What did you do with your 1970s?

















Maybe it’s the spring-like weather but I had so much fun doing an earlier post
on “What Did You Do With Your 1980s?” that I just had to do a prequel and talk about the 70s.

70s started out for me as a little kid (see above--I was born with a double earlobe on the left side--you can see in my school picture. I was told by a psychic medium as a kid that meant I was psychic--hmm, I noticed Adam Sandler has one too and the Asian lady from "Lost"--wonder if they're psychic?). You can start to see adolescence encroaching right into full out teen-hood and disco era. I was on the short flag team in high school and was a mean twirler! I was in jazz dance and modeling and pageants, as well as acting (never got parts!) The swimsuit shot were both model poses, one at about 6th grade, the other my senior year.

Embarrassing tibit: When we first moved to AZ, I was going into 10th grade. I faked a southern accent (godawful) and got more boyfriends than any one girl should ever possess. I had an entourage that followed me everywhere and I acted quite stupid too (which really grated on my nerves), but worked beautifully. I had rides everywhere and free lunches and lots of dates. The hardest part, however, was how to hide the accent from my parents when guys would come over. I’d have to try not to talk in front of either of them. Luckily, we had a formal living room and I’d keep the guys in there where I could play music to mask my dialect from mother’s eagle ear.

Music: The first half of the 70s were it—the best music ever made, will never be that good ever again! Perhaps it’s just the music of your adolescence when music suddenly becomes the background soundtrack to your emotions and your social life. I remember we had a swimming pool nearby at Aspen Grove and in the summertime you could hear 10cc, Paul McCartney and the Wings and England Dan and John Ford Coley blaring over the intercom. I loved all the artists of the 70s—all! I was a top 40 type of gal and I did freestyle rollerskating, so I did dance routines to just about everything you can think of and much of it was the "soundtrack" to my skateboarding.

Styles: Yeah, I wore disco—a lot! I had tons of Gloria Vanderbilt painted on pants and lycra dresses and stilettos. I also enjoyed the first half of the 70s when we wore rugby shirts and painter’s pants and double-zipper jeans with earth shoes! I wore harem pants to school and see-through pants—yeah, clear plastic pants with a leotard beneath it. I was always trying to shock and awe with my different hair color of the week and most bizarre clothing ensembles.

The 70s were bleeding away from the 60s “love” generation and eco-friendly and going into hardcore sex, drugs, and rock-n-roll and ending on the superficial disco era that would lead into the total superficial glamour and yuppie-dom of the 80s. In retrospect, the best part of the 70s was about 74-76 because that’s when it was its own decade without other influences.

So, what did you do with your 70s? (assuming you were around then—many of you are very young critters)

Comments

  1. Awww the 70's....I was 12 when they began and had a big crush on Donny Osmond...one bad apple! I had long hair, parted in the middle and wore my bell bottom jeans with hand drawn flowers on them...flower power! I had my peace sign necklace and listen to all kinds of music...rock 'n roll! I started high school as a shy freshman and by the end of my senior year, not so shy, tee hee. My junior and senior year in high school was a blast....I hung out with all kinds of fun people. I went to community college and got a degree in fine arts. At 19 you were legal to drink in AZ at that time and my sister took me to my first bar on my 19th birthday. Those crazy 70's will always be a huge part of my life...keep on truckin'.....
    This was fun!

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  2. Julie;
    Now you got me thinking about the streaker and CB radios! Yeah, I remember I had a mad crush on my brother's best friend just about my entire life--he had a bicentennial pinto car--did you ever see one of those? Painted to look like a flag. I thought he was the coolest thing in the world! Yeah, those were some dorky fun years!

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  3. My sister had a streaker at her graduation...so funny! I forgot my 1978 Gremlin that I drove around and just loved. It took me a whole year of saving while working at Jack-in-the-box. BTW, during my freshman year, Donny was replaced by Walter, a cute sophmore I had a silly crush on for a couple of years...I wonder what he looks like now?

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  4. Julie;
    I admit I like to keep the old crushes in their youthful looks in my mind. Ah, yes, Gremlins! I love those things. I borrowed a friend's so I could parallel park for my driver's license test. I drove a 73 formula firebird with cherrybomb mufflers--what a pile of crap that was, but it looked cool!

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  5. I remember halter tops most from the 70s. And Papagalo purses. (That's what we called them, but I think they had another name. Cloth with wooden handles. Tres chic!) And of course Disco. My sister was 14 years older so for her the 70s were IT. I remember going to her apt (she's 14 years older than me) and playing her records and watching her get ready to go out and trying to understand how she knew how to do all the dance moves. I feared I'd never learn! (Didn't have to. I came of age in the 80s. PHEW!)

    Fun post. Loved your pics. It sure seems like you had a major ball back then! (And probably broke a lot of hearts in the process.)

    And Gremlins...Julie that cracked me up. My grandpa had one. Totally forgot about it until now. Thanks for the memory!

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  6. Courtney;
    I remember the halter tops--I had a zillion--and tube tops! My mom let me wear them all the time and wouldn't let my big-breasted sisters wear them. Double standard, no doubt, but I really was flat as a board then. I also recall Candies shoes--oh wow! Yeah, you didn't miss much. The thing I hated about going to hubby's 1979 high school reunion was disco nonstop--yick!

