Old Guys Rock

The strangest thing happened this morning; I awoke to find I was a senior citizen.  I swear, I didn’t do anything.  I went to bed last night a young teen, with loads of energy, and a full head of hair and this morning I became an old guy, tired all the time, and I can’t find my hair much less my glasses.

So what happened?  I think I just forgot to enjoy my youth and rushed to become an adult.  I had it made; time to have fun, no real responsibilities, and friends everywhere.  I took it all for granted.  I thought if I joined the military I would become a man. So abandoning the good life and chased that which would have come in good time, had I just given it a chance.  But no, I had to prove something.

I am not saying I would trade my life to go back, I just wish I had taken the time to be a kid, surf another wave, climb another tree.   Today I have, four great kids and seven awesome grandkids. 

Don’t be too fast to become a man.  There will be plenty of time for that.  Stay in school, but occasionally skip that homework for a chance to spend quality time with friends.  Create memories to look back upon.  Then when you are about to attend your 40 year reunion, you can open that yearbook and clearly recall good times, friends, and laughter.

Has anyone seen my glasses?

 

At one time, cars were cars; not the plastic, power-starved stuff we have today.  I’m not saying any of my rides were cool.   In fact, none were all that great. The closest thing was my 66 Mustang -- OH THE MEMORIES, wish I had it now.  So since I couldn't have it then, I’ve got my toy now.  Not a  great big muscle car of yesteryear, but a fun 1977 Austin Mini with right-hand-drive.

 

So what did you drive a bug, big-block Chevy, AMC Hornet? We don’t care.  Maybe it was a love-bug or Rambler, it was what we could afford.  My first car was 56 Plymouth I paid $25 for.  So fess up...What Did You Drive.

Remember when we were kids, we really knew how to play.  We didn't need a computer, PS2, Guitar Hero, or MP3 player.  We took an old roller-skate, took it apart and nailed it to a 2x4.  That was the first skateboard.  I remember mine.  We had a scooter, two 2x4's nailed at 90 degrees with the discarded roller skate secured to the bottom.  As I was sailing down the street, the handle came off, but I kept going.  My friends saw what happened and kicked their handles off.  Did we invent the skateboard?

Then there was Radford Ave.  A dirt road with a tall grove of Eucalyptus trees dividing the north and south lanes.  Here we played Army, Cowboys and Indians (and no one was offended), we had a fort, a castle, and Tom Sawyer’s Island.  We spent all day eating warm bologna sandwiches, drinking water we sucked from a sprinkler, and washed our skinned knees with spit.  Man those were the days.

But we were sure to be home by 8 so we could watch John Wayne, Gunsmoke, Wild World of Color (Disney) and on Friday, Monster Theater.  No one cussed, there was no sex, and the dad was the respectable head of the house.  We enjoyed it, we laughed, and were scared out of our minds.  So we didn't have HD, CGI, and Surround Sound, but did we love it or what?

One more thing.  We actually understood and could hear the words in a song.  The Beach Boys, Buddy Holly, Beatles, Ricky Nelson, Elvis, Dion, and the list goes on played loud -- yes loud -- on our transistor radios as we road on our bikes down Radford Ave.

You had to be there to understand. Life was much easier and fun meant grabbing your surfboard and hitting the beach -- at the very least, spending the day in the sand, water and baking in the sun. We stood in awe as we watched the original Duke -- Duke Kahanamoku - sail down the face of an impossible wave. While we may not be young in body, we still remember when Old Guys Ruled.

So what happened to Mayberry RFD? We had fun -- not at the expense of others. We respected our elders -- and were not ashamed. To be bad, was not good -- and to be good, was not bad.

Our generation is starting to dwindle and who is left to carry the torch? I can only imagine what kind of life will be left for my grandchildren. I hope we are not too late.