Hot summer nights at the Hotel California
I have been pondering this next thought for a long time, and have come to the decision that I really pity the kids of today.
I was cruising around town in my really rad pickup truck and YYZ Live by Rush came on the radio. I actually sat in the driveway until the drum solo finished and relished every second of it.
I realized that one of the best times of my life was sitting on the front porch with my best buddy Tim, and listening to the night fall. This was before everyone learned that they could not survive without central air conditioning. The windows of the houses in the neighborhood would be open, and you could hear the TV in the house across the street, or the rednecks up the block having an arguement. We would sit in the darkness talking about things that young teenage boys would talk about, girls, cars, rock bands, radio stations, or whatever. You could hear the hotrod coming three blocks away. Some hopped up Mustang, or Camaro, with the guys in the front seat, and the girls in the back. Almost always the song on the radio would be Stairway to Heaven, or Hotel California.
We would lapse into silence admiring the car, and wondering where they might be off to. We were young enough to suspect that they might go make out, but too niave to speculate at what might come next. The worst we figured they would do is maybe drink some beer or drag race. We were so lucky never to have heard of AIDS, or Crack. Gangs were undheard of in our little town, let alone a drive by shooting or other nonsense that seems to be so common place.
Girls were a mystery then. I was in my 20s before I had to suffer through my first feminine hygene commercial. Sex on TV was limited to what happened behind closed doors in 3s company, or else it was on past our bedtime on HBO. I actually thought that Richard Pryor had a filthy mouth. My how times change. Now all I have to do is turn on the local rap station, and it would have embarresed Richard himself.
Music was also a great adventure. It was like opening a treasure chest to pull the plastic wrap off a new album. There was not all the pre release publicity, and you couldn't immerse yourself in the newest hits on demand at MTV. I didn't get a stereo until I was 14. My eight year old daughter has more CDs and videos right now than I had until I hit college. I actually pity her for it. I can remember night after night, staying up until the ungodly hour of 11 PM to hear the results of the Top Ten at 10:00.
There is a lot of truth to the saying, "Those were the good old days".
Troubador
I was cruising around town in my really rad pickup truck and YYZ Live by Rush came on the radio. I actually sat in the driveway until the drum solo finished and relished every second of it.
I realized that one of the best times of my life was sitting on the front porch with my best buddy Tim, and listening to the night fall. This was before everyone learned that they could not survive without central air conditioning. The windows of the houses in the neighborhood would be open, and you could hear the TV in the house across the street, or the rednecks up the block having an arguement. We would sit in the darkness talking about things that young teenage boys would talk about, girls, cars, rock bands, radio stations, or whatever. You could hear the hotrod coming three blocks away. Some hopped up Mustang, or Camaro, with the guys in the front seat, and the girls in the back. Almost always the song on the radio would be Stairway to Heaven, or Hotel California.
We would lapse into silence admiring the car, and wondering where they might be off to. We were young enough to suspect that they might go make out, but too niave to speculate at what might come next. The worst we figured they would do is maybe drink some beer or drag race. We were so lucky never to have heard of AIDS, or Crack. Gangs were undheard of in our little town, let alone a drive by shooting or other nonsense that seems to be so common place.
Girls were a mystery then. I was in my 20s before I had to suffer through my first feminine hygene commercial. Sex on TV was limited to what happened behind closed doors in 3s company, or else it was on past our bedtime on HBO. I actually thought that Richard Pryor had a filthy mouth. My how times change. Now all I have to do is turn on the local rap station, and it would have embarresed Richard himself.
Music was also a great adventure. It was like opening a treasure chest to pull the plastic wrap off a new album. There was not all the pre release publicity, and you couldn't immerse yourself in the newest hits on demand at MTV. I didn't get a stereo until I was 14. My eight year old daughter has more CDs and videos right now than I had until I hit college. I actually pity her for it. I can remember night after night, staying up until the ungodly hour of 11 PM to hear the results of the Top Ten at 10:00.
There is a lot of truth to the saying, "Those were the good old days".
Troubador
posted by Troubador @ 8:16 PM
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