118 - How Did We Survive the 80s & 90s - PART DUEX

The one where  Fern and Nat take a chaotic time machine back to the 80s and 90s to ask a very important question:

Who actually rewinded VHS tapes?

We also revisit the technological chaos that raised us. Think dial-up internet that sounded like a robot fighting, burning CDs, and the legendary computer-destroying adventures of LimeWire.

Plus who remembers shopping for back to school? 

If you grew up in the 80s or 90s, prepare for a nostalgia avalanche. If you didn’t, you might wonder how our parents let us live like unsupervised action movie extras.

Follow us on Instagram @Limitlesscouple305 for more chaos!

Transcript

SPEAKER_02 0:01

Welcome back to Limitless Table Talk, the only podcast where two people survived the 80s and 90s with zero parental supervision and somehow still have all our fingers. I'm Fern.

SPEAKER_04 0:15

I'm Nat, and welcome to Limitless Table Talk. And by the way, speak for yourself. I definitely lost emotional stability somewhere around dial up internet.

SPEAKER_02 0:26

That dial-up sound was basically the national anthem of the 90s. Are you done? No. No.

SPEAKER_04 0:42

I don't think kids today nowadays understand the courage it took to hear that noise and just hope that the internet would actually work.

SPEAKER_02 0:53

Oh good God. And if somebody picked up the phone.

SPEAKER_04 0:55

Forget it. You're done.

SPEAKER_02 0:56

Done. Dunzo. Dunzo. Because all of a sudden it just kicks you, it boots you right off.

SPEAKER_04 1:02

Mm-hmm. You you would just get kicked off, and then I remember yelling, get off the phone. I'm on AOL.

SPEAKER_02 1:13

But I need to call your tia.

SPEAKER_04 1:16

And then I sometimes I'd be like, like if my mom was the one that said that, I'd be like, Cool, mom, you just ruined my entire my entire social life.

SPEAKER_02 1:27

Yep. No lime wire for you today.

SPEAKER_04 1:30

No, it was horrible. Like you wanted to get on the internet. You had to like announce to everyone that you were gonna be using the internet and nobody better use the phone. But the problem was you had to hope nobody called.

SPEAKER_02 1:44

Well, you gotta hope that nobody called and picked up.

SPEAKER_04 1:47

Well, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 1:49

Because I don't think the calling, I don't know if the calling ritual it would boot you out. It's crazy talk.

SPEAKER_04 1:56

I don't remember like I believe it did.

SPEAKER_02 1:59

I don't even remember it like that.

SPEAKER_04 2:01

I don't remember my house phone ringing that much unless it was like for me.

SPEAKER_03 2:07

But whatever.

SPEAKER_04 2:09

Anyway. So, guys, this is a continuation of last week's conversation of growing up in the 80s and 90s.

SPEAKER_02 2:20

You're gonna hear all about it yet again. Part due.

SPEAKER_04 2:25

There was a lot of stuff we didn't get to talk about.

SPEAKER_02 2:28

There is, there is there was so much that we wanted to jump in on, but kind of ran out of time.

SPEAKER_04 2:33

How about I don't know about your household, but in mine it was let's talk about the one house phone situation. Okay Like the cord stretched from the kitchen, like three zip codes down the way.

SPEAKER_00 2:48

Yes.

SPEAKER_04 2:49

Just so you can get some privacy.

SPEAKER_00 2:51

Yes.

SPEAKER_04 2:52

And then like for me, I'd be in the hallway whispering like a spy.

SPEAKER_02 2:57

Because you didn't want anybody to hear.

SPEAKER_04 2:59

Well, I didn't want anybody to hear what I was talking about. But luckily the thing stretched out 25 feet, except it wouldn't stretch out all the way to your and then when my house got two phone lines, not two phone lines, sorry, two phones, my bad, and my parents would pick up the other line while I was on the phone still talking, I would immediately hang up because like now the CIA is listening to me.

SPEAKER_02 3:26

They were there. You had that one friend whose greeting message on the answering machine was way too dramatic.

SPEAKER_04 3:32

This guy. Like what what would it say?

SPEAKER_02 3:37

Well, first of all, it would have music because you know it had music. And then it'd be like, hello. You've reached Fern. I'm not here, obviously. So leave a message, message, message, message after the beep. Then the music would go on again.

SPEAKER_04 4:03

Really? Before we had like the music and all that, it was like hello. You reached the Johnson residence. We cannot come to the phone right now, and then it'd be like beep because it wouldn't let you finish.

unknown 4:20

Wow.

SPEAKER_04 4:21

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 4:22

I don't remember you having a machine.

SPEAKER_04 4:25

Yeah, I did.

SPEAKER_02 4:26

Did you?

SPEAKER_04 4:26

Yep.

SPEAKER_02 4:27

I would I think I would always hang up. If if I didn't hear your voice, I'd just hang up.

SPEAKER_04 4:31

We had a machine, and then we would take turns because my dad wanted to get creative, and he'd be like, let's let's each say our name.

SPEAKER_00 4:41

Oh no, it was one of those.

SPEAKER_04 4:43

So you know, it would be like, Hey, my dad, and his accent.

SPEAKER_00 4:48

Hello, it's dad.

SPEAKER_04 4:50

Yeah, right. He would say his name, but he'd be like, It's so and so, and then my mom would say it, and then like the his mom, the four of us would have to rush through it to then be able to say, We're not available right now. Leave a message after the beep, but it would always cut us off because I would think this was lame.

SPEAKER_02 5:13

It is lamest. This is the lamest thing, it is super lame, but that was how you did it.

SPEAKER_04 5:20

Yeah, it was, and then the music came along that you would have to pay.

SPEAKER_02 5:24

That's the one, yeah. We had I had the music on mine. Well, when I got my own line, that's when things really got great. Oh when I became a teenager.

SPEAKER_04 5:33

That's when it got like to the phone line.

SPEAKER_02 5:36

Yeah, I had my own phone line.

SPEAKER_04 5:38

I had well, I think we discussed this last time. It was a clear color. Okay, well, whatever.

