I grew up in the 70’s and the 80’s. It was a great time to be a kid. In many ways, I feel sorry for the kids of this generation. They are missing out on so much. One of the things I miss about that time? The Jukebox. I know they are still around, but you almost never see them anymore, and with the advent of iTunes and digital music, they are becoming completely obsolete. Everyone can listen to their own music anytime they want, but to me a Jukebox brought a sense of community. Everyone is listening to the same thing at the same time, but if you put in your quarters, you get to choose what you want to hear too. The best of both worlds.
I have a special place in my heart for them. During one of the most difficult times of my childhood, my dad bought a Jukebox and put it in our living room. Amazing. Once a month or so, my dad would take us to a record store called Licorice Pizza. We would spend hours picking out the 45’s we wanted to hear. When we got home we would rush to lift open the top of the Jukebox and load all the records exactly the way we wanted. I would write down the letter number combinations on the little pieces of paper so we would know which buttons played which one.
And one of the best parts? Of course my dad had rigged it so we didn’t need quarters, my friends would come over and we would dance for hours. We had dance parties in the afternoons after school and on the weekends. We would put on the perfect outfits, take Polaroid pictures, and dance and dance.
I’m sure the neighbors loved the blaring rock and roll and disco music, and the gaggle of unsupervised, screaming, giggling preteens converging on my house on a daily basis. Ahh, the good old days.
I know kids now have iPhones, iPads and speakers they can hook up to do the exact same thing but there was something about the Jukebox that made these times special. I was sad when we finally got rid of it but I never forgot that it made a very difficult time a lot more fun. I think it has something to do with the fact that I had a very cool dad who knew he couldn’t fix a difficult situation but he tried his best to make it easier. For me, that’s enough.
Do you have something you miss from your childhood? Leave me a comment below and let me know!
My students had an hour of work time today, and I put my iphone on pandora and played oldies music: basically 1960s happy rock. The kids were singing along to American Pie, etc. It reminded me of being at a diner with a jukebox, where the music is mostly all good and everyone has to sing along.
I had a great childhood, but you had me slightly jealous for a second.
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American Pie is awesome. I bet they love working to music! What a good teacher you are. I bet you are one of those favorites that they will talk about for years to come. Good job!
You need to post some of those pictures.
I’m not sure that’s a good idea. Lol