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  7. I'm sorry. My memories of the 70s are slim pickings, but you were hot. Wow. I don't think I ever looked that good in a bathing suit.

    My parents were in a band in the
    70's, so I spent the first 4 years of my life in the back of a van driving around with them from gig to gig. I don't remember it much, but it was very interesting in theory.

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  8. Jessica;
    It sounds kind of exciting and exotic! My hubby has been a drummer in bands our whole marriage. Our son grew up with the musicians coming in and out in the drum room practicing for gigs. When he was little, the band changed the lyrics to the Green Day masturbation song and sang "ship" instead of "shit" and "multiplication" instead of "masturbation." And people think musicians are airheads, but these guys were really considerate. My son sang the wrong lyrics for a while!

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  9. Tube tops, haulter tops, platform shoes, earth shoes, psychodelic, disco....ah yes more things to remember.

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  10. sock it to me, 8 tracks, far out, cool, hip, the Brady Bunch and Partridge Family....somebody stop me!

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  11. Julie;
    Pet rocks, bicentennial, John Denver, Vidal Sassoon, mood rings, suntanning, Charlie's Angels, Partridge Family, Brady Bunch, wacky packies...

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  12. First of all, you are one hot lady!
    Secondly i have been trying to get to your blog and my connection failed all day! So, with a little delay, you had a stalker??? And the police suggested to stay away from his car?I guess we are evolving.....
    Anyhoo, although i was n't born in the 70's, i also think it is a great era(legendary rock songs). But i adore 50's and 60's jazz(so pure music, clear patterns, wonderful songs and lyrics). Since then(70's) it is quite a downhill!I am downloading paranormal kids as we speak, i am very excited!
    Do you happen to know any good supernatural series besides, well, supernatural, ghost whisperer, lost, fringe and the vampire diaries? I love those shows!!!!

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  13. Georgina;
    Thanks! Yeah, well, I thought I was painfully plain growing up with brown eyes and auburn hair. I figured I was just completely boring. Back then, it was all about blondes. In fact, Cover Girl had yet to use a brown-eyed model. I can't believe I hated my eyes. Just look at my eyeball photo on this comment and I'm thrilled to have auburn eyes--they're much more mysterious than pale icy eyes. I know what you mean about other eras. I love the 1950s because the poodle skirts, the drive-in theaters, music, scifi movies, nerds, and musicals. I should have been born in the instead of the 60s!

    Okay, so shows??? "Medium" about a real life psychic and her issues with family and being a psychic.

    We had a one-season show I loved called "Flash Forward" about the whole world passing out for 2 minutes and awakening from dreams of what would happen six months from then and how they race to find out who caused it and stop bad things from happening.

    "Charmed" about 3 sisters who are witches.

    A 1960s series that was really fun was "Dark Shadows" about a vampire and some ghosts and other paranormal events in an estate.

    There was a cool show about maybe 10 years ago called "American Gothic" about a creepy little town and a boy whose father may be the devil? and whose sister's ghost tries to help him.

    Hope that helps!

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  14. Hmmmm … unusual physical attributes, e.g. your left ear's double ear lobe, have been key in demarcating individuals as outstanding in their societies. Soothsayers, shamans, shamanka, & seers are all classically found to have physical characteristics outside the norm. Others such unique traits might also include albinism, the total absence of pigment, as well as heterochromia, when ones eyes are of two differing colours. Two well known individuals with the latter trait are the former Ziggy Stardust née David Bowie & fantasy writer extraordinaire, Neil Gaiman, a common theme in whose stories is going into another world. Mine? I've two perfectly matched tri-coloured eyes. See that? You're in good company, Autumn. It jus' goes to show, dunnit? LOL!

    As for the '70s, well, I was a 'tween & a teen by then already. I spent the them pursuing & partaking in theatre, filmmaking, writing, art, & lots & lots of books on the occult, the so-called Arcane Arts, parapsychology, & many another Fortean subject matter. Oh, & mythology & folklore. Of course, there were so many subcultures, why, I had to experience most if not all of 'em! They were truly formative years for me in the best sense.

    Later in the decade, I attended college @ NYC's School of Visual Arts where I wuzz the 1st singer for the band later known as The Mad, featuring expatriate of Japan, the then unknown monster movie SFX artist, Screaming Mad George. Here's some footage from CBGB's & other Downtown venues.

    All in all, it wuzz a thyme I fully honed my distinctive Otherness, setting me as far from herd mentality as I could be, while still passing for human. I'm glad to have you in the Family. You've made this older brother beamingly proud of your accomplishments.

    Cheering on my little sister,
    Anadæ Quenyan Effro ~ (•8-D

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  15. Hey Big Brother;
    I am thrilled to call you brother-by-choice. So, my little oddity isn't so awful? When I was in modeling, I had each lobe pierced to be different but then in pageants I got talked into having it fixed. The doctor only made a subtle change--still have two lobes, just less distinct. I was tired of people asking if my boyfriend had nibbled on my ear or if someone had yanked an earring out. I was so insecure back then. I didn't realize how unique I am and how good it is to be unique. You sure had an interesting 70s! You didn't waste one second--good for you! It helped to make you the big brother I know.

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