are not only a mockery of themselves, but they are an insult to those who really need help.

5. Maybe it’s just a perception thing, but family sitcoms didn’t seem as hokey in the 80s and 90s as they do today. The brand of humor in these now seems to be very canned.

6. The transition came slightly before my time, but the Republican party wasn’t hijacked by the religious right. And the terms “red state” and “blue state” probably weren’t spoken…in other words, more political tolerance.

7. If you tried to sue someone because their driveway made you fall and get an ouchie, you’d never be taken seriously.

8. Musicians were less profit-driven and more about just making good music.

9. It was more common to see healthy, athletic women portrayed as attractive instead of twigs with heads.

10. Wheelies hadn’t been invented yet (those shoes with wheels on the bottom). Damn you, wheelie inventor.