Between Boomer and Gen X
YOU'RE LOST BETWEEN "BABY BOOMER" AND "GENERATION X" IF...

1. You remember when Jordache jeans with a flat-handle comb in the backpocket was cool.

2. Any photograph of you shows you wearing an Izod shirt with the collarturned up.

3. You know any "Weird Al" Yankovic songs by heart.

4. You've ever rung someone's doorbell and said "Landshark!"

5. You were once bowled over by the technological excellence of such products as Atari,
IntelliVision, TelStar and Coleco.

6. You remember the premier of MTV-or worse yet, you remember its predecessor, "Friday Night
Videos."

7. You and your friends ever discussed having a reunion at the end of the century and playing
Prince's "1999" until you passed out partying.

8. A predominant color in your childhood photos is plaid.

9. You remember when music that was labeled "alternative" really was alternative, and when
"alternative comedy" was really funny.

10. You took family trips BEFORE the invention of the minivan.

11. (Related to No. 10) You rode in the back of the station wagon facing the cars behind you.

12. You've recently horrified yourself by using any one of the following phrases: "You know, back
when...," "When I was your age...," or "When I was younger..."

13. Schoolhouse Rock played a HUGE part in how you learned things like grammar, math and history.
(A big hint here is if the only way you can recite the Preamble to the Constitution is by singing
it.)

14. You ever dressed to look like someone in a Madonna, Cyndi Lauper, or Duran Duran video.

15. You remember your first kiss with someone having happened while either "Leather and Lace" or
"Crazy for You" was playing.

16. You remember with pain the day the Green Machine hit the streets (or the sidewalks),
instantly making your Big Wheel obsolete.

17. The age-old question "Where's the beef?" still makes you laugh.

18. You remember when film critics raved that no movie could ever possibly have more advanced
special effects than "TRON."

19. You had a crush on Ted the photographer on "Love Boat," Gage from "Emergency," or Ponch from
"CHIPS."

20. Your hair at some point in time in the '80s could only be described by saying "I was
experimenting."

21. You've ever shopped at Benetton.

22. You're starting to believe that having the kids in school year-round wouldn't be such a bad
idea after all.

23. You're currently employed doing something that has absolutely nothing to do with your college
major.

24. U2 is too popular and mainstream for you now.

25. You remember trying to guess which episode of "The Brady Bunch" it was by the first scene.

26. You had a front-row seat (i.e., blew off one or more classes) for Luke and Laura's wedding on
"GH."

27. Your parents wanted you to attend medical school, but you decided it was pointless since
Quincy got all the babes anyway.

28. You know who shot J.R.

29. You recall when Love's Baby Soft was in every girl's Christmas stocking.

30. This rings a bell: "My name is Charlie, and they work for me."

31. You were unsure if Diet Coke would ever catch on. (Related item: you were sure that "New
Coke" would NEVER catch on.)

32. You know all the words to the double-album set of the "Grease" soundtrack.

33. (Girls) You've ever had a Dorothy Hamill haircut.

34. You sat with your friends on any given Friday night circa 1982 and dialed 867-5309 to see if
Jenny was actually there.

35. "All skate, change directions" means something to you.

36. You've ever owned a pair of rainbow suspenders like the ones Mork used to wear.

37. You bought a pair of Vanns and wanted to order a pizza in history class so you could be just
like Jeff Spicoli. (Related item: if you've ever smacked yourself in the head with a shoe and
exclaimed, "I'm so wasted!")

38. You owned a Preppy Handbook.

39. You were too young to see "Blue Lagoon," so you just had to settle for the second-hand
reports.

40. You remember when movies were only PG and R.

41. You learned to swim at about the same time "Jaws" came out....and still carry the emotional
scars to prove it.

42. You remember when your cable TV box had a sliding selector switch... and your "cable remote"
was connected to the TV by CORD!

43. Your jaw would ache by the time you finished one of those brick-sized packages of Bazooka.

44. You remember Bo and Luke Duke, Daisy, Boss Hogg, or-worst of all-what Sheriff Roscoe's full
name was.

45. Your parents paid $2,000 for a top-loading VCR that was almost the sizeof a coffee table.

46. You found nothing strange about Bert and Ernie living together.

47. You remember having a rotary phone.

48. You actually believed that Mikey, famed kid on the Life cereal commercials, died after eating
Pop Rocks and drinking a Coke. (Actually, a false rumor)

49. "Members Only" jackets...say no more.

50. And lastly, I'll make a song stick in your head for the rest of the day: ...you actually
remember the words to the theme song of "The Greatest American Hero." ("BELIEVE IT OR NOT,
I'M WALKIN' ON AIR...I NEVER THOUGHT I COULD FEEL SO FREE-EE-EE...")

category: cultural  date entered: 2006-03-26