a tribute to the '80s Babysitter...

She was the only person you knew who could talk on the phone, blow big, pink bubblegum bubbles, do her homework, watch TV and cook your dinner. She was the babysitter. She was the ultimate teenager. She was the first full-time devotee of MTV. The babysitter encapsulated everything every pre-adolescent girl aspired to be. She studied big-kid subjects like foreign languages and textbook math. She was allowed to wear make-up--glossy pink lip gloss, mascara and blue eyeshadow that reached her eyebrows. Somehow her mother allowed her to have stretch jeans and stilletto heels worn with scrunch socks. She even had a boyfriend who'd pick her up when she was done making sure that you'd done none of your 'homework,' ingested "Facts of Life," the "Love Boat--Fantasy Island" double hour, "Family Ties" and listen to "Seven And the Ragged Tiger" on repeat. Sometimes the babysitter was bad, and had her friends over, went through your parents record collection, took you to hangout at the arcade with her friends and let you try out her menthol cigarettes. Sometimes she forgot your TV dinner.

For girls, the '80s babysitter represented the teen ideal--boys, painted fingernails, high school, boys and BFF (Best Friends Forever). For boys, the '80s babysitter held the promise of adolescent back-seat gropings and the suburban equivalent to the Robert Palmer girl. Let the memories flow.FM