Deborah Woehr

If you were a girl in the 70’s…

You had that Fisher Price Doctor’s Kit with a stethoscope that actually worked.

You owned a bicycle with a banana seat and a plastic basket with flowers on it. My bike had flowers on the banana seat.

You learned to skate with actual skates (not roller blades) that had metal wheels. Yep. I loved the way they clacked on the asphalt when I tried to “walk” in them.

You thought Gopher from Love Boat was cute (admit it!) Yep. He was a babe magnet.

You had nightmares after watching Fantasy Island. Never. I looked forward to hearing Tatoo’s “De plane! De plane!”

You had either a “bowl cut” or “pixie”, not to mention the “Dorothy Hamill”. Long and poker straight because that’s all my hair likes to do.

People sometimes thought you were a boy.

You had rubber boots for rainy days and Moon boots for snowy days.

YEAH! You owned a “Slip-n-Slide”, on which you injured yourself on a sprinkler head more than once.

You owned “Klick-Klacks” and smacked yourself in the face more than once

Your Holly Hobbie sleeping bag was your most prized possession. I had a Holly Hobbie bedroom set in those horrid orange and yellow 70’s colors.

You wore a poncho, gauchos, and knickers. Remember Dittos? I loved them at the time. Looking back, that saddle stitch made everyone’s butt look bigger than it was.

You begged Santa for the electronic game, Simon. I was into playing outside at the time, clacking around with my now-antique skates.

You had the Donnie and Marie dolls with those pink and purple satiny shredded outfits, or the sunshine family. Nope. My sister and I each got a Cher doll, whose hair became one giant fuzzball afro within a week.

You spent hours in your backyard on your metal swing set with the trapeze. The swing set tipped over at least once.

You had homemade ribbon barrettes in every imaginable color. (Oh yeah!)

You had a pair of Doctor Scholl’s sandals (the ones with hard sole & the buckle). You also had a pair of salt-water sandals. Neither one. I was thrilled when my mother bought me my first pair of Nikes.

You wanted to be Laura Ingalls Wilder really bad; you wore that Little House on the Prairie-inspired plaid, ruffle shirt with the high neck in at least one school picture and you despised Nellie Oleson! Loved the show, but had already outgrown plaid (thanks to those awful Garanamals outfits) and pigtails.

You wanted your first kiss to be at a roller rink!

PONG! “video tennis” ) was the most remarkable futuristic game you’ve ever heard of!

Your hairstyle was described as having “wings” or “feathers” and you kept it “pretty” with the comb you kept in your back pocket. When you walked, the “wings” flapped up and down, looked like you were gonna “take off” Oh, how I tried to train my hair into this style. On a warm day and half a can of hairspray, it was doable.

You know who Strawberry Shortcake is, as well as her friends, Blueberry Muffin and Huckleberry Pie.

You carried a Muppets lunch box to school and it was metal, not plastic. With the thermos inside some were glass inside and broke the first time you dropped them.

You and your girlfriends would fight over which of the Dukes of Hazzard was your boyfriend. Happy Days was the most popular show in my neighborhood at the time. The cool girls made up this “Fonzie Club” and would go around all day saying “Whoa!” or “Aye!” God, I wish I’d had access to a video camera back then so I could embarrass them at our high school reunion. I know–Evil Deb.

YOU had Star Wars action figures, too!

It was a big event in your household each year when the “Wizard of Oz” would come on TV. Your mom would break out the popcorn and sleeping bags!

You often asked your Magic-8 ball the question: “Who will I marry.

Shaun Cassidy, Leif Garrett, or David Cassidy? My sister and I were big on Shaun Cassidy and Parker Stevenson when they starred in The Hardy Boys.

You completely wore out your Grease, Saturday Night Fever, and Fame soundtrack record album. Almost.

You tried to do lots of arts and crafts, like yarn and Popsicle-stick God’s eyes, decoupage, or those weird potholders made on a plastic loom. Those were fun.

You made Shrinky-Dinks and put iron-on kittens on your t-shirts!

You used to tape record songs off the radio by holding your portable tape player up to the speaker. Yep. God help my little brothers should they make a noise.

You had subscriptions to Dynamite and Tiger Beat. I didn’t have a subscription, but I loved to walk down to the thrift store to buy a copy.

You learned everything you needed to know about girl issues from Judy Blume books. (Are you there God, It’s me, Margaret.) Remember that book “Forever”? My parents had a fit when they realized that it contained explicit sex. They confiscated the book. Years later, I found it in their nightstand with other “items”. Um-hmm.

You thought Olivia Newton John’s song “Physical” was about aerobics.?? its not??)

You wore friendship pins on your tennis shoes, or shoelaces with heart or r a i n b o w designs. The shoelaces were more my thing.

You wanted to be a Solid Gold dancer. No, but I enjoyed dancing.

You drowned yourself in Love’s Baby Soft - which was the first “real” perfume you ever owned. Avon’s Sweet Honesty

You glopped your lips in Strawberry Roll-on lip-gloss till it almost dripped off. I loved the Cola lip gloss.