The Things We Used to Do

As Gen X Kids

The weekend officially begins with a call to the movie line. You probably had the movie line number memorized: you’d call in every Friday, after new releases came out, and listen to a pre-recorded message listing Every. Single. Movie.

If there wasn’t anything worth seeing in theaters, you would need to bike or catch a ride up to Blockbuster. Movies factored heavily into the classic Gen X teenage entertainment, creating a social event that could be the centerpiece for a social gathering of some kind: a sleepover at a friend’s house after a VHS tape and Nintendo binge, or a pizza and arcade games after a movie in a theater.

If you wanted to figure out where your friends were, you could just look for the bikes piled up outside. The days were marked by freedom, exploration, and a touch of adventure only found in a pre-digital world.

Indulge me on a quick, nostalgic trip down memory lane as we remember the unique rituals and routines of our youth, exploring both what we used to have to do …