The year was 1979 and this roller skating romper queen had hella hip threads. It was an awkward era of wearing bath towel fabric as daywear. A turquoise-white-and-grape striped onesie at *only* today’s equivalent of $60. Oi and geez.
Don’t feel bad for her wallet. The average yearly income for an American in 1979 was $17,500. What does that mean in today’s money? $58,941.74!
Which is some B&S. Today, an average salary for someone under 65 is $46,409. Yup. Over 12 grand less than 40 years ago. No, but really, millennials don’t want to buy houses or spend money because we are lazy, horrible planners – not because of absurdly stagnate wages created by a government interested in pacifying corporations with greed mongering, off-shore business practices.
Where was our blushed and feather-banged rink rat headed in high style? Maybe she was rolling over to a Tom Waits show. He was on his “Blue Valentine” tour. Maybe when she got to the concert early, she read the newly-released “The Dead Zone,” by Stephen King or “Kindred,” by Octavia Butler. Most likely, she twirled around in parking lot to ELO’s fresh single, “Don’t Let Me Down.”
Or heck, maybe instead of going to a show, she was at a union meeting. Which is something we should all be considering, right about now …
Patty TempletonDGO Staff Writer