SPEAKER_02 5:43

Yeah, the clear phone with the lights, and then I changed it to the football phone because duh. Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 5:51

Um oh, what about school in the 80s and 90s?

SPEAKER_02 5:56

Oof.

SPEAKER_04 5:57

So I remember one of the things that I think school supplies, by the way, were elite back then.

SPEAKER_02 6:03

Okay, trapper keeper. Lisa Frank folders, the mechanical pencils that lasted three minutes.

SPEAKER_04 6:13

And the teachers always had those overhead projectors with the squeaky marker, and the whole class would flinch like it was a horror movie.

SPEAKER_02 6:24

Oh, oh, and we still had chalkboards, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_04 6:28

Right?

SPEAKER_02 6:28

And then every once in a while that would be bad. You know?

SPEAKER_04 6:32

I don't know about you, but in when I went to school, I when we were young in elementary, the teacher would always pick someone to clean the erasers at the end of the week.

SPEAKER_03 6:44

Was that just me? That was just you.

SPEAKER_04 6:47

I was a safety patrol in elementary school.

SPEAKER_02 6:51

We heard I heard all about this.

SPEAKER_04 6:54

What the safety patrol?

SPEAKER_02 6:56

You know what? Tell us your safety patrol.

SPEAKER_04 6:58

I was a safety patrol experience. I started off as a regular safety patrol officer.

SPEAKER_02 7:04

She was a regular safety patrol officer.

SPEAKER_04 7:07

Then I got promoted to a lieutenant.

SPEAKER_02 7:10

Oh, I got promoted to the lieutenant of safety patrol.

SPEAKER_04 7:13

And then the following year I became captain. I had a little badge and everything.

SPEAKER_02 7:19

And that's when your true voice developed. All of a sudden, it was like, I'm the captain now.

SPEAKER_01 7:26

Here I am.

SPEAKER_04 7:27

No, I'm I was the I was the captain.

SPEAKER_01 7:30

I'm the captain. Do what I say.

SPEAKER_04 7:33

And then in elementary school, they used to make us stand in line before entering school. Like we had a line.

SPEAKER_01 7:41

But what was the bottom line?

SPEAKER_04 7:43

It was my bottom line because you had to be in the straight line. Everybody had to be in line and safety patrols, we would walk, make sure everybody was safe, make sure people were in line.

SPEAKER_02 7:52

Did you just circle everybody like a like a pack of hyenas?

SPEAKER_01 7:57

Like, oh, everybody, circle around, get ready. Lieutenant, what are you doing?

SPEAKER_04 8:03

No, ask the captain.

SPEAKER_01 8:04

Lieutenant Dan, what are you doing, Lieutenant Dan?

SPEAKER_04 8:07

Stop. Why are you yelling? No. So in my elementary school, we had one, two, two entrances where we had to line the kids had to line up before going in. If they got there early, that's where they would line up. And then kindergarten had their own lineup. As a captain, I would go around to make sure everyone else was okay and that all safety patrols were good. Okay. And you're just jealous because you were never picked as a safety patrol. It was a big responsibility. It really was.

SPEAKER_01 8:45

Oh, hell yeah. I'm sure it was.

SPEAKER_04 8:48

And we also had our own field trip.

SPEAKER_01 8:52

What?

SPEAKER_04 8:54

We did.

SPEAKER_02 8:56

Oh man, I gotta tell a story about a field trip. Remind me about the field trip.

SPEAKER_04 9:00

Well, we're talking about schools. Go ahead.

SPEAKER_02 9:01

I know, I know.

SPEAKER_01 9:02

No, no, but tell me about your tell me about your experience on a field trip.

SPEAKER_04 9:08

I know it well, it was safe. We were all safety patrols. I was very well received.

SPEAKER_02 9:14

And where'd you go?

SPEAKER_04 9:15

Busch Gardens. What? Yeah. We had this conversation on my birthday. Don't wave at me. You don't want to hear about Busch Gardens. We talked about this on my birthday. We were safe.

SPEAKER_02 9:33

Yes.

SPEAKER_04 9:34

You're just jealous. And when I graduated from elementary school, I got to keep my safety patrol badge. I just don't know where my parents put it. I'd swear if I was able to find it, I would walk around this house with it.

SPEAKER_02 9:47

I'm sure you would.

SPEAKER_04 9:49

But, anyways.

SPEAKER_02 9:50

So there was there was a field trip. This wasn't elementary school for me, it was middle, it was junior high. Because we call it what it really is junior high. Um and when when I was in junior high, there was a field trip to the NBA All-Star game.

SPEAKER_04 10:10

I'm surprised you even got to go to NBA.

SPEAKER_02 10:12

Listen. I'm gonna tell you, I don't know how I got selected.

SPEAKER_04 10:18

Exactly. Me neither.

SPEAKER_02 10:19

Because you were supposed to have perfect attendance.

SPEAKER_04 10:22

Oh, forget it.

SPEAKER_02 10:23

And I did not have perfect attendance, but I got selected to go to the NBA All-Star Game. Hang on a second.

SPEAKER_04 10:35

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 10:36

While I recall these memories.

SPEAKER_04 10:38

Oh Lord, it might take us a while.

SPEAKER_02 10:40

As I recall, it was the NBA All-Star Game. And all of a sudden, they had this whole meeting in the auditorium. And they're like, all right. And then they started calling all the kids out over the loudspeaker to go down to the auditorium. And my name was on it.

SPEAKER_04 11:02

That was an error.

SPEAKER_02 11:03

It had to be because I know that I had missed at least five days prior. And uh not only did I go to the NBA All-Star Game thing, I went and they gave me a jacket, they gave me a bag, and we got the high five, some of the players. Which was the coolest thing.

SPEAKER_04 11:28

In other words, you took someone else's spot.

SPEAKER_02 11:30

I might have.

SPEAKER_04 11:31

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 11:34

Mm-mm. I took my spot. No. My name was on the list.

SPEAKER_04 11:38

It must have been let's take the kids who have missed the most days of school.

SPEAKER_02 11:42

Maybe. No, I don't think so because there was a lot of nerds there.

SPEAKER_04 11:45

Oh. Maybe they thought that it would give you.

SPEAKER_02 11:47

And I could swear that was at least three safety patrols.

SPEAKER_04 11:50

I wouldn't doubt it. Safety patrols are safe and smart. But, anyways, moving on.

SPEAKER_02 11:57

So I don't know how I ended up going there, but but I I'll never forget that. That was the coolest. That was the coolest.

SPEAKER_04 12:05

Well, of course, because they were showing you what you could be accomplished.

SPEAKER_02 12:09

They were like, oh, let's take all the kids. Let's take all the troubled children. Show them what they could do. And show them what they could do if only they went to school.

SPEAKER_04 12:19

Exactly. But you know what? Stay in school.

SPEAKER_02 12:22

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 12:23

Moving on because if not, we're going to have like 55 episodes of just 80s and 90s. And talking about how you it just as a safety patrol. Wait, as a safety patrol, it drives me nuts that you got to go on a field trip that you did not deserve. So don't make me write you up.

SPEAKER_02 12:45

I'm going to tell you what. I deserved it. I went there.

SPEAKER_04 12:48

You did not deserve it.

SPEAKER_02 12:49

I got the jacket and the bag.

SPEAKER_04 12:51

You did not deserve it. That was stolen, basically, from another child.

SPEAKER_02 12:55

I don't know. Not my problem.

SPEAKER_04 12:58

You should have been honest and said. Teacher?

SPEAKER_02 13:02

No. All of a sudden my name got called, and I was, I felt like I like I had just got called down. Come on down. You're the next contestant on the process ride.

SPEAKER_00 13:11

I was like, why are you down?

SPEAKER_02 13:19

I was so excited because I'm like, me?

SPEAKER_04 13:23

Little lonely. This guy. How did this guy get to do that? Oh, it irks the safety patrol.

SPEAKER_02 13:29

Oh, it was so good. So good. So much fun. So much fun. I got to high five. Like Magic, Michael, Larry, David Robinson.

SPEAKER_04 13:41

Wow.

SPEAKER_02 13:43

The dude from the Charlotte Hornets. It was my name, man.

SPEAKER_04 13:48

Whatever, dude.

SPEAKER_02 13:49

It was my name. And listen, I'm not like the kids in those shows that all of a sudden was like do, do, do, do. They they sneak into the school and they they move around papers. I have no idea what happened. Have no idea what happened, except I just described it.

SPEAKER_04 14:03

Yeah, I'm pretty sure that's what happened. But anyways, moving on to something else now.

SPEAKER_02 14:10

How about the back to school shopping? How about the no, no, no, like clothes shopping.

SPEAKER_04 14:15

Oh, I'm I hated it because my mom only took me to JCPenney and Paylas to get clothes and shoes.

SPEAKER_02 14:26

Tell me how much your childhood sucked.

SPEAKER_04 14:29

JCPenney and Paylus. And I would have to walk up and down the aisle of payloads to show if my shoes fit. Mm-hmm.

SPEAKER_02 14:41

So my grandma, she was awesome. And she would take me to uh like Foot Locker.

SPEAKER_04 14:50

I wish.

SPEAKER_02 14:50

Or champs or whatever.

SPEAKER_04 14:52

And she'd be like, Maybe that's why I'm not so into like shoes, like sneakers and all that. Like spending a lot of money is what I meant on shoes, because my parents would just take me to pay loss.

SPEAKER_02 15:04

That's that's why.

SPEAKER_04 15:05

Like for real, for real. Which doesn't make sense. 100%.

SPEAKER_02 15:08

What doesn't make sense about it is the fact that that you would think that now you'd be like, oh, I didn't have all this cool stuff, so let me get it now.

SPEAKER_04 15:18

No, it's I guess it's just but you're just modest. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 15:22

You're a simple kind of guy.

SPEAKER_04 15:23

So anyway, sorry, you went to Foot Locker, sorry.

SPEAKER_02 15:25

So I would go to Foot Locker, and at the time the Jordans had come out.

SPEAKER_04 15:29

I I don't know, unless I wrote Jordan on my sneaker, I didn't pay less.

SPEAKER_02 15:33

So it was always like Jordan's Vans. Like I always wore Vans, I always wore Jordans. Mine was whatever was on sale. And then for some reason they would she would always get me like a pair of like nice shoes. And this was back in the day when they had capizios. Do you remember capizios?

SPEAKER_04 15:50

Oh my god, yes.

SPEAKER_02 15:51

So I remember like I would always have a pair of nice shoes. It was like three, it was three shoes. It was the nice one, the athletic sneakers, like, and then like my cash.

SPEAKER_04 16:03

Right. Okay.

SPEAKER_02 16:04

So it was always my vans, my my Jordans, and these, and these, the Capizios.

SPEAKER_04 16:10

I need to you could get all that at Payless, all three for less than 40 bucks. But go ahead.

SPEAKER_02 16:14

Yeah, no, that's not that's not what these cost. But my grandma was pretty good about that. And then she would take me to like um Birdines.

SPEAKER_03 16:23

Oh, really?

SPEAKER_02 16:24

Because we didn't have Macy's. Macy's wasn't right, right. It was Birdines before it was Macy's. So Birdines and Macy's are the same. Or Bloomingdale's. We would go to Bloomingdale's. Um and and she would get to JC Penny. Yeah, I know. And she would get me like, okay, she would say, like or Kmart. What is what is the new, what is the new, and it was like Z Cavaricis.

SPEAKER_04 16:47

Oh, I had Z Cavericcies.

SPEAKER_02 16:48

Edwin Jeans.

SPEAKER_04 16:50

I don't remember if I had if I liked Edwin Jeans's.

SPEAKER_02 16:52

I liked I liked Levi's.

SPEAKER_04 16:54

Levi's, yes.

SPEAKER_02 16:56

And then then there was a point at some point that there was a brand called Skids.

SPEAKER_03 17:02

Mm-hmm.

