My Parents Were Awesome

"Before the fanny packs and Andrea Bocelli concerts, your parents (and grandparents) were once free-wheeling, fashion-forward, and super awesome."

myparentswereawesome.tumblr.com [via Dangerous Minds, thanks Tara McGinley!]

[techbear #1 11:02 on Tue, Oct.27]

In other words, they were super awesome before you came along and sucked the super awesomeness out of them!

[shrocket #2 11:05 on Tue, Oct.27]

A lovely site, but I would also like to point out that, despite the fanny-packs and couch-matching art, my parents are still quite awesome.

[HowardsGrl #3 11:09 on Tue, Oct.27]

wow, that is a really neat site. So nostalgic and sweet in a way. It kinda makes me misty.

[Sekino #4 11:26 on Tue, Oct.27]

Really cute site! But like shrocket, my parents are still totally cool and never allowed the world- or time- to cramp their style (luckily, my in-laws are also awesome, fun, free-spirits).

[EH #5 11:42 on Tue, Oct.27]

This appears to be a site for people who were offended by the opening narrative in "Idiocracy."

[chip #6 11:45 on Tue, Oct.27]

My parents were (and still are) gigantic dorks, and there is plenty of photographic evidence to back that up. My grandparents, on the other hand, were super-awesome. I know just the picture to submit :)

[das memsen #7 11:48 on Tue, Oct.27]

let's not forget that, not so long ago, this very picture would have been proof positive that your parents were super-lame! Ah, perception...

[Maggie Koerth-Baker #8 12:17 on Tue, Oct.27]

I sent a picture of my Dad, Howard, in. They haven't posted it. I'm sad.*

*Howard, however, lives in dread of the day they do put it up.

[rtresco #9 12:34 on Tue, Oct.27]

Was Hung in a catalog or company promo? Otherwise I'm calling foul.

[Anonymous #10 12:37 on Tue, Oct.27]

I find myself strangely fascinated by the old photos. Anyone explain why?

Also, the site suggests sending the story of the photo when submitting. I never saw any stories/background info...how is that stuff accessed??

[Robert #11 13:22 on Tue, Oct.27]

I'm reminded of a line from Fringe. Paraphrase: Imagine yourself 20 years ago imagining yourself 20 years in the future. Did you ever think you'd end up like this?

[freshyill #12 13:47 on Tue, Oct.27]

Some of these are really neat, but if this is the awesomest picture you have of your mom, maybe your mom wasn't so awesome.

http://s3.amazonaws.com/data.tumblr.com/tumblr_krb9loMfVh1qa2fy3o1_1280.jpg?AWSAccessKeyId=0RYTHV9YYQ4W5Q3HQMG2&Expires=1256762574&Signature=QNAswVT85xFUBPMww3eKetIv2y4%3D

It's a cool site, but people need to dig a little deeper. It's easy to see a lot of these folks strapping on the fanny packs as soon as the camera's put away.

On a related note, I just got married recently, and scanned hundreds of old family photos from our childhoods. Old pictures are really cool. I think digital cameras enable people take too many pictures. The novelty has worn off, and the quality suffers.

Also, the people who run that site should take note: Auto Color in Photoshop goes a long way toward fixing old pictures with bad color.

[apoxia #13 14:08 on Tue, Oct.27]

Unfortunately my parents were never awesome. Some of the photos of my dad in his twenties are him wearing a lab coat. My mum went to bible college for two years in Australia. I've only ever had one grandparent, and she is not awesome either.

[Quiet Noises #14 14:15 on Tue, Oct.27]

@12 "Also, the people who run that site should take note: Auto Color in Photoshop goes a long way toward fixing old pictures with bad color."

Nooooooonoonoo please. You're looking back at photos from decades ago. Shouldn't the photographic integrity, complete with flaws and light leak and fading, be as meaningful and accurate as the content of the photos? Leave them in their current state, it's part of the throwback.

[scionofgrace #15 15:36 on Tue, Oct.27]

My parents ARE awesome. My dad may be a dork, but he's the sweet, geeky kind (and my mom still thinks he's hot). My mother is one of the friendliest and kindest people you'll meet. They're both into theater and music. And they have never lost their sense of adventure or wonder.

I want to be like them when I'm that age.

[jbad #16 20:55 on Tue, Oct.27]

Basically you have a few good years to be super awesome-- you have kids--then you're coasting.

[Anonymous #17 21:23 on Tue, Oct.27]

Everyone is soooo skinny!

[Anonymous #18 21:33 on Wed, Oct.28]

I went through all of the photos (many pages, whew!) but of all my favorite was this one:

http://11.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_krhakdZz8R1qa2fy3o1_500.jpg