Saturdays in the 80s were my favorite day of the week and now seem simply magical. My typical day started at 7:00 a.m. I remember wishing I could sleep in until noon like many of my friends did. However, as soon as the sun brightened my room, it was impossible for me to sleep. It didn't bother me too terribly bad, because I felt sleeping in was just a waste of valuable daylight, a philosophy I've actually held my whole life.
Mornings
Breakfast usually consisted of a cereal like Honeycomb or Wheaties. My Mom wouldn't buy sugary cereals for us, so my brother and I would use our own money to buy cereals like Cookie Crisp, or Franken Berry. These delicacies were reserved exclusively for Saturdays.
If I was still hungry after my big bowl of cereal, I would make a couple pieces of toast with butter & marmalade, or apple butter. The next obvious course of action was planting it on the living room couch to watch the boob tube for a few hours or so.
Cereal commercials for Franken Berry, Count Chocula, and Cap'n Crunch actually had ongoing story lines and characters that in all rights were more entertaining than many of the cartoons shown on Saturdays. The most popular prime time Saturday morning cartoons didn't start until about 8:00 a.m. but there were still plenty of good ones to watch like The Flintstones, Looney Tunes, Jonny Quest, Tom and Jerry, and countless others.
Cereal commercials for Franken Berry, Count Chocula, and Cap'n Crunch actually had ongoing story lines and characters that in all rights were more entertaining than many of the cartoons shown on Saturdays. The most popular prime time Saturday morning cartoons didn't start until about 8:00 a.m. but there were still plenty of good ones to watch like The Flintstones, Looney Tunes, Jonny Quest, Tom and Jerry, and countless others.
Midday
After cartoons were over, I would do my chores which consisted of yardwork and cleaning my room, and then it was time to grab lunch and watch some monster movies. We didn't have cable when I was a kid, so I was raised on good old fashioned local television networks. KWGN channel 2 in Denver Colorado did a bang up job with their afternoon and late night programming, especially on the weekends.
After cartoons were over, I would do my chores which consisted of yardwork and cleaning my room, and then it was time to grab lunch and watch some monster movies. We didn't have cable when I was a kid, so I was raised on good old fashioned local television networks. KWGN channel 2 in Denver Colorado did a bang up job with their afternoon and late night programming, especially on the weekends.
After Saturday morning cartoons were over, old school monster movies and sci-fi flicks were shown until about 3:00 in the afternoon. I think I saw every classic movie monster staple throughout the 80s on channel 2. I remember watching classics like The Wolfman, Frankenstein, Creature from the Black Lagoon, Godzilla, The Blob, Mighty Joe Young, and an endless array of B-Movie goodness.
My Mom would occasionally see what I was watching, and interject how she remembered seeing those movies in the theater or drive-in. She would comment about the way things were during the era of the 50s, as well as the surf craze that was so prevalent in many of the teen horror flicks from that time. I always loved listening to her stories and its one of the reasons I've always been fascinated with the recent past. Watching the TV until 3:00 p.m. was out of the question for me unless it was snowing or raining. Therefore, next on the agenda was spending the rest of my day outside.
Afternoon
I spent many a Saturday flying kites. The Gayla kite company made a heck of a kite back in the 80s that was affordable, and barring too many crashes back down to earth, were incredibly durable. The first thing I would do when buying a new kite, was to buy two rolls of kite string and combine them into one spool. My friends and I would see just how high we could fly our kites, and there were times we'd fly them so high, they'd appear as tiny specks in the sky. If you took your eyes off them for too long, it would take you awhile to locate the your kite again.
The kite of choice for my friends and I was the Gayla "Baby Bat" model of kites. They were all black and came with two adhesive blood shot eyeball decals. There were also blue models that I believe had a yellow keel. We always hoped for fast side winds so we could fly them low over the road while hiding behind fences so as to freak people out who were driving by. I'm not sure if we ever frightened anyone, but we were pretty proud of ourselves for dreaming up such shenanigans.
I even remember the model of my old tackle box, which was a tan 'OLD PAL 1050'. It's very similar to the one pictured above, but mine had blue accents. If I can find one on eBay or Etsy, I'll be snatching it up for sure.
I do still own the very first fishing rod I got at seven years of age. My Dad actually restored it and gifted it to me recently. Whenever I hold that little Shakespeare fishing rod in my hands, it makes me want to take up the hobby once again. I haven't actively fished in over twenty years and I really can't come up with any good reasons why I stopped.
My first bicycle
A Murray Motocross-1 from SEARS
My favorite form of entertainment as a kid hands down, was riding my bike. I logged thousands upon thousands of hours pedaling through my youth on a bike exactly like the one you see here. The beginning of many a Saturday afternoon began with me oiling up the chain on my BMX bike, airing up the tires, and heading out for a day of adventure. I'd ride around to my friends houses one by one to gather up the gang to cruise around the neighborhood, or go off road to have some fun.
My best friend lived across town, so many a weekend I would load the bike up in the family car, and my Mom would drop me off in the early morning for the day, or to spend the night. Since he lived out in the country, we had some incredible biking adventures through the years.
We'd start early by packing lunches for ourselves that usually consisted of sandwiches and chips. We'd stop by the gas station to get some bottles of pop, trading cards, and lots of junk food. Then it was off for a day of exploring and adventure. Many times we'd bring our fishing gear or kites with us, which insured a full day of fun.
We loved buying Doritos, and Chicken in a Biskit crackers with cans of 'Easy Cheese'. We would have competitions to see how high of a cheese tower we could spray atop a cracker, and still be able to eat it in one bite. Another time we got a bunch of plastic straws from 7-Eleven, and stuck them together to make some really long straws. Each of us got our own personal 2 liter bottle of soda and used those super long straws, rather than having to pour the soda pop into glasses.