SPEAKER_02 17:02

Which were like these very short, but there were these weird like pattern, like uh flannel colored pattern, what it was plaid or whatever. Yeah. And they were like overalls. Yep. I hated these. But she got them for me anyway. Because she's like, they're trendy. Get them.

SPEAKER_04 17:23

Yeah, my mom didn't care if it was trendy or not.

SPEAKER_02 17:25

And then and then we would go and uh we would go to like Specs or Tower Records or Record Bar where I would get my t-shirts for my bands because I would always wear band t-shirts.

SPEAKER_04 17:38

Interesting. Well, I would get new kids on the block shirts.

SPEAKER_00 17:43

Yep.

SPEAKER_04 17:46

What?

SPEAKER_02 17:47

Yep.

SPEAKER_04 17:50

Listen.

SPEAKER_02 17:51

But it was a cool experience. It was very like it was it was like how how me and my grandmother would spend like you know an uh an evening or an afternoon.

SPEAKER_04 18:02

Listen, going back to school shopping for school clothes or anything was always chaotic.

SPEAKER_02 18:06

Oh, you remember OP?

SPEAKER_04 18:08

No, what is that?

SPEAKER_02 18:09

Ocean Pacific.

SPEAKER_04 18:10

No, man, I just told you I only went to JCPenney and occasionally, like, if we really didn't find anything there was Sears. What? I'm being or Kmart.

SPEAKER_02 18:22

Like, that was really like how about Maui and Sons?

SPEAKER_04 18:25

Listen.

SPEAKER_02 18:26

No, Maui and Sons? No, isn't that like a Capri Sun thing or something? No, no, that's a brand. And then there was another brand uh called T and C Surf Designs.

SPEAKER_04 18:36

No, I no.

SPEAKER_02 18:38

And that one we would get at um certain, like they only had those in like the certain stores of them all, like Tilly's or whatever. But she would get me those because those I used to love those because they had cartoon characters on them.

SPEAKER_04 18:52

I see.

SPEAKER_02 18:53

And then of course, but that was already a little later on. Earlier on, I wore pretty much exclusively Top Gun, G.I. Joe, Back to the Future, Ghostbusters.

SPEAKER_04 19:08

Whatever. Anyways, I don't want to talk about your clothes anymore or your shoes.

SPEAKER_02 19:12

And then you wonder why I'm like the way I am. Yeah, exactly.

SPEAKER_04 19:15

And you wonder why I am the way I am.

SPEAKER_02 19:17

Yeah, I'm always getting the water.

SPEAKER_04 19:19

The way we have been brought up.

SPEAKER_00 19:20

Yep.

SPEAKER_04 19:21

But okay. So when we would go to the mall, like obviously when we were teenagers, let's say.

SPEAKER_00 19:28

Yep.

SPEAKER_04 19:29

To just hang with our friends. Like social media in the 90s didn't exist. There was no texting people. What are you talking about?

SPEAKER_02 19:36

That was the mall. We had beepers. It was the mall. The mall was social media of the 90s.

SPEAKER_04 19:42

You just showed up.

SPEAKER_02 19:43

You showed up and you're like, yo, what's up?

SPEAKER_04 19:47

You just showed up, and let's see who else we can run into there.

SPEAKER_02 19:51

That's the whole plan.

SPEAKER_04 19:52

And then like everyone magically just appeared at the food court. Somehow everybody showed up at the food court.

SPEAKER_02 19:58

Yes. Orange Julius.

SPEAKER_04 20:00

Oh, or the arcade, depending what Ma you were at.

SPEAKER_02 20:04

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 20:05

And the one store that all of our parents always warned us about. Spencer's.

SPEAKER_02 20:12

Yeah, because it always had that little section in the back with the uh you walk in and you're the objectional adult stuff.

SPEAKER_04 20:19

Well, you would immediately feel like you were committing a crime. Yeah. Like I'm 13 and I really don't think I should be seeing that type of lava lamp.

SPEAKER_00 20:28

But I can't believe that that actually that lava lamp actually exists.

SPEAKER_04 20:32

And you'd be like giggling. But yeah, I remember that. And then that was kind of the era era of like beepers.

SPEAKER_00 20:42

Yep.

SPEAKER_04 20:44

Or like there were codes in the beeper. Or like if our parents would beep us, it would be for those that are 007734. Was hello upside down. 143.

SPEAKER_02 20:58

I love you.

SPEAKER_04 20:59

I love you. Yeah. And there was a bunch of other ones. But that's that's basically the texting of that time where like your parents would call your beeper, put a phone number, and you had to find a payphone now again to call them.

SPEAKER_02 21:14

58008.

SPEAKER_04 21:18

Just do it yourself.

SPEAKER_02 21:19

Anyways, don't I'm not gonna say what it is, but just do it yourself. You're welcome.

SPEAKER_04 21:27

So so since we're basically at the mall, that's when you also had Toys R Us. It was very famous back then.

SPEAKER_02 21:33

But the malls had KBs, KB Toys.

SPEAKER_04 21:36

That's where I was gonna where I was going with it because like Toys R Us were freestanding spots. But there was a KB Toys basically almost. Every mall, like a Walden books. And nowadays kids like I don't know, I may use this word wrong, okay? Don't laugh at me.

SPEAKER_00 21:54

I will.

SPEAKER_04 21:55

Um, they flex over iPhones right now, I guess. Oh I used it. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

SPEAKER_02 22:05

Good job.

SPEAKER_04 22:06

It'll probably change next week, but you use flex. Um, they flex about iPhones now, but back then it was about toys.

SPEAKER_02 22:15

Yes. It still is.

SPEAKER_04 22:17

Like 80s, we're talking about 80s and 90s.

SPEAKER_02 22:20

It still is. Um for me, it still is. I'm like, look at this figure that I got. Isn't it incredible? And then all my buddies are like, so what would you think? Oh, your figure is so dumb.

SPEAKER_04 22:33

So, what would you think of that one kid that would tell you I have an entire action figure collection?

SPEAKER_02 22:41

At the time? Yeah. Nerd. Even though I had it.

