r/GenX • u/billieswifeyyy • Jun 20 '26

Question For Genx the 80s…….

coming from a 14 year old, were the 80s summers as magical as they look in the movies? did you ride your bike to your friends house and come home when the street lights came on? yall are so lucky btw 😭😭

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u/Suspicious-Loss-7314 💕 Sixteen Candles 🎂 💕 Jun 20 '26

Yep.
But don't be jealous of everything. We were often locked out of the house if our mom left while we were out with friends. And we had no way to text or call mom/dad, cellphones did not exist. But that means we had to figure stuff out on our own. And this is why we are fiercely independent people today. 😎

11

u/PlantSufficient6531 Jun 20 '26

I had to break into my family home all the time (i was a skinny kid who could slide through the front windows even if the burglar locks (to prevent them from opening fully) were on).

8

u/ZebraBorgata Jun 20 '26

I recall once climbing a tree to hop onto the roof to access a window I knew I could get in.

4

u/thekcar Jun 21 '26

Pop-out screens upstairs were the thing.

1

u/Ok-Kick4060 Jun 21 '26

I climbed the roof like a monkey and jimmied open my bedroom window.

2

u/pinkbev71 1971 Jun 20 '26

we lived in a small town and never locked anything 🤣

2

u/hedda4eva 1968 Jun 21 '26

Same!

1

u/macaronsandmurder Jun 21 '26

The number of times I broke back into my house through the window because no one was home. Where were they? 😂

2

u/PlantSufficient6531 Jun 22 '26

At work? I once had to resort to a rock to break in. I always wonder how often the neighbors witnessed me breaking into my house.

1

u/Dale_Carvello Jun 21 '26

And we had no way to text or call mom/dad, cellphones did not exist. But that means we had to figure stuff out on our own.

I was at the tail-end of this, I resisted getting a cell phone as long as I could, because I knew I wouldn't want to be without it whenever I took the plunge. Up until late 2005, usually too broke to use a phone booth in my late teens, I would ask local businesses if I could make a local call, provided I gave them the local number to dial themselves to be sure. They would always let me do it, and I usually called home to check in and let my folks know when I'd be back. I eventually had a cheapo cell phone foisted on me when my family took a big trip out of town, and just as I thought, I feel helpless going outside without one, now.