Things I Did in The ’90s That Seem Utterly Insane Now
There were no cell phones. There was no internet.
Traveling cross-country on a Greyhound bus
When I was 20, I traveled on a Greyhound bus from Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, to Key West, Florida. It took 6 days.
This was the 90s. There were no cell phones. There was no internet. I cringe to think about what my poor parents must have gone through at that time.
Now that I have my own daughter, I cannot even imagine the horror. The whole idea seems insane to me now that I’m much older.
I remember being so naive and clueless about the world outside of my little city in Canada. We stopped in countless cities at Greyhound bus stops across the United States — and many of these bus stops were not in the best parts of town.
I had only ever seen places like Los Angeles, New Orleans, or Florida in the movies. It was an adventure, to say the least. I felt like I was in a movie, traveling around like a gypsy. It was exciting.
Most of the people I met along the way were kind and colorful characters, but some were also pretty shady, looking back on it.
I remember one particular bus driver watching me in his mirror while I tried to sleep in the back of the bus. I woke up and he was just staring at me, intently. All the other passengers had gotten off.
I also remember a guy who sat next to me for several hours who had narcolepsy and kept falling asleep on my shoulder mid-conversation. Then, before he left the bus he unzipped his bag and showed me the drugs he was carrying.
I’m probably lucky I didn’t get murdered.
Speaking of dodgy situations, my taste in questionable men was epic. I take full responsibility for my choices. However, to be fair, there were no internet background searches back then.
But that doesn’t change the fact that in my 20s, I had a taste for men who always seemed to be accompanied by a criminal record. Sometimes I knew about their history and sometimes I didn’t. I didn’t plan it that way — I just always seemed to be attracted to that ‘type’.
In all seriousness, I’m fortunate to have escaped many situations that could have been permanently destructive to my physical self.
A person having a criminal record doesn’t necessarily mean they are ‘bad’ or that you shouldn’t date them, however, at age 20, I was much more into physical attraction than worrying about if a man looked ‘good on paper’ or if they potentially had a violent past.
My judgment was questionable, to say the least. No excuses there.
The dangerous scenarios I put myself in with men who were often older and frequently on the shady side seem unacceptable to me now. As a woman and as a mother, I could not even imagine my daughter or a female friend exposing herself to the kind of men that I did.
I’m extremely relieved I’m here to write about it now, though.
Hitchhiking
I’m not proud to admit this, but when I was a teenager, hitchhiking was an occasional form of travel. I never did it alone — which doesn’t make it any better — but I did engage in this activity on more than one occasion.
There was always a precaution taken, such as a pocket knife in the backpack, etc., but there was no real paranoia that anything really sinister would happen — not like today.
Today, I would never dream of hitchhiking or allowing anyone I know to do it. The idea seems insane. Back then — it was a fun adventure. Naivety was in full effect — galore.
The idea of hitchhiking today sounds like a one-way ticket to a ride with a serial killer!
When I think back to all the risks I took when I was younger, I physically shudder. I feel grateful to be alive.
Those experiences may seem insane now — but at the time, I thought I was living the dream.
What memories do you have as a young person where you did things that seem insane or risky to do nowadays? Let me know in the comments.