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Celebrity drama is nothing new. Way before Rihanna and Chris Brown, there was Tammi Terrell and David Ruffin. Kenya “Miss USA” Moore may be a fool, but Vanessa Williams was stripped of her title. Check out a few more of these old school scandals that most of us forgot.

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Remember the scene in Color Purple where Celie and Nettie play their hand game? It took us  back to a time where we clapped hands and chanted lyrics to catchy songs with a group of our girlfriends. It was rhythmic in nature and taught us hand-eye coordination and communication skills. It also boosted our confidence to be able to weave hands in an intricate, synchronized fashion. We clapped hands in solidarity, and we also jumped rope. With one long, braided rope, two plastic handles and three girls, feet would smack the ground to the beat of song and rope hitting the ground. We’d jump in and out, waiting on the perfect moment so as not to stop the rope. These ol’ school games brought us together – kept us active and young at heart. And to this day, Michelle Obama still loves jumping rope for a good workout. Which of these childhood jingles do you remember?

Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear

Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear

turn all around,

Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear

touch the ground

Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear

shoe yo’ shoes

Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear

be excused

Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear

jump back in

Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear

do it again

This classic jump rope song kept you jumping in and out of the swinging rope space.

Channel Erykah Badu crooning back in the day while I take you back to those nostalgic, feel-good times when it seems there really weren’t too many cares in the world. We are the lucky ones, the 70’s and 80’s babies, who can roll back down memory lane when things get too hectic and zero in on a simpler time. Check out these 15 throw-back moments from childhood and early adulthood and see if you can identify.

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Soul Train

Remember when Don Cornelius’s gravely voice echoed against the walls of your living room, along with a multitude of solid gold dancers boogying to the latest tunes? You couldn’t wait to recreate the Soul Train line with your siblings, pop locking, snaking and shaking it fast! You didn’t need Dance Dance Revolution and the Michael Jackson Experience on Xbox Live to kick it.

soapnet.go.com

Many of talk about the music and movies of yesterday: how good the talent was back then, how much they seemed to care about their craft and how bad we wish we could have been part of it at some point.  But was anyone taking stock with how fine some of them men were back in the day?  It’s no wonder that their shows would sell and women would throw their underwear at them while they were on stage or at a movie premiere. Check out our short list of old school actors and singers who were pretty easy on the eyes back in the day. Who’s your favorite old school artist or actor?

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I spent the summers of my youth stuck to the plastic couches of my grandmothers’ homes. I was thrilled by the idea that my other cousins would be there, waiting to cause mischief alongside me. We drove our parents’ mothers insane, wrecking havoc upon their pristine living rooms and glass cases stacked with China.

Grandma frowned from her throne. She’d get to her knees and pray loudly from her room for all of us to hear, “…and for the babies who are going to get it if they don’t quiet down, down there.” Out of fear, we would fling ourselves back into the stickiness of the sofa’s plastic and wait until she was ready to cook breakfast and watch our shenanigans once more.

At ten, Grandma was slightly annoying. There was always a Jesus and My-God flung in the air, we couldn’t leave the table unless we’d eaten everything on our plates (okra), and we were forced to endure all of her concoctions.

Although their love was never taken for granted, their unorthodox methods, morals, and values irritated my more Americanized self. Cod-liver oil and honey replaced Robitussin and the mention of boys were forbidden until I was well into my twenties. When I complained to my parents about their unconventionalities, they nodded with understanding but never sought to correct them. They too were raised by the mothers of my grandparents and understood the embedding of the memories and principles, no matter how outlandish they might have been, for the children. I was angry with them and promised myself that I’d never subject the youngsters in my life to these practices. Foolishness.

I lied.

I don’t know how it happened, but the silly things I’d dismissed with the wave of my hand stuck with me. I now reiterate my grandmother’s advice to my fast paced little girl cousins. I’m peeved by the sagging of their boyfriend’s jeans and angered by their defense of idiots. I have flashbacks of my grandmother chasing those same kinds of boys from her steps, with a broomstick, as I watched my cousins cross their arms and roll their eyes—as I once did.

