Disco, denim, bell bottoms, flower power, funk and decades of fabulous music. The 1970s: What a time to be alive. For those growing up in that era, life was all about being young and wild and free. And looking back now, more than a little reckless. There were no seatbelts, children played outside unattended, they rode their bikes without helmets and threw darts at each other on the lawn.
“We had great music and played it loudly; we danced, and grew our hair long, and lived every day like it might be our last,” wrote Tab LaFollette in the book Growing Up Old School: Re-live what it was like to be a kid in the 60s and 70s. The 1970s was a time for taking risks and throwing caution to the wind, but always believing that, in the words of Gloria Gaynor, “I will survive!”
Fairfax High School (Los Angeles, Ca), 1975
“I don’t even have cell phone reception in my house—I have to walk halfway down the driveway and even then, if a red squirrel is out there or a crow flies over, forget about it!”
We already know we’re in for a treat interviewing this witty and funny woman, who, as she puts it, “can be reliably found on Facebook and Substack at Jules is Out of Office: julestorti.substack.com“
Born in 1975, Torti has written a number of books, including a memoir, titled Been There, Ate That: A Candy-coated Childhood. “It’s a nostalgic joy ride back to the ’70s and ’80s era of Jell-o everything, yellow dye #5, BHT, preservatives and margarine-laced!” she tells us.
My Mom And Her High School Boyfriend In 1972
She was 15 years old and they were at the local carnival.
My Dad Teaching Math In Southern California (Late 70’s/Early 80’s)
We begin by asking Torti what it was like growing up in the ’70s.
“The days were so carefree. My sister, brother and I were out the door after a bowl of sugar-high Lucky Charms and tearing through the fields on our banana seat and BMX bikes, untethered. I had three pairs of rugger pants and a pair of Kangaroo shoes with that cool zipper on the side. I alternated my Dallas Cowboys sweatshirt with my cowboy fringe shirt,” she replies.
“Life was so innocent and simple. We didn’t sanitize our hands. We weren’t worried about the harmful effects of the sun’s rays (how could they be dangerous?) Xanadu, our loyal dog, washed our faces. We played with lawn darts and survived. Our diet was 75% sugar and it didn’t stunt our growth (but that purple Kool-Aid and ketchup-flavoured chips stained our fingertips and lips for days).”
1979. My Mother, A Baller. Still Holds The Record For Most Points In A Women’s Basketball Season At Our High School – Before The 3 Pt Line Was Established
[oc] My Aunt Graduating From Catholic School In Amman, Jordan, 1972
Girls In The Parking Lot At School. 1970
The author tells us her family lived a few corn fields behind the Sunset Drive-In Theatre in Brantford, Ontario. “Amazingly, we could pick up the audio for the films on the walkie-talkies my mom bought at a garage sale for $5. We had to use our binoculars to dial in the grainy screen but it’s a slice of time that I love falling back into. We didn’t have cable TV due to our rural location and depending on the weather, there were only eight channels to reliably choose from,” she remembers.
Torti says it wasn’t until the ’80s that VHS videos changed her world. “I still can’t believe my dad fiddled around every Friday night, trying to connect a rental VCR with our old console television. My grandmother who lived on a farm just up the road from us had a satellite dish, microwave AND jacuzzi tub with jets. We thought she was the richest woman in the world,” she says.
“Growing up in the country, we had to rely on creative alternatives for almost everything. We made our own caramel corn with a free pour of corn syrup. By the end of the bowl our molars were an inch higher from compacted sticky popcorn. But back then, we didn’t count calories. They didn’t exist.”