Last night, just before retiring for the evening, someone in a fun Facebook group I’m in posted this poofy video…

I think the person who shared this did so because of the song. It’s Debbie Gibson singing her hit, “Only In My Dreams”, which was a hit when I was a teenager. I was never a Debbie Gibson fan, but a lot of my friends were. I was familiar with the album this song came from, as well as Ms. Gibson’s formidable talent. Her music wasn’t my favorite, but like me, she has perfect pitch. Unlike me, she plays piano and composes her own songs. At least back in 1988, when she was about 18 years old, she had an appealingly girlish voice.

I got a kick out of this video. The fashions and hairstyles, while cringeworthy in 2020, were quite familiar to me. Some of the dance moves were good. Some were pretty hilarious. And then, there she was… the great Kelly Ripa.

I’m not a big Kelly Ripa fan, but I do recall seeing her in ads and hosting morning TV shows. I’ve never been one to watch those shows myself, but my parents did. And I know that Kelly Ripa, also two years older than I am, has gone on to become a television presenter and talk show host. Wasn’t she famous for taking over Kathie Lee Gifford’s spot with the late Regis Philbin?

I thought the above clip would be thrilling enough, but then I spied another upload featuring the great Rick Astley of “rickrolling” fame and huge hits like “Never Gonna Give You Up” and “Forever Together”. I actually kind of liked Rick Astley when he was popular, although it didn’t escape my attention that his songs all sounded quite similar.

Rick seems kind of low key, especially compared to Kelly Ripa’s hair, which is permed to poodle perfection. Seriously, kids, if you want to know what we looked like in the late 80s, here ya go. Jesus Christ! And I thought the Bradys were tacky!

I actually liked Pretty Poison. I wonder what happened to them.

Here’s a more recent look at Kelly Ripa. She’s aging nicely. It helps to have professional makeup artists and hair stylists fixing her up. She now hosts Live with Kelly and Ryan.

Ordinarily, I would post this on my music blog. Maybe I will post it there eventually, although I’ve kind of lost interest in that blog recently. Besides, Kelly isn’t a musician. She’s just a cutie pie who presents stuff on TV. I was pretty shocked to see her on Dance Party USA, though. I guess people have to start somewhere. I’ve read that that show was taped in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and Camden, New Jersey. They had a lot of cool celebs on there. According to their Wikipedia page, it looks like none of the hosts ever went on to the big time, unlike Kelly, who was apparently an occasional guest star.

I just can’t believe how quickly the past 32 years have flown by. It seems like yesterday, I was a teenager mucking out stalls and impatiently waiting to launch my life. It just goes to show that before you know it, you’re an old bat like me, with an aching back and lots of memories. Maybe shows like these took off after Sarah Jessica Parker, Helen Hunt, and Shannen Doherty made Girls Just Wanna Have Fun.

I’ve never been one for dancing. Well, except for maybe slam dancing… a good slam dance was fun, especially when I was in my 20s and inebriated. I don’t dance anymore, so don’t ask me. I wonder if Kelly still does.