I finished watching the biopic on the
National Lampoon and I liked it, considering I felt the Nat Lamp was
my Bible when I was ten years old and on up. What I was reminded of
again, was of “heyday,” when you reach your greatest point and have a
ton of fun while doing it.
I watched the movie as they chronicled
the rise and peak of the Nat Lamp magazine and I swear I was rooting
for them as the flick unfolded. I understand why older guys glorify
and cheer on younger men in sports, it's great to watch someone or
something reach their peak. This can be applied to anything. On this
blog I spoke of how I felt about Paul Simon when he struck his prime
time and again.
One of the things I do is have an
“audio” nightlight. I can keep the stereo on all night long, soft
enough to allow sleep but to further enjoy the songs. You know those
moments where you're not quite asleep but drifting in that nether
world? It probably feels like what Oxycontin is all about. Anyway,
listen to music at that point and it's literally “better.” If you
play with this, you can set the stage for some dreams that'll be just
as good when you finally do slip into unconsciousness.
I did this today and all sorts of songs
came on and propelled me to memories in my life when I was batting
them out of the park with no effort at all. All in my early 20's. I
remembered friends, parties, college, first jobs, small insignificant
snapshots where my life was nearly perfect. After waking up I lay
there some and enjoyed the pleasant feeling.
“There were many times I reached it.”
I thought to myself. You never can rest on your laurels, you can only
reach it for a while and then must move on. These periods of your
life cannot live forever. The are born, mature and die, just like
everything else. But, if you're lucky enough, you can have those
times when you win and score big, for a while anyway.
Generally, I can't stand most of newer
music that comes out. My theory (and I stand by it) is that we all
consider the “best” music to be was what you listened to when you
were from 13-25. After that, it's just noise. There may be a few
gems along the way but the body of it bites.
However...
I set my stereo to WERS, which is out
of Emerson College out of Boston and is nothing but
newer music. I once opined here that one reason why I listen to it is
because, listening to 60's and 70's mainstream all the time is like a
diet of cheeseburgers for months. It does get boring. WERS generally
plays some decently crafted new music, along with some dogs that make
me go 'yeccch.” But you can't get it perfect all the time, can you?
But as I lay there in bed today, half
awake and pleasantly tripping down nostalgia lane about music and
scoring big, I realized a second reason why I listen to WERS. I
listen to a group of people who are, at this time, are at
their pinnacle. There is now, a group, around
18-24, who are riding high. Good for them! They don't know it yet,
but probably suspect, that there is nothing they can do that will go
wrong. All your faculties are tuned up, your body is lithe and
responsive and all else is in congruence too. It's effortless and
easy to sink a basket. The talent you always had, be it sports,
education, career or just plain living life, is at it's best. Do you
remember that feeling? Shit, I did this morning.
So, I have another reason to listen to
music written and performed by “kids” of that age group.
Do I pine away to be that age again?
Sure, but not for too long. I do know that at that age you are also
quite inexperienced, you are always learning, making some massive
mistakes and stumbling into this and that, because you don't know
yet. The anxiety of your own future tugs at you too. Career?
Marriage? Kids? What is it that I really want? All those things are
in the realm of that age group. What's great about being that age is
that you are made out of rubber, life can whack the hell out of you
because of some damn fool thing you did, but you can bounce back.
What did I worry about then? Easy, what
every other 20 something quietly wrestled with.
“Does she like me?”
“Should I tell her that I like
her...alot!”
“I have two job offers...which one?
If I take the wrong one...I might be set on a path that sucks?!”
“A masters? A CAGS degree...perhaps
none at all?
“What if my goals aren't attained,
because I was shoved out of the way by life?”
“I really don't understand a lot of
what people do or say...why can't I find their motivation and source
for all that shit?”
All these things were due to not having
experience. Now, that I have it, life is easier. Gone is that
apprehension about what may occur. There is confidence about life
that I own now that I didn't then. Why? Easy, because it's all
practice. You do a million things over and over again till you get it
right.
That takes years.
Still, I do glorify those years the
kids at Emerson are now enjoying, spending them like water, as they
should. I did the same and I can relish in the old feeling of
hitting the bullseye w/o even trying.
Watch this...don't get hung up on all the Zen
talk. This is what it's like in your 20's when you are nailing it all
the time, same as Caine nails the target. Thank God I had a periods like this.
Click and Watch
Now my age requires something different
from me. Two things I've noticed, mentoring and learning how the past
always becomes clearer.
Don't get it? You have to be my age to
get it. You'll arrive there and 'get it,' it's inevitable.
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