SPEAKER_04 22:45

You wouldn't think that kid is royalty for having all the action figures?

SPEAKER_02 22:50

Well, I was that kid.

SPEAKER_04 22:52

Oh, there's always one.

SPEAKER_02 22:54

But I didn't tell anybody about it. I mean, the few action, well, no, I really didn't have any. So I really didn't have that much. But now I do. Now I have too many.

SPEAKER_04 23:08

Like their house house had the Millennium Falcon.

SPEAKER_02 23:12

So now it's not a little bit of a couple of the millennium the will shut up. What did you say? Did are you okay? Do you need water?

SPEAKER_04 23:20

I'm fine.

SPEAKER_02 23:21

Do you need water? Do you need water and an aspirin?

unknown 23:23

No.

SPEAKER_02 23:24

Millennium Falcon?

SPEAKER_04 23:26

What was that? The Millennium Palcum. I said it right. Why are you making fun of me? The Millennium Falcon.

unknown 23:34

Right.

SPEAKER_00 23:36

The Millennium Falcon. Are you alright?

SPEAKER_04 23:41

The Millennium Falcon.

SPEAKER_02 23:43

You actually said it properly.

SPEAKER_04 23:45

Okay, so I'll stop making fun of it. But you didn't say it the way Han said it.

SPEAKER_02 23:48

Millennium Falcon. It's the Millennium Falcon.

SPEAKER_04 23:52

Never mind. Anyways, you all of a sudden became best friends with that person, like their family.

SPEAKER_02 23:58

Now I totally understand why I have certain friends. Mm-hmm. Because I had the Millennium Falcon. I also had the Ewok Village.

SPEAKER_04 24:09

I wasn't really into like Barbies and all that growing up.

SPEAKER_02 24:14

Did you have a My Pet Monster?

SPEAKER_04 24:16

No. Oh, I did. I did have a cabbage patch when I was younger.

SPEAKER_02 24:20

My Pet Monster ate your cabbage patch. Stop it.

SPEAKER_04 24:23

I remember my grandparents standing outside of Toys R Us, waiting hours and hours just to get the cabbage patch for my cousin and I.

SPEAKER_01 24:32

Right.

SPEAKER_04 24:33

And I think I played with that thing like four times and then tossed it. Like basically, like, I don't want to play with it no more. Thanks.

SPEAKER_02 24:40

See, I don't know how I ended up with a Millennium Felican. But I ended up with one. Um and it wasn't it wasn't a uh one that I unboxed and and put together. It was already put together. So I don't know if my my my grandfather like won it on like a domino game or something. Won it, yeah. Like I don't know if he like he like wagered and got it. I I yeah, I don't I you know what I don't ask questions, I just know that I had it.

SPEAKER_04 25:09

Okay. What about let's see, man, there's so much about like different things. I'm trying to think here. Um I guess we can talk about CDs also. Depending, you know, like well, you mentioned Limewire earlier.

SPEAKER_03 25:31

Yes.

SPEAKER_04 25:32

Why don't you explain a little bit and fast? Don't take forever because you you can go on forever about it, what LimeWire was for those that are too young to understand.

SPEAKER_02 25:42

Limewire was a way to give your computer diseases by or to by downloading music. By downloading music. No, you gave your computer diseases by downloading music. Because for some reason it into a CD. You would burn it into a CD. So LimeWire, for some reason, like all the music had viruses.

SPEAKER_04 26:03

Yeah. All of it. That's true. That's true.

SPEAKER_02 26:06

But it didn't stop me from downloading everyone.

SPEAKER_04 26:09

Well, the thing is that what happened was we had cassette players. Well, yeah. And our cassettes, and then we had CDs, and then it came to CDs. So you couldn't really burn like it didn't you needed two different types of machines, I guess. Like two different boom boxes.

SPEAKER_02 26:25

Well, you couldn't, you couldn't you couldn't burn CDs until you got a computer.

SPEAKER_04 26:30

Yeah, that's true.

SPEAKER_02 26:32

Okay. Yeah. So you basically made mixtapes all the time, right? Like I have a bunch of mixtapes.

SPEAKER_04 26:38

How about when the radio station would start talking in the middle of like you recording?

SPEAKER_02 26:45

You're like, seriously, dude? Come on.

SPEAKER_04 26:48

And then you would be like, no.

unknown 26:51

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 26:51

But anyway, so you would record and then you would buy at the store like uh CD binders, right?

SPEAKER_02 26:57

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 26:58

To put all your CDs because now you know you gotta keep it organized. Yeah, I still and you still have well no, the one that you have, isn't that for DVDs right now?

SPEAKER_02 27:08

Well, I have a DVD one, yeah, but but but I have one that's CDs. I actually have boxes and boxes of CDs.

SPEAKER_04 27:14

Because I remember we used to walk around with Walkman's for cassettes, yes, and then CD players. I had a Walkman, and then the CD player to listen to music. Yeah, we didn't have little AirPods like now.

SPEAKER_02 27:28

Did your Walkman have a radio in it? Yes, okay, because I've heard that there's what there's there was Walkman that didn't. That had no radio.

SPEAKER_04 27:35

I remember having that one too.

SPEAKER_02 27:37

Yeah, and then there was the one that only was a radio.

SPEAKER_04 27:41

Yes, but I'd never cared for that. I had the one, mine was yellow, and it had the radio and it has the cassette.

SPEAKER_02 27:49

That's because it was water resistant. Water resistant, yes. Because it was the sport, yes, the Walkman Sports.

SPEAKER_04 27:55

It was yellow, and then I got the also the one later on that was just for cassette, like no radio. Right. I never had the one with just radio alone.

SPEAKER_02 28:04

So I had I had I had the one before the sport, which was just like a basic black black one, yeah. I had that one, it had the radio also, it had the uh the cassette player and radio, but then the craze happened about the yellow one, and then the yellow one came out and it says sport, I couldn't have that. I couldn't have that. No, no, I wasn't allowed to have that one.

SPEAKER_04 28:25

Oh, JC, that's because JCPenney had it for sale.

