By Linda Shiue

I was cleaning out my in box and found this email (actually a chain email of happiness) that my friend forwarded me a few years ago.  It's a good trip down memory lane for us girls who grew up in America in the 1970s and 1980s.  It sounds like such an innocent time (also low-tech, possibly toxic, and in some cases, dangerous).  I am glad that my own daughters still know about and covet some of these things, like the Little House books, Scholastic book club, Easy Bake Oven, shrinky dinks and stickers.  I would like another pair of those Dr. Scholl's sandals.  See if you recognize yourself here:

YOU WERE A GIRL IN THE 70S (and 80s) IF...

You wore a rainbow shirt that had half-sleeves; the rainbow went up one sleeve, across your chest, and down the other.

You made baby chocolate cakes in your Easy Bake Oven and washed them down with snow cones from your Snoopy Snow Cone Machine.

You had that Fisher Price Doctor's Kit with a stethoscope that actually worked.

You owned a bicycle with a banana seat and a plastic basket with flowers on it.

You learned to skate with actual skates (not roller blades) that had metal wheels.

You thought Gopher from the Love Boat was cute! (Admit it!)

You had nightmares after watching Fantasy Island.

You had rubber boots for rainy days and Moon boots for snowy days.

You had either a "bowl cut" or "pixie," not to mention the "Dorothy Hamill" because your Mom was sick of braiding your hair. People sometimes thought you were a boy.

Your Holly Hobbie sleeping bag was your most prized possession.

You wore a poncho, gauchos, and knickers.

You begged Santa for the electronic game Simon.

You could spend hours playing Pong!

You had the Donnie and Marie dolls with those pink and purple satiny shredded outfits.

You spent hours in your backyard on your metal swing set with the trapeze.(The swing set tipped over at least once!)

You were really into ping pong and pogo sticks.

You had homemade ribbon barrettes in every imaginable color.

You had a pair of Doctor Scholl's sandals (the ones with hard sole &the

buckle).

You wanted to be Laura Ingalls Wilder really bad; you wore that Little House on the Prairie-inspired plaid, ruffle shirt with the high neck in at least one school picture; and you despised Nellie Olson!

You wanted your first kiss to be at a roller rink.

Your hairstyle was described as having "wings" or "feathers" and you kept it "pretty" with the comb you kept in your back pocket.

You had to make sure that no boys would grab the comb out of your back pocket and skate away at the roller rink!

You know who Strawberry Shortcake is, as well as her friends, Blueberry Muffin and Huckleberry Pie.

You carried a lunch box to school and it was metal, not plastic.

You and your girlfriends would fight over which of the Dukes of Hazard was your boyfriend.

Every now and then "It's a Hard Knock Life" from the movie, "Annie" will pop into your brain and you can't stop singing it the whole day.

YOU had Star Wars action figures, too!

It was a big event in your household each year when the "Wizard of Oz" would come on TV. Your mom would break out the popcorn and sleeping bags!

You often asked your Magic-8 ball the question: "Who will I marry. Shaun Cassidy, Leif Garrett, or Andy Gibb?"

You completely wore out your Grease, Saturday Night Fever, and Fame soundtrack record albums.

You tried to do lots of arts and crafts, like yarn and Popsicle-stick God's eyes, decoupage, or those weird potholders made on a plastic loom.

You made Shrinky-Dinks and put iron-on kittens on your t-shirts!

You used to tape record songs off the radio by holding your portable tape player up to the speaker.

You couldn't wait to get the free animal poster that came when you ordered books from the Scholastic book club.

Double score if it was a teddy bear dressed in clothing. And the posters always had permanent creases because they came folded!

You learned everything you needed to know about "the facts of life" from Judy Blume books.

You thought Olivia Newton John's song "Physical" was about aerobics.

You wore friendship pins on your tennis shoes, or shoelaces with heart or rainbow designs.

You wanted to be a Solid Gold dancer.

You had a Big Wheel with a brake on the side, and a Sit-n-Spin.

How about drowning yourself in Love's Baby Soft? The first "real" perfume you ever owned!

You had subscriptions to Dynamite and Tiger Beat.

You spent your allowance on Smurfs and stickers for your sticker album!