A Memoir of Dirt Bikes, Mixtapes, and Miracles in South Des Moines Before the internet, before cell phones, before gluten was even a word—there was the 1980s. A time when latchkey kids wore their house keys on yarn necklaces, aluminum cans were a form of currency, and Saturday morning cartoons felt like sacred rituals. Growing Up 80s is a laugh-out-loud, heart-on-its-sleeve journey back to a world of rusted-out bikes, cassette tape scams, and the kind of freedom you only get when your parents are too busy working to keep track of you. Set in the backyards and busted sidewalks of South Des Moines, Iowa, this memoir captures the wild, weird, and wonderful moments of childhood through the eyes of Tim Boston—a kid who didn’t have much, but had just enough. Whether he's dodging trouble on a paper route, living with three college girls during his senior year (yes, really), or perfecting the art of Halloween joke-telling for candy, Tim brings the era to life with vivid detail, absurd honesty, and deep gratitude. There are stories about almost getting arrested (but not quite), meeting Jesus in a revival tent (unexpectedly), and figuring out how to make a dollar stretch into a whole afternoon of adventure. And behind the laughs and misadventures, there’s a quiet truth running through it all: even in the darkest moments, God was never far off. If you remember the hiss of a Walkman, the thrill of a Columbia House music scam, or the taste of a McDonald’s Olympic scratch-off, this book is for you. And if you don’t? Well, buckle up. You’re about to find out how the 80s made us weird—and why we’re still kind of proud of it.