SPEAKER_02 28:28

Makes sense, makes sense. We didn't have Best Buys growing up, true, true, true. We didn't have that until like the night, the late 90s, the mid-90s, yeah, like later on in the 90s, and the only reason I remember that is because I worked at one very early, and it was when the the Nintendo Space was. Well, because we had specs and all that, so yeah, the Nintendo 64 had just come out. Yeah, that's the only reason I remember when I worked at Best Buy.

SPEAKER_04 28:55

Right.

SPEAKER_02 28:56

Because I opened the store, it was like one of the first ones in our area, and I opened the store and it had a huge Nintendo 64 display because people would come to the store just to play the game.

SPEAKER_04 29:09

Yeah, the Best Buy didn't really exist because we had the specs.

SPEAKER_02 29:13

Um, I loved specs. I liked going to specs to see go through everything and and then and then remember when they like Blockbuster came out, Blockbuster music, and then they were like, Oh, you can listen to your music before you buy it.

SPEAKER_04 29:29

And they had the Blockbuster, it was only movies, VHS.

SPEAKER_02 29:35

No, no, no. They had a Blockbuster music. Oh, I didn't see I don't remember. I said buying uh Camelot records, right? And then all of a sudden they started this whole thing of like listen to the music before you buy it. So you would take the CD. Oh, I don't remember because this was when CDs came out. You would take the CD to the listening bar, and they had like this whole little area where you could put on the headphones and listen to the CD track, but you couldn't skip tracks.

SPEAKER_04 30:04

Oh, well, yeah. I mean, I don't remember going to those, but I know what you're talking about, but I never really went there.

SPEAKER_02 30:09

Um that was the first time I heard Alanis Morissette. Oh, I love Alanis Morriset. I know, but the but I heard it the first time there because um I listened to the whole album just sitting there at Blockbuster Music in a a particular place that no longer exists.

SPEAKER_04 30:30

Okay, that sounded sketchy, but okay. That sounded very sketchy, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 30:35

It was a mall.

SPEAKER_04 30:37

It sounds very like I'm not gonna tell you, but but you're gonna have to try to figure it out. And think about it. We're gonna end this podcast and we're gonna ponder still. Yeah, where was he talking about?

SPEAKER_02 30:50

Yeah. Well, it was a place where you would walk.

SPEAKER_04 30:59

And why is it that all of a sudden Brady now wants to drink water?

SPEAKER_02 31:04

Brady is hilarious and probably super dehydrated right now.

SPEAKER_04 31:07

Milo's quiet. Brady now wants to drink water.

SPEAKER_02 31:10

Brady wants to be erratic.

SPEAKER_04 31:12

Anyways, Brady. Now she's going to bed and you run on. What a nut. Anyways, completely.

SPEAKER_02 31:18

So yeah, Blockbuster video as well. Yes, the Blockbuster video. And there was Hollywood video, which was like the cheap meal, the cheap cousin of Blockbuster Video. But we used to go to Blockbuster all the time. So I had this little local place that I used to be.

SPEAKER_04 31:33

We're all over the place, but we're just trying to remember everything of our childhood.

SPEAKER_02 31:36

There was there was a local spot that was really close to where I lived, right? That I would walk to. And it was like a single, like uh, you know, a small little store, and it was like a the guy owned it, right?

SPEAKER_04 31:48

Right. I mean, there were those ma and pay.

SPEAKER_02 31:50

It was a little mom and pa video ones. I'll never forget it was called Movies to Go. Right? That was the name.

SPEAKER_04 31:56

That sounds sketchy already. Yes, it is.

SPEAKER_02 31:59

Super sketchy. I guarantee you that guy was into uh illegal businesses.

SPEAKER_04 32:02

Of course. But uh you would because those mom and pop.

SPEAKER_02 32:06

Also, the guy had a rat tail. You remember the rat? Right there tells you everything. The rat tail went like probably halfway down his back and it was always braided. Well, those mom that guy did something.

SPEAKER_04 32:16

Those mom pop faces had the um illegal download movies. Well, that was much later. But I'm just saying that's why I thought it was sketchy. But anyways, my brain was all over the place.

SPEAKER_02 32:28

No, but they had that little that little room in the back that wasn't exactly sketchy. It was the I told you. It was the 18 and over room where only adults can go.

SPEAKER_04 32:40

Right. I told you. Which I'd never been in. Sketchy.

SPEAKER_02 32:44

But all I know is that it was it was it had like a curtain, like right, because the curtain stops you from going. But I worked at that at you know, as a really as a as a like a really young kid.

SPEAKER_04 32:56

I worked there like how old what eight years old? You say a kid.

SPEAKER_02 33:00

Yeah, I was probably like nine or ten.

SPEAKER_04 33:02

You were not nine years old working there, Fern.

SPEAKER_02 33:05

I would go there, and the guy would say, Hey, you can have free uh rentals, you know, but you had to uh that's child labor. You can never labor it it it occurred. I would go there and I would just rewind the tapes.

SPEAKER_04 33:19

I don't know about it.

SPEAKER_02 33:20

I would hang out and rewind the tapes, and it was fun for me because I got to watch movies all day because they were like I would get out of school, run over there, and uh this is starting to sound very sketchy to me. What's up, Gus? And he'd be like, Hey, we got a whole stack of tapes for you to rewind, and I'd be like, Cool, man. Can we watch uh Flight of the Navigator? And he'd be like, You got it. And he'd put it on and we'd watch Flight of the Navigator.

SPEAKER_04 33:45

I mean, I guess it makes sense with your upbringing. You didn't, you know, it whatever.

SPEAKER_02 33:50

I had no supervision.

SPEAKER_04 33:52

I know you had no whatever. But he was a cool guy. You're called you are what my parents would call, basically. You're Aladdin. What? You're Aladdin raised in the streets?

SPEAKER_02 34:04

Yes.

SPEAKER_04 34:04

There you go. You're Aladdin.

SPEAKER_02 34:06

Very much so. Would that make me Jasmine? Fabulous. Would that make me Jasmine?

