Looking back, it was a special time in history when simple pleasures occupied our time. Whether kids cruised in Modesto, California, or Long Beach, California, the scene was similar. Innocent kids trying to have fun, pulling pranks, looking for chicks (girls), while the chicks (girls) were scoping out the guys, as a form of flirtation, and possible relationships. Good-looking and fast cars were a tool in the process. Car hops and drive-in theatres were everywhere, and the kids were there to participate. I have watched the movie over and over, and I have never grown tired of it. Nostalgia always rears its head, with a wishful longing for simpler times.
https://www.britannica.com/topic/American-Graffiti
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Graffiti
https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/84009/13-nostalgic-facts-about-american-graffiti
These lines from the movie are not just words; they are a part of my personal memories and experiences. They are a celebration of the moments we lived and the feelings we shared.
American Graffiti (1973): 25 Best Quotes
1. Curt Henderson, a young man on the brink of adulthood, expresses his awe and confusion at the beauty of a girl he sees for the first time.
· You’re the most beautiful, exciting thing I’ve ever seen in my life, and I don’t know
anything about you.
2. Laurie Henderson (quoting Curt):
·It doesn’t make sense to leave home to look for home, to give up a life to find a new one
life, to say goodbye to friends you love, and to find new friends.
3. Carol (to Falfa):
·Your car is uglier than I am! ... Uh, that didn’t come out right.
4. John Milner:
·I don’t like that surfin’ shit. Rock and roll’s been going downhill ever since Buddy
Holly died.
5. Curt Henderson:
·Someone wants me. Someone roaming the streets wants ME... Will you turn the corner?
6. Debbie Dunham:
· That’s bitchin’ tuck and roll!
7. Carol:
·The night is young and I’m not hittin’ the rack till I get a little action.
8. Joe:
·He who smelt it, dealt it.
9. Terry Fields:
·Well, goddammit, I won’t report you this time, but next time watch it, will ya?
10. Joe:
·Rome wasn’t burned in a night.
11. Terry Fields:
·Pardon me, sir, but I lost my I.D. in... in a flood, and I’d like to get some Old Harper,
hard stuff. Would you mind buying a bottle for me?
12. Steve Bolander:
· We’re finally getting out of this turkey town, and now you wanna crawl back into your
cell, right? You want to end up like John? You can’t stay seventeen forever
13. XERB Disc Jockey (Wolfman Jack):
· It’s a great big, beautiful world out there. And here I sit - sucking on popsicles.
14. John Milner & Carol:
·File that under, C.S. · Chicken shit · that’s what it is.
15. Steve Bolander:
·I said, Kiss a duck, Marblehead.
16. Carol:
·Hey, is this what they call ‘copping a feel’?
17. John Milner:
·My name? Mud, if anybody sees you.
18. Girl in Cadillac (to John)
·Well, get bent, turkey!
19. Curt Henderson:
·Stand by for justice! ·
20. Bob Falfa (to Milner):
· You’re supposed to be the fastest thing in the Valley, man, but that can’t be your car, it
must be your mama’s car!
21. John Milner:
·A field car runs through the fields, droppin’ cow shit all over the place to make the
Lettuce grows.
22. Bob Falfa (about Milner’s car):
·Say, I like the color of your car there, man. What’s that s’posed to be? Sort of a cross
between piss yella’ and puke green.·
23. John Milner (to Falfa):
·I bet you got to sneak up on the pumps to get a little air in your tires!
24. Wolf Man Jack- Disc Jockey (on the radio):
·Get your bugaloos out, baby! The Wolfman is everywhere.
25. John Milner (to Curt):
·...but you’re still a punk.
The culture was simple, romantic, and determinable. You knew what you were in for. The air was honest every turn. There is simplicity and romanticism at every turn. We were able to establish values and culture to turn the American Dream into a reality, sort of.