re: Were the 80s the best time to be a kid in American history?

Yep. All sports were great, mid south wrestling, great cartoons, great toys, and the Houston Oilers were still around.

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One of my favorite part of Stranger Things is seeing the 80s packaging.

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These threads pop up each time a new season is released

Born in 70. We were outside all day. Even when I was 5-6 it was Big Wheels ridden down hills in the yard and a nice spin out at the bottom with the hand brake. Swingsets where you rode the swing or or 2 kid thing until the base of the swing set was coming out of the ground. Damming up the creeks with rocks and clay from the banks to make a swimming hole and then busting it down right before dark to ride an inner tube down the rush of water. Bouncing baseballs off of brick walls by yourself. Wiffle ball with other kids in somebodies yard. When I got to be about 10 we rode bikes all over the neighborhood for miles. Hell, we learned mechanics and modified our bikes with handlebars, seats, etc. from older bikes. No AC but we had a bad arse attic fan that pulled night air in through open windows and it was nice. We only latched the screen doors from the inside at night. Only locked doors when we were going out of town for more then a day or two.

The mid 80s were my teen years and it was really awesome. We had an Atari 2400 that was shared between my brothers and sister. We probably played it 30 minutes or an hour but never got glued to it because there was always something going on outside that was calling out to be done. Still had rotary phones with 20 ft cords on the walls in the house. No cell phones or internet yet. When I was a sophomore-senior in HS, all arrangements for partying or meeting up somewhere were discussed at school and confirmed or changed with a flurry of phone calls throughout the day after school let out. Parties (whether at someone’s house whose parents were out of town or my favorite, in the back cul de sac of some new neighborhood that just recently had its roads and curbs put in) were awesome as nobody had their faces glued to a phone and posing for and filtering photos for the perfect frame to put on snapchat. You were there in the moment with your friends and it was pure.

I have 4 kids that range from 20, 17,13, and 8 and I am sad because I don’t see what any of them will be able to look back on and say why the 2010s or 20teens were so awesome. Neighborhoods are nothing like they were in the 80s. We have a lot of kids in our neighborhood of all ages but you wouldn’t know it by activity. I wish they could experience growing up without internet and smart phones.

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The Cure's 'A Night Like This' edges 'A Forest' as their best tune..I had maybe forgotten

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Ugh I hate agreeing with Phillies fans

I own that Cure extended mix disc with all of their hits, had most all Cure, and Cult, and New Order 12 inch remix records back in the day..

1989/1990 that Disintegration disc never left the car...saw that tour at UNO Lakefront..one of the best shows I've ever attended.

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and Cult,

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She Sells Sanctuary woke me up every day my soph year in college.

Oh ...didn't realize this was a geezer self flagilation.

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reminds me of my brothers, both of which broke their arms due to bike accidents.

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I was born in 1966. I have a theory that every male that was born the 60s has a scar somewhere on their body because at some point in their childhood they were convinced they were Evel Knievel. (Mine is on my left knee.)

I was born mid 80s so not much of it that i remember in that time, but ive always loved 80s culture. 80s movies were great, so many classics