Kids These Days Will Never Know: Part Four

You have seen 15 of my favorite things I have experienced as a kid and I'll be revealing the last five items on my list. Being a kid in the 80s and 90s was so much easier and simpler. We have to sit back and appreciate nostalgia in general because if we don't, we won't have anything to look back on. Nostalgia, in my opinion, is sacred, because it should be respected and welcomed at all times. So without further ado, hope you enjoy the final five items on my list.

Make it a Blockbuster night.

Before Netflix or Hulu came into existence, Blockbuster Video was the place to rent movies and video games, especially on a Friday night. I remember going to a Blockbuster store back in the 90s while I was living in Texas. The atmosphere was amazing and I began browsing everywhere. I would go there often for the next several years until I moved to Arkansas and the company went out of business in 2013. So for kids today that didn't know you can rent video games and movies from Blockbuster, now you do.

Sega Genesis/Mega Drive

The Sega Genesis, also know as the Mega Drive, was my second favorite gaming system at the time. Released in August 1989 in the United States, the Sega Genesis sold 31 million units and the best selling game was Sonic the Hedgehog, which sold 15 million copies. Some mornings before heading to school, I would get up an hour early and play some games with the sound down without waking anyone up. I eventually got in trouble, but continued to do it anyway. The Sega Genesis had so many great games to choose from. Here's a list of my favorite games:

• Street Fighter II: The New Challengers
• The Lion King
• Sonic the Hedgehog 2
• Contra: Hard Corps
• Legend of Galahad (known also as Leander, which was released in 1991 for the Commodore Amigaand a year later was ported to the Sega Mega Drive as Galahad)
• Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3

Out of all the games I've mentioned on that list, Street Fighter II: The New Challengers and Contra: Hard Corps were my favorites. Just like the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES), you couldn't save a spot in a game with a memory card, because they weren't around at the time. So you just had to deal with going through the game with lives and completing a game on your own. Even though the NES will always be my first love, I embraced the Sega Genesis with open arms. To this day, it's among one of my favorite game systems.

'Reading Rainbow'

Butterfly in the sky. I can go twice as high. Take a look. It's in a book. A reading rainbow.

This was one of my favorite PBS shows growing up. Whenever I had a day off from school, Reading Rainbow was the show that I would watch. That's how I got into reading so much because of that. Reading Rainbow was a half-hour educational children's television series that ran for 21 seasons from 1983 to 2006. It was hosted by actor LeVar Burton. Every time I would pick up a book and start reading, I felt like I was part of the story and letting my imagination run wild. Reading is one of my favorite hobbies to this day and I owe it all to LeVar Burton and Reading Rainbow. But you don't have to take my word for it.

90s Nickelodeon Game Shows

Back in the day, game shows were exciting and fun to watch. Game shows today are boring and sometimes, ridiculous. As a 90s kid, I had my favorite game shows that I would watch on Nickelodeon, not only every day, but on a regular basis. Most of them involved slime and seeing someone getting slimed was appealing to watch. With the recent news of Double Dare making a return to Nickelodeon, I had to include this topic to this list. I'm going to share my favorite Nickelodeon game shows of the 90s and here they are:

• Nickelodeon Guts
• Figure It Out
• Double Dare
• Legends of the Hidden Temple
• Get the Picture

If I were to conquer one of these Nickelodeon game shows, I would say Nickelodeon Guts all the way. I wanted to try and run with the flag around the course, and climb the Aggro Crag. It would've been awesome if I were on one of those game shows back in the day, but if you happened to be the lucky ones who was, I'm jealous.

Saturday Morning Cartoons (1962-2014)

I had to save this for the very last because I'm so eager and giddy to talk about this last topic. If you remember getting up early in your pajamas, grabbing a bowl a cereal, and propping in front of the television, chances are that you have taken part of a ritual that millions are doing: watching Saturday morning cartoons. It's more than just a weekly routine. It's more of a tradition to all of us, like watching NFL Thanksgiving games on TV. With the good comes the bad. Back in 2011, the major networks (ABC, CBS, The CW, and NBC) began to phase out weekend-morning educational programming aimed towards preteen audiences, in favor of live-action reality and docuseries outsourced to other producers. Litton Entertainment took control of the Saturday morning children's blocks from those networks in 2011, 2013, 2014 and 2016 respectively. You can still view and enjoy your favorite Saturday morning favorites on YouTube, Netflix, or any channel that airs them.

This concludes the list of my 20 favorite things that I've experienced as a kid that children today never knew about. I hope you enjoyed what I have written and would love to hear from you which item was your favorite on my list. My list of favorite shows is long, so be sure to follow me on social media and I'll be glad to share it with you. My social media pages are in my bio, so feel free to share your thoughts. Remember that nostalgia is with us forever, no matter where you are.