Oh Baby, I Think You Are Lost in the 70's

My guilty pleasure this summer has been watching "Swingtown". I went into it hoping for some fun music (it delivered) and maybe a little summertime soapy goodness(also delivered). But I ended up with more nostalgia than I'd bargained for. It made me search for my Dr. Scholls (unsuccessful - may need to buy a pair) and yearn for the days when I could look cute in a halter. It has made me wish I could let my kids ride their bikes till the street lights came on (like I did) instead of either having an eye on them or worrying about them every moment that they're out of my sight. If their bikes could be 10-speeds with rams horn curled handlebars, that would be a serious bonus.

More surprisingly, though, is the cooking/baking I've been doing since I started watching this show. I've been calling my mom for recipes she regularly trotted out in the 70's and I have been enjoying their yummy comfort way more than is probably reasonable. I made a tuna casserole when one of Lea's friends was over last week. She loved it - had never heard of it before - and wondered if her parents knew how to make it. This weekend I baked a cherry cheesecake that uses a box of yellow cake mix in the recipe. Now I make a really excellent cheesecake from scratch (if I do say so myself), but it has never satisfied me the way this trip down memory lane has done. In the oven right now is what will become a Jell-O poke cake - a staple at any potluck in the late 70's/early 80's. And I am seriously jonesing for some Watergate Salad. And a Tab. With a pop top.

I was at Barnes and Noble the other day and I noticed a relatively large display of old Billy Joel CD's (and, yes, I typed "albums" originally and had to delete it...) So apparently I'm not riding this wave of nostalgia alone. The title of this post, for those who don't recognize it, is taken from an old Billy Joel song, "All You Want to Do is Dance". I realize I've used it out of context, but I think it works. Speaking of music and not being alone on this wave, how about "Mamma Mia"?

"Swingtown" has also reminded me of how ubiquitous AM radio was in that era. You just always had the radio on. I loved laying on the beach, soaking up those harmful UV rays, and listening to my own as well as everyone else's radio. You'd hear several stations at once because of this, but it never annoyed me. I liked it. It was the beach. Now that everyone listens to their own MP-3 players that is something that is gone forever, I guess. My daughter is so used to being in total control of everything she listens to all the time that she has a really disproportionate response when her charge runs out and she is forced to listen to something that she didn't personally choose. It doesn't seem right or fair to her. I grew up listening to my music, my parents music, my grandparents music - whatever was on. I think it made me more well rounded. So while, in retrospect I realize that disco did indeed suck, at the time I was as likely to be listening to Donna Summers or Rod Stewart as Heart or Jethro Tull.

Sigh.

Have a nice day :-)