So in short, this was a typical Saturday for me on many a weekend. While there are so many other things I enjoyed doing during my free time in the 80s, these activities are what stand out most vividly. How about you? Does anything listed here ring a bell, or sound similar to your weekend activities as a kid? Do your weekends now even come close to the weekends you enjoyed as a child? I know mine sure do not. Now that I think of it, that really is kind of a sad statement. Maybe its high time I do something about that.
My first bicycle
A Murray Motocross-1 from SEARS
My best friend lived across town, so many a weekend I would load the bike up in the family car, and my Mom would drop me off in the early morning for the day, or to spend the night. Since he lived out in the country, we had some incredible biking adventures through the years.
We'd start early by packing lunches for ourselves that usually consisted of sandwiches and chips. We'd stop by the gas station to get some bottles of pop, trading cards, and lots of junk food. Then it was off for a day of exploring and adventure. Many times we'd bring our fishing gear or kites with us, which insured a full day of fun.
Evening
At the end of the day we'd quickly run inside for dinner, and then it was right back outside for more playtime. We didn't think of heading back indoors until well after sun set, and would stay out as late as we possibly could. When we finally came indoors and settled down, we'd sit around reading comic books until more great 80s programming came on TV.
Usually by 9:00 p.m. on a Saturday night, professional wrestling and music videos ruled the airwaves. If we were lucky, we'd be able to catch a Hulk Hogan or Andre the Giant wrestling match. Afterward, we'd flip through the channels searching for the newest music videos. Finally, we'd search for something spooky or stimulating to watch, like late night horror flicks, Elvira Mistress of the Dark, or the Benny Hill show.
At the end of the day we'd quickly run inside for dinner, and then it was right back outside for more playtime. We didn't think of heading back indoors until well after sun set, and would stay out as late as we possibly could. When we finally came indoors and settled down, we'd sit around reading comic books until more great 80s programming came on TV.
Usually by 9:00 p.m. on a Saturday night, professional wrestling and music videos ruled the airwaves. If we were lucky, we'd be able to catch a Hulk Hogan or Andre the Giant wrestling match. Afterward, we'd flip through the channels searching for the newest music videos. Finally, we'd search for something spooky or stimulating to watch, like late night horror flicks, Elvira Mistress of the Dark, or the Benny Hill show.
Back in the day, many TV stations didn't run programming for 24 hours and would cease broadcasting between midnight and two in the morning. It simply wasn't profitable enough for them to cater to such a small viewing audience. At the end of the broadcasting day, many of these networks would play the Star Spangled Banner accompanied by a video of the American flag waving in the wind. We would always watch the tribute to the very end. Finally after a couple of minutes, the network's test pattern would fill the screen accompanied by an annoying constant electronic tone. It was only then that we'd finally turn the TV off. However, it wasn't the end of the day for us by far.
Late Night
It was like a game for my friends and I to see exactly how late we could stay up. The first matter of business was to raid the kitchen for some snacks and sweets to fuel up on. Once we started making more money of our own, we really stepped up our late night snack game. We would buy drinks like JOLT Cola, Cherry Coke, Dr. Pepper and Mellow Yellow. We didn't much care what brand of pop we were drinking, as long as it was caffeinated and sweet. Red Baron frozen pizza was a must for us to cook up at about 3:00 a.m.
It was like a game for my friends and I to see exactly how late we could stay up. The first matter of business was to raid the kitchen for some snacks and sweets to fuel up on. Once we started making more money of our own, we really stepped up our late night snack game. We would buy drinks like JOLT Cola, Cherry Coke, Dr. Pepper and Mellow Yellow. We didn't much care what brand of pop we were drinking, as long as it was caffeinated and sweet. Red Baron frozen pizza was a must for us to cook up at about 3:00 a.m.
I remember my best friend's Old Man stumbling downstairs late one night in his underwear and wife beater, as we were cooking up a pizza and sipping on soda. We thought we were in big trouble for sure. However, he poured himself a glass of water and sat at the table with us for a few minutes. He grabbed a slice of our pizza, briefly chewed the fat with us, and wandered back off to bed. All the while he had a sly grin on his face. While he could be a stern Dad, he would surprise us from time to time by acting like a big kid. He really was a heck of a guy.
Its funny, I don't remember ever getting a stomach ache or anything of the like from eating this way. Today the thought of eating like this makes me shudder. On the forefront of my mind is how my cholesterol levels would spike, and the pummeling my arteries would take. There was a couple of big differences back then however. Food wasn't as ultra processed as it is today, and everything was made with real sugar. But the biggest factor as to why we weren't incredibly unhealthy, is that we didn't eat like this every day. We didn't even eat like this every weekend. We also played incredibly hard, most certainly creating a calorie deficit.
We'd then keep each other awake by talking about the mysteries of life, future plans, girls, (which I guess could've qualified as one of the great mysteries of life). Topics ranging from Bigfoot, dreams of the future, and summer long road trips would fuel our imagination and made it easy to stay up all night long. Many a sunrise on Sunday morning is when we finally closed our eyes for some rest, only to be awakened by our folks a half hour later to get ready for church.
So in short, this was a typical Saturday for me on many a weekend. While there are so many other things I enjoyed doing during my free time in the 80s, these activities are what stand out most vividly. How about you? Does anything listed here ring a bell, or sound similar to your weekend activities as a kid? Do your weekends now even come close to the weekends you enjoyed as a child? I know mine sure do not. Now that I think of it, that really is kind of a sad statement. Maybe its high time I do something about that.