Why the 70s Make Me Happy: Open Book Blog Hop
Every once in a while I like to jump on a blog hop if the subject matter interests me. This one asks, which decade is your favorite?
The name of my blog is Baby Boomer Bliss, so you probably already know that I’m going to choose either the 60s or 70s, right?
Here’s the skinney. People make fun of the 70s, but I have great memories of that decade. During those years, I was between the ages of 10 and 20. In the mid-70s, I was a teen and some of those years make me downright nostalgic.
Maybe because the last couple of years have been tough ones for me, I reminisce about those carefree days when my biggest concern was which bell bottoms and platform shoes to wear, which Simon and Garfunkel album to buy, and which color my mood ring would turn on any given day.
Although the sexual revolution and pot smoking was in its heyday, I was young and led a pretty sheltered life. The decade was still plenty cheesy and still innocent by today’s standards. Just watch reruns of popular shows like the Brady Bunch, Gilligan’s Island, Happy Days, The Waltons, and Little House on the Prairie. I mean, we were so innocent we pretended rocks were pets. Have a nice day and happy faces were splattered everywhere. We’d spend hours simply making macrame chokers, bracelets, and plant hangers.
While my Mom was on a health food kick and trying to sneak wheat germ into our food and convince me carob was as good as chocolate, I was downing Ding Dongs, Hostess chocolate cupcakes with the white swirled icing on top, and fruit pies with chocolate fillings. My mouth is watering now. Miraculously, I still stayed skinny as a rail. Those were the days!
Even home décor became more down to earth. Out went the space age look of the 60s and in came more conservative styles with oranges, gold, browns, and rust styled with splashes of bright colors and geometrical designs.
Okay, the 70s had some really weird fashion. I can’t defend it. The decade was especially hard on the guys with polyester leisure suits, short shorts, plaid and vertically striped pants, embroidered collars, and high heeled shoes (although this was a break for short guys). Girls didn’t fare much better with giant sunglasses perched on our noses, horrifying jumpsuits, huge collars, sky high platform shoes, bell bottomed jeans decorated with embroidery or studs, and chunky belted brown cardigans. I won’t even talk about all the splash of rude colors and patterns we wore. The perms and Farrah hair weren’t any better.
Still, sometimes I pine for the days when me and my friends would practice the hustle in the school bathroom, when guys called me foxy, and everything was far out.
And you have to admit, some of our music was pretty fab and funky. What’s cooler than some of the 70 classics like the Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen, Hotel California by the Eagles, Joy to the World by Three Dog Night, I Will Survive by Gloria Gaynor, and You’re So Vain by Carly Simon. Can you dig it? Right on!
As the KC and the Sunshine Band sang back in the day, “That’s the way, uh huh, uh huh, I like it. Uh huh, uh huh.”
What’s your favorite decade? I’d love to know! Please share in the comments below.
Here are a few links to other bloggers explaining what their favorite decade is and the reasons why.
- See what blogger P J Fiala’s favorite decade is – hint – it’s different than mine!
- What’s Stevie Turner‘s favorite decade and why?
- Check out Lela Markham’s favorite decade by visiting her blog.
- Learn why Tracy Krimmer loved the 80s.
- K. Williams chose the fabulous 40s.
- Learn why Aurora Watcherak chose the roaring 20s.
If you’re a blogger and want to join, please click on the button with the frog on the right to link in. Here are the rules:
Rules:
- Link your blog to this hop.
- Notify your following that you are participating in this blog hop.
- Promise to visit/leave a comment on all participants’ blogs.
- Tweet/or share each person’s blog post. Use #OpenBook when tweeting.
- Put a banner on your blog that you are participating.
So bloggers, join in the fun. And the rest of you, keep on truckin and I’ll catch you on the flip side!
Image courtesy of Witthaya Phonsawat and Chris Sharp at FreeDigitalPhotos.net.
Dear Friend, those were the days, weren’t they? Thanks for the stroll down memory lane. Groovy
I know – we share many of the same memories, my childhood friend! Born in the same month and year, in fact. Far out!
I don’t remember the mood rings, but everything else you’ve written about rings true. Do you remember that dance where everyone sat on the floor, grabbed the waist of the person in front, and moved backwards and forwards? Happy times!
Enjoyed your memories also on your blog. Yes, happy times!
The 70’s were great years!!!!
I agree!
I’m an 80s gal 🙂 I post about it on my blog!
Tracy, I enjoyed reading your blog. As I said in my comment, I was having my kids during the 80s so missed out on a lot of it, but I loved my leg warmers and scrunchies!
Julie, I laughed and smiled all the way reading your decade look-back. And those groovy photos! Thanks for the peek into the 70s decade.
Thanks Cat. Glad you enjoyed!
I was a teen in the 1970s too. My town was a little less innocent perhaps since we were building the TransAlaska Pipeline, but you gotta love the music and the colors.
I agree!
I love the 70s. I don’t remember much, I was born in 1975, so it’s pretty vague to me, what i actually experienced. The Saturday Night Fever Soundtrack was my favorite growing up and I have always loved disco. The fashions could be extreme, but then there were things that were so very pretty too. I miss it with a similar nostalgia. I often pine that I wasn’t able to experience it in my teens and early college years. Oh what fun that would have been!
Thanks for stopping by and sharing your thoughts. I was born in the 60s and have some fun memories of that decade, so I know what you mean. Even if you were a child, some of the music can bring back some great memories. And yeah, it was pretty fun to be a teen during that decade!
I really loved the late 60’s into the 70’s. I recognized all the things that you mentioned and then some. Listening to the Beatles, Joe Cocker, the Alman Brothers, etc. were a way of life. Woodstock left me wishing that I had taken the day off to journey upstate. It was a feeling more than anything and I don’t think that any generation since then has had quite the same feel as we did back then. It can’t be repeated. I don’t know whether it was really carefree or if we were just too young to see the serious side of it, but we all got through it and most of us have very fond memories of those times. We are the first generation of classic rock. Living in a communal house and someone even living in his VW Van in the driveway…how can other generations compete with that? It all sounds crazy at the age I am now…but with the exception of the Viet Nam war and riots, it was the best time of my life.
Today’s world is just one responsibility after another followed by hours of busy work leaving no time to think, let alone enjoy personal time. This was a fun post. Thanks!
Lynn, how fun to hear from another baby boomer who has similar fond memories of the 60’s and 70’s. You are so right, young people today try to duplicate the clothing and feeling of that generation, but it just can’t be done. Thanks for sharing your thoughts and memories!