In today's world of airbags, helmets and childproof lids I sometimes wonder why we are not all dead. Here are a few of the things we got away with when we were kids in the 70's...

1. Rode bikes without helmets
2. Boarded planes without being searched
3. Opened pill bottles with ease
4. Ate paint chips
5. Drove in cars with no seat belts.
6. Rode in the back of pick-ups.
7. Stayed home without 911
8. Never had a cell phone in the car.
9. Ate red M & M's
10. Rode skateboards without pads.
11. Drank water from a hose.
12. Never had a flu shot
13. Walked the streets at night.
14. Left our doors unlocked.
15. Sat in smoke filled restaurants.
16. Played with mercury.
17. Went to movies by ourselves.
18. Never washed our hands.
19. Played with turtles and frogs before eating.
20. Jumped on trampolines without nets!

Labels: 70's, Memories

They don't make 3D glasses like they used to.

Here's my list of the top things that made living in the 70's such a cool time period...

1.) Banana seats on bikes and cards flapping in your spokes
2.) Space food sticks, Tang and watching moon missions
3.) One liter glass returnable pop bottles
4.) Collecting Green Stamps and trading them for cheap prizes
5.) 8 Track tapes and having the coolest tape player
6.) Saturday morning cartoons
7.) Sonny and Cher - Donny and Marie
8.) Clackers, Slime and the Rubik's Cube
9.) Charlie Brown & Peanuts holiday shows
10.) Bell bottom jeans and half shirts
11.) Streaking, Dodge Ball and Hide'n Go Seek
12.) Slip'n Slide, & Water Wiggles
13.) Shasta, RC Cola and Mello Yellow
14.) One penny Jolly Ranchers & Bubble Gum
15.) Full size G.I. Joes with Kung Fu grip
16.) Disco (Need I say more?)
17.) Marathon Bars, Zagnuts & Watchamacallits
18.) Schoolhouse Rock & After School Specials
19.) My Farrah Fawcett poster
20.) Stratego, Battleship and Lincoln Logs
21.) TV Guide, Mad Magazine & 20 cent comics
22.) Herbie the Love Bug & Disney movies
23.) Afros, feathered bangs & long hair
24.) Sigmund and the Sea Monsters, Land of the Lost
25.) Skateboarding & Hoola Hoops
26.) Watching the Banana Splits eating Zingers
27.) Rock 'em Sock 'em Robots & Hot Wheels
28.) Walter Cronkite & the 6 o'clock news
29.) Atari
30.) Trolls, Spirographs & Matchbox Cars
31.) TV Dinners & Jiffy Pop popcorn
32.) Elvis & Sandy Duncan movies
33.) Love, American Style & Laugh In
34.) The Brady Bunch & The Partridge Family
35.) The Midnight Special & Don Kirshners Rock Concert
36.) Monty Python and The Goodies
37.) More to come...

Labels: 70's, Memories

I love coming of age movies! They remind me so much of being twelve, growing up in the 70's. I had a very close group of friends that would find adventure in everything we did, much like the characters in Stand By Me and Now and Then.

We spent almost every day together in the summer and would skip dinner just so we could play late into the night. We were always outside running around the neighborhood playing games and tricking neighbors non-stop.

I've always wanted to write a book based on our summers of fun with a few added twists and turns. The movies listed below are the closest examples of the good times we had as youngsters. I know there are many more coming of age movies but these top my list and have bits and pieces that remind me of days gone by. They are in no particular order. Enjoy and if you've missed any of these, they would make great weekend rentals...

1. Stand By Me
2. The Goonies
3. Now and Then
4. Pretty in Pink
5. Dead Poet's Society
6. St. Elmo's Fire
7. October Sky
8. Breakfast Club
9. My Girl
10. American Graffiti

Update: 07/11/09

This list has gotten so popular I've decided to add another 10 movies. If you have not seen the first 10 watch those first and then check these out. Again these are in no particular order.

11. Sixteen Candles
12. The Sandlot
13. The Outsiders
14. Almost Famous
15. Dirty Dancing
16. Breaking Away
17. School Ties
18. Summer of '42
19. Mona Lisa Smile
20. The Man in the Moon

Bonus: 13 Going On 30 (A great little girl in big body movie)

Labels: 70's, Fun Events, Getting Old, Memories

At 12:34:56 today all of the numbers will align. That is because today is 7/8/9. So, today will be 12:34:56 7/8/9. Numerologists consider this a good day to make money.

I will let you know how things turn out on my end. Let me know how things turn out on your end.

Labels: make money, Superstitions

The year was 1993 and I was portraying Michael Jackson at a Halloween party. During the festivities each guest at the party was asked to lie in the casket for a photo. Was this me foretelling the eventual death of Michael Jackson in 2009?

How could I know in 1993 that he was going to die 16 years later? If this photo had been released sooner could Michael have been saved? There are many questions left to be answered. Why did I choose to be MJ that Halloween? Why was there a coffin at the party? Why did I get into the coffin as Michael Jackson? Why am I wearing a single white glove?

We may never know the answers to these questions so the mystery remains. Did a young cartoonist in central Oklahoma know something that the rest of the world did not? How could I know that Michael would eventually die while others were completely oblivious?

Now I don't claim to be psychic but the facts do speak for themselves. I understand how shocking this photo may be to many MJ fans. Please believe me when I say this is not a TMZ photo of Michael Jackson today. It is a photo of me in 1993. I know it is hard to tell but as you can see my skin is darker which is proof that I was imitating an earlier version of Michael.

This could also explain my obsession with zombie movies. Did Thriller effect me so deeply that I am now addicted to the zombie genre? Am I destined to become a zombie? I once saw Vincent Price in Stillwater while I was attending school at OSU. I'll leave you with the words he told us live during his talk...

Darkness falls across the land
The midnight hour is close at hand
Creatures crawl in search of blood
To terrorize y'alls neighborhood

The foulest stench is in the air
The funk of forty thousand years
And grizzly ghouls from every tomb
Are closing in to seal your doom

And though you fight to stay alive
Your body starts to shiver
For no mere mortal can resist
The evil of the thriller...

Disclaimer: This post is meant to be a light hearted look at the media frenzy over the death of Michael Jackson. This photo is not meant to be morbid or disrespectful to the loss of Michael Jackson. In fact this is my tribute to MJ. He was a bit twisted but a great performer. RIP Michael Jackson.

Labels: 90's, funny moment, Halloween, Photo

Okay, look what I dug up! This could very well be the ultimate 1970's photograph. This photo is dated June '77. It is a picture of me (skateboard) and my friend Bruce Bradley. Can you spot all of the cool 1970's references?

A list of 1970's coolness:
1. Hair, longer with bangs.
2. Cut off shorts with pockets sticking out
3. Knee socks with stripes
4. How about my shoes! Those were the coolest sneakers!
5. Plastic skateboard from OTASCO
6. Ten speed bike
7. Ringer T-shirt
8. Sleeveless sweatshirt
9. Teardrop glasses, tinted.
10. No iPods, cell phones or electronic gadgets

Labels: 70's, Curtis Tucker, Getting Old, Memories