SPEAKER_04 34:10

Yes. Oh, that goes to JC Benny.

SPEAKER_02 34:13

Yeah, makes no sense. Makes no sense.

SPEAKER_04 34:16

But basically, you're Aladdin raised in the streets.

SPEAKER_02 34:18

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 34:19

Basically, yeah. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 34:20

I I had to figure things out on my own. Like, like, like what was I gonna eat?

SPEAKER_04 34:24

Well, I don't know your friend's parents. My friend's parents would be. I remember I I was told that.

SPEAKER_02 34:30

Always.

SPEAKER_04 34:31

They would always and your grandparents, your great grandparents, because they lived with you also.

SPEAKER_02 34:36

Yes, they were my they were my caregivers.

SPEAKER_04 34:39

Basically, yes. But we're talking about they were elderly.

SPEAKER_02 34:41

But they were also elderly. They they were elderly when always. I mean like I don't ever remember them not being old.

SPEAKER_04 34:52

Well, let's see. Um they were still when your parents had you, they were in their forties, right? No. What hold on, wait, no, wait, wait, wait.

SPEAKER_02 35:03

My grand my great grandparents were probably in the world.

SPEAKER_04 35:06

Your great grandparents were in their 50s, that's what I meant. Sorry. Um your great-grandparents were in their 50s by the time you were born. So yeah, they were older.

SPEAKER_02 35:17

Yeah, they were old.

SPEAKER_04 35:19

So by the time you were nine, they were almost 60 already. Yeah, if they were.

SPEAKER_02 35:27

They were probably I think they were older than that because because they were always old.

SPEAKER_04 35:31

I met you and your grandfather, your grandfather. Hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on.

SPEAKER_02 35:35

Hold on, hold on. In the 80s? Uh my great-grandfather was in his 80s. Yes, because when I met you because he was born in the zero zeros.

SPEAKER_04 35:47

When I met you, he was in his nineties.

SPEAKER_02 35:49

So I want you to think this, people that were born in the 2000s. When you're when it's 2080, you're gonna be in your 80s. Okay, okay, just making it simple.

SPEAKER_04 36:07

Okay, well, whatever. Point being is you they were older, obviously, because like I said, when I met you, he was already in his 90s. Yeah, he was like maybe well, when our oldest was born, he was still alive. Yes, and he was alive for what two, three years. No, like three years. Yeah, did he go to our wedding? I don't remember. Yeah, he did. So he was alive for past like five, six years into her age. And he passed away when he was 98.

SPEAKER_02 36:41

He never got to see our youngest.

SPEAKER_04 36:44

He met the first two.

SPEAKER_02 36:46

He met the first two.

SPEAKER_04 36:47

So yeah, so he was about yeah, give or take.

SPEAKER_02 36:51

He died when he was 97.

SPEAKER_04 36:53

No, he was 98.

SPEAKER_02 36:54

98, 98? Yeah, okay.

SPEAKER_04 36:57

So, okay, so anyway, point is I like how we were forgotten that we are recording.

SPEAKER_02 37:02

Point is that they were old already.

SPEAKER_04 37:04

Yes, yes, yes. Okay.

SPEAKER_02 37:06

So they basically were like, I'm not chasing after this dude. He can do whatever he wants as long as he's back before the lights go out outside. Yeah, and by the lights go out means the sun.

SPEAKER_04 37:19

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 37:20

Because as long as I was like near the house.

SPEAKER_04 37:23

Well, we went through this already. We already talked about this, yes. Don't get me started with the whole light again.

SPEAKER_02 37:28

I'm just saying that I would survive. I will survive, and I would go out there and I would figure it out.

SPEAKER_04 37:36

But it was a different time back then.

SPEAKER_02 37:38

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 37:39

Nowadays it's very, very different with how things happen. Like, and unfortunately, we have to see it that way. Unfortunately. Um I we didn't actually, we never let our kids out of our sight outside. No growing up. Um because unfortunately, the way society is changed. Kids go missing now. I mean, back then kids went missing too. We just didn't hear about it as often as we do now.

SPEAKER_02 38:14

Everyone knows the story of Georgie.

unknown 38:22

What?

SPEAKER_02 38:26

From it?

SPEAKER_04 38:26

Oh, anyways.

SPEAKER_02 38:28

Everyone knows.

SPEAKER_04 38:30

Unfortunately, I we never let our kids. I'm ignoring you now. Completely ignoring you. I'm like, who's Georgie? Georgie. I don't remember Georgie. Oh, hello, Georgie. Will you stop? Unfortunately, we never ever did. So we can't, we're not gonna say that you could. We never let our kids out of our sight. We knew where they were going at all times. Somebody was with them, one of us was with them, and if they played outside, it was right in front where we can see them at all times. Yep, so it's different, but, anyways, I don't know why I just wanted to say this, but I had a pink boom box, a little pink boom box. Yes, I just wanted to share that with you.

SPEAKER_02 39:12

That was really, really random.

SPEAKER_04 39:14

It was. I I've been wanting to say it, but we hadn't been able to because you started reminiscing about working in an illegal video store.

SPEAKER_02 39:22

It was not an illegal video store. It was a it was a video store.

SPEAKER_04 39:25

No, it was illegal. You they had a nine-year-old working in there. I would go there and hang out.

SPEAKER_02 39:31

You were working, and then I'd be like, hey, can I just rewind these tapes?

SPEAKER_04 39:35

You were working. Child labor.

SPEAKER_02 39:37

I'd be like, sure. Why don't you know I'll pay you by giving you free rent?

SPEAKER_04 39:42

Ex child labor.

SPEAKER_02 39:45

I'll tell you what, I watched a bunch of movies. Whatever. You can't get an 80s movie past me.

SPEAKER_04 39:51

Okay, whatever, dude. Whatever. Anyways.

SPEAKER_02 39:54

Alright.

SPEAKER_04 39:56

Go ahead.

SPEAKER_02 39:56

So let's let's jump into it.

SPEAKER_04 40:00

What?

SPEAKER_02 40:01

Cacho.

