Delano Herald Journal

Serving the communities of Delano, Loretto, Montrose, MN, and the surrounding area

Denise Rosenau Column, 4/8/02



I heard a reference the other day about ’80s
music being considered classic rock. What a crock! I say that
because that would mean that I am getting old.

I am a die-hard child of the ’80s. I did all
the normal ’80s things – from style to attitude.

I hesitate to even admit some of the things
that we did back then. Now it would be considered so nerdy. But,
for the sake of my column and lack of respectable content to
fill it, I will embarrass myself to no end for the sole purpose
of entertaining the people who read it. I may even find that
others are willing to admit ’80s embarrassing moments, too.

I look back at pictures of myself and wonder
what I was thinking. What was with the back-combing and mile-high
bangs for hairstyles? How could I possibly have thought that
wearing a helmet made of Aqua Net hairspray was a good thing?

No wonder all of our hairstyles looked so
bad – we damaged the heck out of our hair with chemicals. I personally
went through a can of Aqua Net quite regularly. I remember having
flat hair in the back and bangs several inches higher than my
head when I would look sideways in the mirror.

And I even thought Michael Jackson was sooooo
cool, and remember going through my dad’s records (the vinyl
kind) looking for a Michael Jackson record, only to find Michael
Johnson. Michael Jackson was so new to me that I had to play
the Michael Johnson record to see if the song “Thriller”
was on it. Boy, was I disappointed.

Michael Jackson was so cool, and everyone
wanted to be like him. Some of the kids wore parachute pants
and, now, I can proudly say that I never had any, although at
the time I really wanted some. I even remember people wearing
one glove. Looking back now, the glove was probably a way to
cover a skin problem, and conveniently became fashionable. Lucky
him.

Oh, the ’80s ­ and oh, the memories .
. .

I remember the days when we had to get up
to turn the channel on the TV and when cars had to be plugged
in at night in the winter if we wanted them to start in the morning.
I remember having a bedroom set painted green and yellow by choice.

I can still sing most of the songs that were
so big, like “Little Red Corvette” and “Jack and
Diane.”

I see how styles from the ’70s are coming
back in, like the shag rugs and funky designs, and I pray to
God that the ’80s designs don’t come back.

I don’t know if I could take it, and I certainly
don’t think my hair could.

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