re: Where were you in 1988?

trade school and frying my brain on X at Kingfish

9th year of marriage, 2 kids and looking for a job…

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My birthday is coming up pretty soon, and I’m just curious, for those of you who were around at that time, where were you in 1988? What was your life like, how old were you? Do you remember anything in particular about your life that year? Favorite movies, music, etc.?

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I was in Middle School at McKinley Middle in BR.

Lived for BREC Football in the Fall(Perkins Road Park Eagles).

I played my Sega Master System in my spare time. Most friends had Nintendos. So we'd bring both systems over to the house for sleepovers.

Rode our bikes and built club houses around Village St George/Oak Hills/Highland Road Park.

Some friends were big into skateboarding and we'd watch them on a ramp in someone's driveway or doing tricks in the streets.

Bon Marche was referred to as the Old Mall and Cortana was the shite.

Toys R US finally came to Baton Rouge and was a HUGE deal.

Music on the top 40 stations in Baton Rouge(102.5 and Z 98.1) was a hodge podge. Guns N Roses, Poison, Debbie Gibson, George Michael, Whitney Houston, New Kids on the Block, Salt N Pepa, Ton Loc, Stevie B were in the rotation.

We lived in fear of being Nuked by the Russians b/c of Exxon. A year later Exxon would blow up on its own on Christmas Eve. That was a BIG deal in Baton Rouge.

Essen Cinema(behind Ichiban) was the new bad arse movie theater. Went to see Twins, Golden Child, Blind Date, Karate Kid 2 there.

I was also figuring out what to do with all the Garbage Pail Kids cards and Masters of the Universe toys I collected from 8-12 yrs old as I was outgrowing that kiddie stuff.

Life seemed simpler back then compared to kids today but it's really not much different. My kids range 13-19 now and they are basically into the same shite, except riding bikes to woods and building ramps and shite. They have skate parks, trampoline parks, and much cooler shite to do. Same exertion just different location/terrain.

Summer of my senior year in HS. Worked at a Piggly Wiggly that summer. That was also the summer of the fake ID scandal but we'll not go into that.

Graduating HS and going to college to play baseball… thought I knew everything

S. Louisiana


A selfie was not a word and if used at all probably meant something more perverse

No cell phones (in my sphere anyways) and if they existed they were in a small suitcase and cost $10/minute or more

Internet, nope. Modems were coming to life. You may know the sound.

Video cameras required shoulders

Want to see a movie? HBO and Showtime alive and well or go to a movie theater. Want dinner and a movie? Go to restaurant then movie theater, none combined

Telephone books were not only useful but necessary

Malls were hopping

Def Leppard 2.0, Hair bands were on final stretch, Rap was still a bit of a novelty

Nintendo!

Gas stations were gas stations. Fast food was fast food. No such thing as co-branded gas stations and fast food in one location.

Communism falling apart

Word Processors were kicking Typewriter's azzes

Taxis (even had TV show that was likely over by 1988). Ubers did not exit nor did they have a TV show

Daiquiri shops were still kinda new

Racism, religious friction, economic disparity and all root causes, etc. similar, give or take

Eddie Murphy was funny

Third year of marriage, working the nightshift in Master Control at the local PBS station, attending the local University during the day working towards a 2nd BS in Systems Science.

Wife was trying to get into vet school. No kids yet.

Considered myself a fairly informed, left-leaning moderate. Registered Democrat. Voted for Al Gore in the primary, because he seemed the most moderate candidate who had a legit shot at the nomination.

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Dukakis fan?

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More like a series of deeply traumatic early childhood experiences.

I think I spent that year in a drooling coma or maybe it just felt like that because I got transferred to Dothan.