SPEAKER_04 40:02

Oh God, not a ka chow.

SPEAKER_02 40:04

Let's do it.

SPEAKER_04 40:05

No.

SPEAKER_02 40:06

Welcome back to the Petty Hall of Fame.

SPEAKER_04 40:11

AKA Cachao. Ba ba pa chao.

SPEAKER_02 40:17

Where we honor the most ridiculous memories of our childhood.

SPEAKER_04 40:24

Nominee number one.

SPEAKER_02 40:27

Don't touch my CD binder.

SPEAKER_04 40:30

Those things actually were sacred.

SPEAKER_02 40:32

We open it like a library handling ancient scrolls.

SPEAKER_04 40:40

All right, fine. What about nominee number two?

SPEAKER_02 40:46

Who rewound the VHS wrong?

SPEAKER_04 40:49

Be kind. Rewind.

SPEAKER_02 40:51

Rewind. It was literally printed on the tapes.

SPEAKER_04 40:55

And you would get fined if you didn't rewind it.

SPEAKER_02 40:58

Do you remember that they would say, like, oh, they would they would start charging you? Yep. So the video store that I worked at.

SPEAKER_04 41:04

Oh my god, here we go again. That's not part of kachow. We're not talking about your illegal work.

SPEAKER_02 41:10

Um by child labor.

SPEAKER_04 41:12

Your child labor.

SPEAKER_02 41:14

The guy uh would charge a dollar for every yeah, it was a thing.

SPEAKER_04 41:18

It really was. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 41:20

Every time, every time I had to rewind a tape, it was a dollar.

SPEAKER_04 41:24

Yeah, it was a thing, child labor law. Anyways.

SPEAKER_02 41:28

All right. Nominee number three.

SPEAKER_04 41:32

Who used the last of the AOL minutes?

SPEAKER_02 41:36

Man, you remember those CDs that they would give you?

SPEAKER_04 41:38

We forgot to mention AOL was by minutes.

SPEAKER_02 41:41

AOL was by minutes.

SPEAKER_04 41:42

What did you say?

SPEAKER_02 41:43

AOL by the minutes. Internet minutes were oxygen.

SPEAKER_04 41:50

And it was like someone was in trouble because you got you had to get those CDs.

SPEAKER_02 41:55

You had to get the CDs. And if you and if you overuse them. Bing, bing, bing. You'd run out. It would just cut you out. It would just cut you right off. You'd be like, you'd be there and you'd be like, all right, dude, I'm almost done downloading the song.

SPEAKER_04 42:11

Oh, it's gone. Or you were doing an assignment for school because, you know, safety patrol.

SPEAKER_02 42:17

That was never me.

SPEAKER_04 42:18

I did. Real quick, I know we are almost out of time, but we did not mention to do assignments, reports. You had to go to the library and find the little index card.

SPEAKER_02 42:31

Yes.

SPEAKER_04 42:32

To find your book. To do research.

SPEAKER_02 42:35

It wasn't like you had to use the card catalog.

SPEAKER_04 42:39

I just thought of that. I used to work in the library too.

SPEAKER_02 42:43

Did you get paid?

SPEAKER_04 42:45

No. It was doing school hours.

SPEAKER_02 42:47

Oh, during school hours?

SPEAKER_04 42:49

I volunteered labor.

SPEAKER_02 42:50

So it was so it was volunteer labor.

SPEAKER_04 42:52

Yeah. I used to. What in the world is that?

SPEAKER_02 42:56

It's it's our dehydrated.

SPEAKER_04 42:57

Brady. What is going on? Anyway, I had to just mention that because kids nowadays do not know what that is.

SPEAKER_02 43:04

No, the work tweeted. The work that it took. Do you remember that they would they would have like, did you ever have the encyclopedias at your house?

SPEAKER_04 43:11

Yes, I had the whole set. What's wrong with you? Okay. Did you forget who you're talking to?

SPEAKER_02 43:15

Yeah, yeah. So we had that too, except they were from like 1964, because they were never updated. Like the most recent thing that happened on them was like the moon landing. Yeah, okay. Like that was like the newest thing that occurred.

SPEAKER_04 43:30

Plus, my dad was a history guy. Remember, he loved history. And what about yellow pages?

unknown 43:36

Oh my god.

SPEAKER_04 43:37

Who didn't have that? But, anyways, whatever. You know what?

SPEAKER_02 43:40

On another occasion, the 80s and 90s were chaotic.

SPEAKER_04 43:46

But also, they were kind of amazing. They were kind of amazing.

SPEAKER_02 43:50

We survived dial up.

SPEAKER_04 43:52

We survived questionable fashion.

SPEAKER_02 43:56

Capizios. We survived drinking. From random hoses. Oh my god, yes. Because random hose flavored water.

SPEAKER_04 44:04

Which honestly explains our immune systems.

SPEAKER_02 44:08

For sure. So we'll say this. If you grew up in the 80s and 90s, congratulations.

SPEAKER_04 44:14

You're basically an action hero.

SPEAKER_02 44:17

With back pain.

SPEAKER_04 44:18

And nostalgia.

SPEAKER_02 44:21

Yep.

SPEAKER_04 44:23

Anyways, I guess.

SPEAKER_02 44:25

And you'll never forget how great the times were then. And you always think about them. Because for some reason they never go away. Anyways. And you'll never forget working at that video store.

SPEAKER_04 44:43

If you enjoyed this nostalg, nostalgic chaos, make sure you follow Limitless Couple305 on Instagram. Follow us on Spotify or Apple at Limitless Table Talk with Fernand.

SPEAKER_02 45:00

Or anywhere else. I mean, we have we're everywhere. We're on iHeart as well.

SPEAKER_04 45:04

We're on Facebook also on Limitless Table Talk with Fern and Nat. Anyways, share this episode with someone who remembers rewinding VHS tapes.

SPEAKER_02 45:12

Or someone who ruined the internet by picking up the phone. You know who you are.

SPEAKER_04 45:18

And remember stay limitless and stay petty. I'm Nat.

SPEAKER_02 45:25

I'm Fern. Period.