The 80s, myth and reality?

[BlueTrain]

It is something how watching television affects your view of things. Turn it off. Base your opinions and judgements on what you see with your own eyes. Don't follow the lives of the rich and famous. And for that matter, don't be a busybody and follow the lives of your neighbors, either.

 

[green papaya]

I remember the restaurant food was better back in the 1980's, they used more fresh ingredients, these days they use a lot more premade / processed food

they do a lot of reheating and serving old food, and you get a over cooked pork chop tough as rubber

I ordered a fried Tilapia fish at a Mexican restaurant and they served me an old pre cooked fish that they simply put back in the fryer before serving, it was over cooked / dry and tough as leather

back in the 1980's if you ordered something they would grill a fresh piece of meat for you, not serve you a precooked piece reheated in the microwave.

a lot of the cooks back in the 80's were trained the "old school" way when quality and freshness was more common. These days you pay more and get less.

 

[LizzieMaine]

And unfortunately much of the Dan Rather weirdness turned out to be true!

Rather always bugged me, even when he was the weekend fill-in guy or just a field correspondent. There was something about him that just reeked "superficial," and the harder he tried to posit himself as a Hard Boiled Real Journalist, the more of an empty ladder-climbing careerist he looked. He might possibly have a sincere bone in his body, but thus far x-rays have failed to reveal it.

Roger Mudd got a raw deal.

 

[2jakes]

I remember the restaurant food was better back in the 1980's, they used more fresh ingredients, these days they use a lot more premade / processed food

they do a lot of reheating and serving old food, and you get a over cooked pork chop tough as rubber

I ordered a fried Tilapia fish at a Mexican restaurant and they served me an old pre cooked fish that they simply put back in the fryer before serving, it was over cooked / dry and tough as leather

back in the 1980's if you ordered something they would grill a fresh piece of meat for you, not serve you a precooked piece reheated in the microwave.

a lot of the cooks back in the 80's were trained the "old school" way when quality and freshness was more common. These days you pay more and get less.

The peaceful backroads & country side view of the small towns nearby is great.
The fact that there are still local diners that prepare the food the way you’ve described from the past,
makes it a wonderful experience.
Sometimes, I’ll put my old Schwinn in the pickup bed and cruise around downtown.
There are no malls, just shops.
Folks are friendly and no one seems to be in a rush.

 

[sheeplady]

I will often tell you I hate the eighties. That's not strictly true.... I hate eightiesrevivalism. The times you live through are what they are, but choosing to go back to such an unpleasant decade..... eh. No, thanks. As will all nostalgia, it's no surprise that there are only two types of people that run after it: those who didn't have to live through it, and those whose Tom Bucannan Syndrome is firmly rooted in pining for an eighties heyday. Much as I have enjoyed Stranger Things, it does indeed remind me of my hatred for eighties revivalism.

I was lucky enough to be five when the eighties dawned, and fifteen when then finally died out, so I was always to some degree shielded from the worst of them. I do suspect, to be fair, that growing up in a less media-saturated world was simpler on the one hand, but on the other it was much harder to be 'different', to question the establishment and such. My parents rarely took us from the sticks into Belfast; the biggest result of this was that, when the local cinema a couple of villages over closed down, our cinema-going was limited to a couple of trips a year. Folks didn't like taking risks: we were born into the worst era of "The Troubles", in a time when there seemed no end to them in sight. A lot of us had famly who qualified for a deathlist because of the job they did. People got murdered just for being from a particular faith group, others because they delivered fruit to a police station. Not that I ever saw any of it - we lived in an area it never touched, and were sufficiently middle class and had the right upbringing that we were never sucked into the tribal bigotries and worse elements of it.

As with any decade, much will vary with where and who you were - most times are great for some folks, not so much for others.

One of the things I find the hardest with eighties revivalism is to see revival and celebration of the hair metal thing, one of the single most misogynist elements of popular culture I have ever experienced. I saw thorugh it at the age of fourteen, and luckily discovered punk rock. It mystifies me that any woman in particular could be nostalgic for that, let alone grown adults.

As a young kid who watched the news every night, I can remember the violence in the UK and Ireland in the 1980s. I honestly thought as a young child I would never travel to either, as the random violence seemed constant. This made me sad, as I had always wanted to travel to Ireland, even as a young kid (at age 4). (These were the impressions of a child, not reality. It just seemed to an impressionable child there was an attack every week.)