I also find myself patrolling the pharmacy for cold medicine and thinking of the blends my grandmother united in her pastel kitchen. I began longing for the rum/alcohol mixture she’d slapped across my chest and the blankets she wrapped me tightly in—resembling a cocoon. Moments later, I’d be pulling up to her brick home to devour remembrance and rid myself of ailment.

Second mothers are often overlooked. A lot of the parents of my middle school students are either passed away or too busy with their own realizations to pick them up from school. I witness women, 55 and up, trudging in with sagging purses, candied mints and weighed voices. They stand in for their daughters and sons; instilling their old school morale in their grandchildren on the long/short walks home. Many of my students are raised with a live-in grandparent, spend their weekends in their homes or have substituted their biological parent for an older version. They complain about the overprotective nature of these women, angry about their pulling of ears and firm stance. I can’t help but smile—as my parents once did—at the grievances that will one day evolve into gratitude.

Everything Grandma did/said wasn’t always accurate:

1)   Rum across your chest rarely cures a cold.

2)   God wasn’t going to strike me with lightening for breaking the lamp.

3)   I could fall in love before 25.

However there was something about the WAY she did or said things that made them feel right. It’s the warmth within her touch and tone that brought me back to her home. Although extra-strength Tylenol and Vicks are far more successful in the curing of a cold, the balminess of her special mint tea and her map resembling hand on my back are far more comforting. Her cocoon-like blankets and repetitive nature are the only things that will keep me in line from heading back to work when I’m not fully cured. Her laughter at Oprah and anger at the news, witnessed from my sick bed, heal faster than any other humorous thing in the world.

It’s within these junctures that I realize that her old school traditions are sifting inside of me, waiting for instances where they can materialize.

Perhaps it’s the guilt from the mayhem I caused at an early age.

Perhaps it’s a beckoning—in the soul—to come home.

Perhaps tradition is something second nature that we simply cannot deny.

Or perhaps, Grandma just knows best.

“RivaFlowz” is a teacher and professional writer living in New York City. You can follow her on Twitter: @rivaflowz.

How many times have you watched a movie or TV show, or listened to a throwback album and said to yourself or someone else, “I wonder where ___ is…” We’ve done enough of those type of lists with no answer to the question that we think it’s time to find out. And not just find out what certain individuals who we used to jam to and dress like are doing, but what they’re looking like. We get it, people change over time, with some aging better than others. But man, some of these people have gone through a Transformers-esque change over the years. Time to play catch up in gallery form…

Lark Voorhies

As Lisa Turtle on Saved By the Bell, Lark Voorhies had us wanting to dress like her in her fly pastels and always on-point accessories. Although she was one of the only black faces on that show, she definitely stood out for more than her color. After that show ended, you could check Lark making guest appearances on other big television shows like The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Martin and on the soap The Bold and the Beautiful. But as of recently, her roles have dried up. But a few photos surfaced in 2010 of the actress looking paler than usual. Blame it on a horrible foundation choice, or something a lot worse that I won’t say, but Voorhies looks a lot older (and drier) than her 37 years. What’s that about?

Photo from 2010

If you’re not our friend on Facebook– then it’s about time you get on the good foot and “like” us with a quickness. Not only do we update our page with our featured content throughout the day we also provide special treats in the morning and evening in the form of “jams.” So every morning we give our Facebook friends a song to get their morning off to the right start and in the evening we give our friends something smooth to listen to before they close their computer for the day. So if you’ve missed our jams here’s a recap for you. You’re welcome.

Saturday
Morning: Hold On- En Vogue

Love is not for the lazy. If you want to keep your relationship in tact, En Vogue reminds us that  you have to be willing to fight for it.

In 2010, you may have spent your days looking at fabulous and fun photos of all the events that you did not attend. This year, we are filling you in early so mark your calendar because 2011 is going to be a very eventful year. Don’t miss out!

Here are a few up-coming events that you don’t want to miss: