What Chris Reed Misses Most From Childhood Years

When we think back upon our childhood years, we reminisce on things that were fun. We also think back upon things that defined the years of our childhood. Whether it was was we did, what we wore, what we watched or listened to, or how we did things, every era is well defined by its surroundings. Now,  I will look back upon my childhood years, and highlight a few things that I'd like to bring back today if I could.

To start off with things, I think most of us in the late 80s and early 90s remember the original Nintendo. I got my first unit the year they came out and it was Santa that delivered to me on Christmas morning. Like all of you who had the system, I was immediately addicted to the original Super Mario Brothers, which I conquered, and of course totally into the Duck Hunt game. I recall not really knowing what the Nintendo was at the time, but I quickly fell in love with the unit. In all, I had probably 60-80 different games. I could not wait to cut grass and get paid for doing so. Every dollar I made cutting grass at home or at the family pharmacy went directly to a new game. Looking back, my favorite game for the original Nintendo was "Super Tecmo Bowl." I spent weeks on that game.

Secondly, most of us from the 80s and 90s remember the CASSETTE TAPE!! Remember anxiously awaiting your favorite song to come on the radio and then you'd hurry and hit record? Then, at a later date going back and listening to your favorite song. I recall recording club shows on the radio, and once my best friend called a station and took part in the nightly countdown. We had it all on tape, and listened to it over and over again. The cassette tape allowed for, for the first time, for anyone to record their favorite song(s) and listen back to them at a later date/time. There was nothing like the sound of a cassette tape when you played it back, and there was nothing more aggravating than having to manually rewind the tape because a portion of the tape had come out of the shell....Uggggggghhhh!!!!

A staple of the later 80s was "Mid South Wrestling." To this day, I don't think wrestling has ever been that good since. The programming, conducted mainly in the south" was in small arenas that were poorly lit. Yet, the "characters" were so appealing and at times flat out scary. Who can forget guys like The Junkyard Dog, Hacksaw Jim Duggan, The Fabulous Freebirds, Kamala, Dr. Death Steve Williams, and so many more??? The show would always air at 9am on Sundays, and that always caused a problem in my household on Sunday mornings. Reason being, the main event would always air as we walked out to attend the Sunday morning service. Needless to say, I was never really anxious to attend church knowing that I was missing the main event of the program. My first ever show I saw Live was in Mamou, my hometown. The high school had a fund raiser, and they brought Mid South Wrestling to the high school gymnasium. I can still vividly remember the "Missing Link" defeating "Hot Stuff" Eddie Gillbert in the main event.  Still today, I often catch myself watching some of the older programs like such on youtube.

One of the toys that I can recall is "Simon." I simply recall the sound this toy made, and the lights on it. My dad's sister had one one of these, and it was the toy I had to play with when we went over to my grandparents.  Not really sure how to play this game, but we played it A LOT!!!

Lastly, when I look back on my childhood years, like so many others, the Dukes Of Hazard was a MUST SEE for me on Wednesday nights. My favorite had to have been Good Ole "Roscoe." He and Flash, his dog, were always so close to capturing the Duke Boys, but usually fell short most of the time. And when Roscoe did get his hands on the boys something would always go wrong. Not to mention, I loved the feud between Roscoe and "Boss Hog." Who could ever forget Roscoe's quick laugh???? By the way, I did have Dukes Of Hazard TV trays and pajamas. OUCH!!!

These few things define my childhood years. If I could bring each and everyone back today, I think I would. Sure we can go back and view of some of these on the PC or in a DVD Collection, yet it still would not be the same. I truly wish that this generation could experience the cassette tape. I swear, there was nothing like waiting for your favorite song to come onto the radio and you hit record. To this day, I still do have a few tapes from "back in the day." Now I ask, whats one or two things you'd like to bring back from your childhood years. Let me know, and comment blow.