she has the Knack

inspired by Momzilla's take on today's technology, and this song I ran across in a search

blue pom poms on the roller skates,
and a goofy smile on my face,
I can't help it, I still bounce
when I hear this song --
not stuck in the past,
but grounded in its reality.

I am a child of the seventies
bell bottom jeans and eight track
gave way to legwarmers and cassettes,
big hair became even bigger
as shoulder pads dwarfed our
impossibly lean bodies ...

women got smarter and richer
and some men got lazy and mean,
Blondie to Prince, Madonna and Nirvana
and being cool to have NO SELF ESTEEM
so many things to learn
so many things I have seen --

wouldn't have it any other way,
born on the cusp of a revolution,
I still remember when phones
required a cord, and you had
to lick a stamp and an envelope and
not just press send.

Author's Note

Reviews

[icelandicblue]

Nice capture of the decades. Every time I see shoulder pads I just shake my head... Love the line about no self esteem. I enjoyed the read.

[Lyn Anderson]

Thanks so much. Yes, not sure why we all wanted to walk around looking like upside down triangles

[kublakhan27]

OMG, this is so awesome...I was born in the late-70s, but everybody tells me I was born a decade too late, and they're right...the third stanza was particularly poignant...coolness and confidence used to be the same thing, now coolness is defined by how much you hate yourself...and even that doesn't save me in terms of perception...blah, screw people haha...not you though, you're awesome ;)

[Lyn Anderson]

Thanks. I happen to feel fortunate to be born at the end of the sixties and the beginning of the seventies. This was a fun write.

[ron]

OMG This was the best (and worst) of times.
No one could understand it unless they lived it.
You have brought back memories of my younger days.
Yes all of it was great, it was wonderful, it was magical.
It was sitting on the Holly Wood sign and telling the world to go screw themselves while trying to make sense of it all.
It was our time...our time that no one before us or after us could ever begin to understand...
OMG there is a poem in here some where.
Great poem KL.

[Lyn Anderson]

Thanks. We're the greatest generation aren't we? Ha ha, lol, the ones who had it the easiest, but never recognized it till after the fact.

[ron]

I think each generation thinks the same way. But we had Holly Wood bulivarde on a Friday night :)

[MsJewel]

I smiled the whole time I read your poem....Blondie is still cool...
and now I'm humming My Sharona.....
Thanks for the smiles this afternoon!

:) Julie

[Lyn Anderson]

Yes it was a fun little trip down memory lane.

[Rene Salinas]

Well I crancked the volume on this one enough said on the song front goes together with "What I like about you" The Romantics. I read momzilla's writing too and coming from someone that was pushed into IT becuase there was noone around jumping saying me,me,me me I find myself torn. On one had I have a server at home with all kinds of gizmos mainly for the purpose of testing and entertainment and the fact that my son is into learning code which seems to be a thing of the moment. On the other I don't even own a mobile phone. I take every chance I get to go for walks as I live close to the forest of dean.

Somwhere in there then

Thankyou

[Lyn Anderson]

A healthy person is a little in between. :)

[Rene Salinas]

Yay ! first time I get healthy thrown at me

[realmwriter]

I remember having to get up to change the channel and actually going outside to play. Head phones where un heard of and privacy wasn't a setting. But technology keeps advancing and in some regard, we keep going backward. Very good write my friend.

[Lyn Anderson]

Thanks. I am stubborn. I push my kids outside and they are enrolled in old fashioned things like Girl Guides. They are more active, more fit, and more mentally able than a lot of their peers. Good genes will only take you so far if you are allowed to rot in front of a tv or game console.

[realmwriter]

I agree completely. Though I will admit, I watch entirely too much T.V.

[Pryde Foltz]

I too remember those days. It's a post modern world or so they say:)

[Lyn Anderson]

I like to reminisce, but I feel sad for people who can't move past the past. It's a fine line, honouring and being stuck. Thanks for reading and reviewing.

[Pryde Foltz]

No stickiness here … move on. move on, I say. Except when I write a love poem. LOL

[Lyn Anderson]

Yes kindred spirits:)

[MomzillaNC]

OMG! That's my biography! LMAO! Gawd!

Me in the 70s: Hip-hugger bell bottoms, sheath of hair down past my arse, halter top covered with a crocheted lace pull over, topped off with a suede vest that had 6-inch fringe and turquoise beads and steel studs! And sandal mules with daisies on!

You shoulda seen my hair! Big? Naw - freaking enormous! My hair was as wide as my shoulder pads! Shoulder pads, high-low hem, and granny boots! And, waaaaaay too many bangles, plus earrings that dangled down to my shoulders!

[Lyn Anderson]

yep, I think the coolest thing is I had relatives who were 5 years older than me so I tried to dress like I was 15 when I was 10, so I got a taste of the seventies, eighties, and nineties all before I was 25. I went from "Good times" to "Growing Pains" to "Dynasty" and "Married with Children" seamlessly. When I look back at the crazy huge fluffy Sheena Easton do, I laugh my butt off. Oh, what we thought was hot ... then all the sudden my hair was hanging in my eyes and I had a bush shirt and long undies on ... ha ha ha.

[MomzillaNC]

ROTFL! Seriously, though, I kind of miss the hair (maybe not as big).

[NoelHC]

Yes, that is quite the trip back memory lane. Well, except it was my kids with the big hair and leg warmers and our first cell phone weighed like a brick.
Well written.
For some reason, whenever I hear My Sharona, I can only think of the parody version, Nine Coronas. A number of cultural touchstone icons from that era in it, at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HJ19qh4g2-o

[Lyn Anderson]

Oh, don't you dare. I don't know it, and I don't want to ruin one of my all time faves. I was thinking I was so cool, grade 5, at the roller rink. I don't want some other lyrics bouncing around in my head ...:)

[NoelHC]

See my comment on open mindedness on your Wishy Washy poem. Now you have to listen to Nine Coronas.

[Lyn Anderson]

Oh no don't make me do it. I will come and kick your butt if it sticks in my head.:)

[Lyn Anderson]

Okay, you won, I did it. It is a decidedly male song. I think a woman should come up with a rebuttal.

[Coyote Poetry]

Good music and amazing poetry. I miss the days of family meals and time of playing games on Friday night with kids. Today rarely a good conversation. I was raised in the days when the music was loud and we appreciated hard work and connecting with people. Thank you for sharing the excellent poetry.
Coyote

[Lyn Anderson]

Yes, I feel blessed to be born when I was. Past the angst and right into the fun ...

[Coyote Poetry]

Me too. I was stationed in Germany from 1976-1980. Relax and good days. I wouldn't trade them away.