When young people today talk about "the threat of terrorism" as if it was something invented in 2001, I tell them that terrorism wasn't invented on 9/11/2001.

Speaking of which, the Pam Am 103 flight that went down over Lockerbie, Scotland had many Syracuse University students (35 total), faculty, and staff on it who were returning from study abroad. Living within 3 hours of the university as a kid and a little over an hour from a satellite campus, it had local significance. The university still has a ceremony every year, and offers scholarships for each of the students killed.

 

[2jakes]

As a young kid who watched the news every night, I can remember the violence in the UK and Ireland in the 1980s. I honestly thought as a young child I would never travel to either, as the random violence seemed constant. This made me sad, as I had always wanted to travel to Ireland, even as a young kid (at age 4). (These were the impressions of a child, not reality. It just seemed to an impressionable child there was an attack every week.)

When young people today talk about "the threat of terrorism" as if it was something invented in 2001, I tell them that terrorism wasn't invented on 9/11/2001.

Speaking of which, the Pam Am 103 flight that went down over Lockerbie, Scotland had many Syracuse University students (35 total), faculty, and staff on it who were returning from study abroad. Living within 3 hours of the university as a kid and a little over an hour from a satellite campus, it had local significance. The university still has a ceremony every year, and offers scholarships for each of the students killed.

I agree, although 9/11 changed the way of life in some aspects for me.
Walking towards the runway area to see folks off at the airport was closed.
The road that cut through the Army base to go from one end of the city to the other
is now gated and a pass required.
The old courthouses with entrances on all sides were shut down except for one on the
front and back. Security was increased 100%.
Terrorism as you pointed has always been around, we just didn’t get it in our living room
with live coverage as it was happening like today.

 

[belfastboy]

As a young kid who watched the news every night, I can remember the violence in the UK and Ireland in the 1980s. I honestly thought as a young child I would never travel to either, as the random violence seemed constant. This made me sad, as I had always wanted to travel to Ireland, even as a young kid (at age 4). (These were the impressions of a child, not reality. It just seemed to an impressionable child there was an attack every week.)

When young people today talk about "the threat of terrorism" as if it was something invented in 2001, I tell them that terrorism wasn't invented on 9/11/2001.

Speaking of which, the Pam Am 103 flight that went down over Lockerbie, Scotland had many Syracuse University students (35 total), faculty, and staff on it who were returning from study abroad. Living within 3 hours of the university as a kid and a little over an hour from a satellite campus, it had local significance. The university still has a ceremony every year, and offers scholarships for each of the students killed.

I was returning to Canada from London largely unaware of the world news. Unaware that Leila Khaled had hijacked an airplane in the autumn of 1970. I had purchased two beautiful switchblade knives in Switzerland and had them in my pocket as carry-ons. I arrived late and to my chagrin discovered a very long security line awaiting to board. Each passenger was being frisked from head to toe. I repaired to the washroom and jettisoned the largest of the knives shedding a tear and hid the smaller one in my boot, cradled against the ankle bone recess. Miraculously I passed the body search and was allowed to board. Looking back I am thinking I avoided a nasty bit of law enforcement.

 

[2jakes]

I was returning to Canada from London largely unaware of the world news. Unaware that Leila Khaled had hijacked an airplane in the autumn of 1970. I had purchased two beautiful switchblade knives in Switzerland and had them in my pocket as carry-ons. I arrived late and to my chagrin discovered a very long security line awaiting to board. Each passenger was being frisked from head to toe. I repaired to the washroom and jettisoned the largest of the knives shedding a tear and hid the smaller one in my boot, cradled against the ankle bone recess. Miraculously I passed the body search and was allowed to board. Looking back I am thinking I avoided a nasty bit of law enforcement.

The “switch-blade” knife which I had seen in '50s movies.
In Puerto Vallarta (1982) at a market square, there were several sizes, I opted for the smallest one
for no specific reason than to cut string or small projects around the house.
At the time I thought it was cool to press the button and hear the “click” as the blade popped out.
I also like the click of the “Zippo” lighters when I flip to open, although I don’t smoke.
On the flight back, it never occurred to me the need to hide or get rid of it at the
airport inspection point.
I passed through with no problem.
This was before 911.

