30 Years of MTV!

I was 8 years old. I didn't turn 9 until Sept 13th.

I remember I was at a friend's house we were having a slumber party, and they had cable. We all decided that we were going to stay awake until midnight to see the airing of this new channel called MTV.

As it turned out, only one friend and I managed to stay awake, and in the dark of the den with the glow of the consul TV we witnessed the future of music. MTV!

The guitar rift that has now immortalized the opening segments and the introductions of the music videos still sends chills down my spine and makes me tingle with excitement.

"Video Killed the Radio Star" was the first video aired and it was a great song! Still is...

From that moment on, the 80's were defined as the "Music Generation" and you know we did have the best music of any generation.

But, our music was defined by something that no other generation could claim. The 80's was a transition decade. We were at the beginning of the Technological Age and the end of the Cold War. We defined music, fashion, TV, and Movies.

Everything was iconic during the 80's.

I feel privileged to have grown up during the 80's. Anthropologist call the 80's the "Teenage Decade" and it was. It was great being a teen in the 80's. It seemed as if everything was made for us, and we felt as if we were on top of the world. We had cool music, cool clothes, cool everything.

Life was still good in the 80's people for the most part still felt safe. Kids could still go out and hang out on their own without too much worry. America was still #1!

There were some fears that loomed over us. One was always the threat of a Nuclear attack, which was just epitomized by movies such as: "Wargames" "The Day After" "The Terminator"

It was such a real threat to us Nuclear War. Inside of us we all had this latent fear that one day we would be sitting in front of our TV's watch MTV when that awful Emergency Broadcast System buzzer starts going off to tell us the the Soviets had launched an ICBM and it was headed for America.

I remember actually being terrified every time they tested the EBS. Even today, I break out in a cold sweat every time I hear that sound. It is almost like a PTSD symptom. No wonder so many of us in our 40's now take Anti-Anxiety medication.

So many event defined the 80's.

• The Reagan shooting
• The Challenger Disaster 
• The First Woman in Space
•  Mt. St. Helen eruption
•  John Lennon killed
• AIDS
• US Embassy Bombing in Beirut
• Chernobyl
• Bombing of Pan Am 103
• The Fall of the Berlin Wall

These were just a few. 

You know when  I look back, I realized that I was really lucky to grow up in the 80's. I think of all the positive things that happened. The most important being the advances of Technology. 

I look back and I think, "Wow, my cell phone has more memory and power and processing capabilities then my first computer!" What I think is also so great, is that my generation got to try out all these new toys! We were the test group. Which is probably why those of us in our 40's are so technologically savvy. We got to play with this stuff FIRST!

You know, it is funny but the Geeks really did inherit the earth! All those kids we made fun of. The pocket protector posse. The AV guys. The D&D groups. Yeah, we were mean but, these guys are now laughing in the faces of all the jocks who gave them wedges and swirlies because the jocks are now working for these guys who are now multimillionaires. 

I have good friend who is about 6 months older than I. He is one of those guys. He is a guy I would have probably snickered at, would have looked at him in awe and thought he was nuts for all the crazy technology and fantasy stuff that he was into. But, now this guy is the head of the technology department of a college in my town, and to be honest he is kinda sexy in a geeky sort of way! Isn't that weird? 

Wow, 30 years. Has it been that long? Has it been that long that life seemed simple and carefree, that we as teenagers thought we were invincible and nothing can touch us? 

We were arrogant. I give you that. My generation is probably the most arrogant generation of them all. We had everything and we wanted everything. 

We are also the longest working generation then any other. 

What do I mean by that? 

Easy. 

My generation those of us in our 40's, started working around 15 years old. So from 15 to 40 that is 25 years. Now we probably won't be retiring until we are at least 75 years old, so take 40 to 75 and you have 35 years. That is 60 YEARS!!!! SIXTY!!!! My generation will have been steadily employed for SIXTY YEARS!!! 

Isn't that incredible? My generation will probably require the most resources than any generation before or after too. We were are a transitive generation, we literally straddled to worlds. The world of the Baby Boomers and the world of the Gen Y'ers. We can literally see two sides of the same coin. 

It is amazing. 

Our parents were Baby Boomers and our Children are Gen Y'ers or Millennial. We have parents who don't get our music, and our kids who are embarrassed because we like Their music! LOL.... 

• Our parents don't get our technology, our kids teach us about our technology
• Our parents talk about the Great Depression, our kids live in an Economic Downturn. 
• Our parents talk about Pearl Harbor, our kids remember 9/11
• Our parents remember the Kennedy Assassination, our kids celebrate Bin Laden's death. 
• Our parents remember Dick Clark's American Bandstand, our kids celebrated the Millennium with Dick Clark
• Our parents were glad when we helped poor Afghanistan against the big bad Soviets, our kids are fighting in the desert because of the help. 

It is fantastic. I think my Generation is the luckiest generation of all times. I love my generation. I love being almost 40. I love knowing that I have lived through some of the most fantastic events in history. 

...and I'm so glad that I got a chance to see the Premier of MTV!