[fintstone]

Originally Posted by masraum

I'm not sure exactly how his post was intended either. You said you liked the 80s, and then it sounded like Glenn was saying that his dad didn't like the 30s/40s with no power, plumbing, central HVAC, etc...

I had a good time in the 60s and 70s too, but some parts of the country were crushed by unemployment and inflation. Neither my parents nor I and my wife were able to find a good job and get ahead until the 80s. It was almost impossible to even find a minimum wage job in the 70s where I lived. Decent work is still pretty hard to find there.

I worked 70hrs each week in fast food (starting at $1.60hr) to provide for my wife and me. In the 80s, I worked three jobs at the same time, all while going to college. We had ending up in Denver (after joining and relocating a couple of times with the military) and opportunity was everywhere. All three jobs paid better than minimum wage. My wife found better work as well. I managed to work my way through college, but it was really slow going. I was finishing up my final term before graduation when I got a short notice overseas assignment. I did not get back to finish school/graduate for 3 years (no internet/internet classes then). Grad school was much easier.

In the 80s, I got my first real taste of the American dream! In a few short years was able to buy my first home, a TV, my first camera, a motorcycle and multiple decent cars. I also was able to buy a CD player and some CDs (generally of 60s/70s music). I really could not afford to buy records before that. Like many, I relied in the radio.

Lots of folks didn't have houses wired for electricity, indoor plumbing, etc. in the 60s and 70s where I grew up. Things had not changed since the 30s. Even the school library had few books published after the 30s. We burned wood that we cut (supplemented with kerosene). I would not have known what central HVAC or AC was. I can well remember my first exposure to AC....and I was not a young child. I don't think I was ever even inside of a home with AC until the late 80s. Neither my schools (nor my college) had AC. They had windows.