 

[scottyrocks]

I read somewhere that New Coke did better in taste tests than old Coke. But life isn't like a taste test. Memories and expectations and packaging all affect perceptions. Besides, if you wanted sweeter, flatter cola, there was Pepsi.

New Coke made a Jack-and-Coke taste like crap. Or a Jack-and-Pepsi. That's why it was an epic fail. Afaic.

 

[HadleyH1]

It is interesting to look back on this and realize that major news orgs being duped/printing fake news/wrong late breaking reports etc is not a new phenom.

You can say that again!

 

[ChiTownScion]

I did make my first trip to Europe in 1985: honeymooned in Germany. My wife broke her foot in Nuremberg, and two days later we were atop the Zugspitze. The highlight of the trip, however, was spending a few days in the small village from whence my paternal great grandfather emigrated to the United States and where my family had lived for over five centuries. An almost spiritual experience, and to be honest, one I think everyone should experience. Beautiful venue: mountains, vineyards and the Mosel River. I had to wonder aloud why Nicholas ever left it for the north side of Chicago.

A few years ago, we visited one of the places in Ireland where the other side of the family hales from: all the charms of a southern Wisconsin cow pasture, as well as the smells. Now don't get me wrong: parts of Ireland are stunningly gorgeous. Just not this corner of County Mayo.

 

[2jakes]

You can say that again!

It’s all about the “ratings” especially November news sweeps!

 

[scottyrocks]

I remember the restaurant food was better back in the 1980's, they used more fresh ingredients, these days they use a lot more premade / processed food

they do a lot of reheating and serving old food, and you get a over cooked pork chop tough as rubber

I ordered a fried Tilapia fish at a Mexican restaurant and they served me an old pre cooked fish that they simply put back in the fryer before serving, it was over cooked / dry and tough as leather

back in the 1980's if you ordered something they would grill a fresh piece of meat for you, not serve you a precooked piece reheated in the microwave.

a lot of the cooks back in the 80's were trained the "old school" way when quality and freshness was more common. These days you pay more and get less.

Depends on the restaurant. I can still get fresh, well made food in many local places.

 

[2jakes]

Depends on the restaurant. I can still get fresh, well made food in many local places.

And may I add something very
important... the cooks!
Been to some restaurants that have
kept the name, but the new owners have
changed the cooks.
The food does not have quite the same flavor!

 

[sheeplady]

Related- My parents fretting about if we could eat at a place because we were wearing jeans... And didn't have reservations.

 

[2jakes]

Related- My parents fretting about if we could eat at a place because we were wearing jeans... And didn't have reservations.

I usually avoid places that have rules or have to wait for a long spell.
As if they are doing me a favor!

 

[scottyrocks]

And may I add something very
important... the cooks!
Been to some restaurants that have
kept the name, but the new owners have
changed the cooks.
The food does not have quite the same flavor!

True, but that is not a reflection of the peculiarities of the times. People have been changing jobs/getting old/dying since the beginning.

You can still get freshly made food if you know where to look. If one doesn't like it, fresh or not, new cook or not, go elsewhere!

 

[AmateisGal]

True, but that is not a reflection of the peculiarities of the times. People have been changing jobs/getting old/dying since the beginning.

You can still get freshly made food if you know where to look. If one doesn't like it, fresh or not, new cook or not, go elsewhere!

Very true. Here in my city, we have a lot of places where the focus is on fresh, local food, farm to table, etc. Lots of foodies where I live!

 

[Paisley]

Only hippies and health nuts cared about such things in the 80s. I didn't go to restaurants much then because every place--not just restaurants, but almost EVERY stinking place including teachers' lounges in grade schools--allowed smoking, and I was allergic to cigarette smoke.

 

[p51]

Just like in any era, people forget the bad stuff.
There is the threat of nuclear war hanging over our heads. Everywhere you went, commercially, had a smoking and non-smoking section. Pretty much everyone dealt with second hand smoke everywhere they went. I like the music, and still do. Some of the cars were kind of neat. Plenty of good movies, and loved shows like Miami Vice.
Other than that, it's not a time I really enjoyed all that much culturally.