February 08, 2008

A Trip Through the Wayback Machine


These days the media are all about reality TV, and true-life tales of terror, and racy confessions. Well, here's some true-life terror from the teen years. Every so often I find it useful to look over old writings and yearbooks, or brainstorm about what I remember from high school. It's a good exercise for mining those true-life details that make fiction come alive, and it's fun...albeit rather cringe-worthy. For instance, take the poem snippet up there to the right. I wrote it at the tender age of 14. And there's more where that came from. It's a veritable morass of angst, gloom, and unending pathos, punctuated by the occasional faerie or dragon.

So, instead of dwelling on the truly horrible poetry I wrote, I've decided to take a look back at some more...environmental details, if you will. Today's Wayback Machine is taking me back to...my room. Specifically, what I had on my walls circa the early 1990s. Please note that not all of this was up at the same time. But lots of it was.

  • On my bedroom door: a poster of a panther very similar to this one.

  • On my closet door: a poster of Jim Morrison very similar to this one.

  • Also on my closet door: small pictures of various actors cut out of magazines, including but not limited to Charlie Sheen, John Stamos, Johnny Depp, River Phoenix, and Yahoo Serious. (I'm dating myself now!)

  • A very large poster of the night sky/constellation map, which glowed in the dark.

  • On the ceiling: a bunch of those little glow-in-the-dark sticky stars.

  • This Sandman poster by Mike Dringenberg.

  • A painted carved-wooden wall hanging that my mom gave me when I was little that said "Girls Can Do Anything."


I think that's about it. In any case, that's all I can remember of what was on the walls. I was never the sort of person who had the walls completely plastered with stuff. That was kind of discouraged in my house, plus I wasn't really inclined to do it anyway. Oh--and the walls were painted light blue-green (my color choice). So there you have it--the teenage a. fortis as reflected by my room decor choices. Just don't ask me what I was wearing.

6 comments:

tanita✿davis said...

Hey, *I* want glow in the dark stars. We had that nasty popcorn ceiling so nothing would stick up there.

I wasn't allowed to read teen magazines so I didn't have TigerBeat pictures (or anything rock and roll, God forbid.) Hidden on the back of her door, my sister had a poster of Boy George - whom I, of course, thought was a girl.

These are good -- if disturbing -- details...

Okay. I'm leaving my room now. Quickly. Closing the door....

Sara said...

I know I was supposed to be reading the poem, but I kept admiring your handwriting instead. :) As a terrible, terrible chicken-scratch hand writer, I'm impressed with all your loops (and your neatness.)

I had a closet full of Nancy Drew books that I had bought used for a quarter apiece. And I had a green desk and chair, which I never sat at. I used the chair to pile my clothes on, so I didn't have to hang them up again.

David T. Macknet said...

Hey! I didn't get to have stars on the ceiling 'til just a few years ago!

A Paperback Writer said...

I can date myself farther back than you can!
When I was in 7th grade, I had posters of Shaun Cassidy all over my walls. Oh my.

Anonymous said...

I had some kind of popcorn ceiling, but I managed to place the stars in between the popcorn bits.
Why don't we ever think to take picture of our bedrooms when we are teens? I don't have any pictures. Hmm. Who did I fancy? Back in 6 - 8th grade there was the New Kids on the Block, who I hear are getting back together. I had a lot of Kurt Cobain posters. I was very angsty as a teen. I also loved the Cure, but I don't think they were making posters of them any more. Guess that ages me? :)

David T. Macknet said...

They'd be the old kids on the block again or something! They can't be the new kids anymore! Aaaaaaaaaa!