Happy New Year 2014, I Never Knew I Would Live This Long
The New Year is here! It is officially 2014. Last night, on New Years Eve, I thought back to my days in high school. Happy New Year 2014, I never knew I would live this long! It was 1982 in Dallas, Texas. I was 17 years old and the world was mine. I was living in the very moment of the scene and never thought about being 47. Did you?
Punk was in, wicked guitar licks from Van Halen were everywhere, parachute pants were worn, a wave of crocodiles (Izod) was the rage. We wore our collars up in those days. We wore Members Only jackets because it was the thing. Oh, and about the hair. Well it was….large and winged.
E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial
The movies of 1982 were phenomenal! E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial was released. It was co-produced and directed by Steven Spielberg. The movie was about the relationship between a lonely boy, Elliot, and a stranded alien.
My favorite quote from the movie was, “Be Good.” It was a simple statement from E.T. to the young boy. The relationship was a beautiful story of friendship between unlikely characters. It was also a huge film! It was a blockbuster that surpassed Star Wars as the highest grossing film of all time. It would hold that title until the release of Jurassic Park.
Tron the Movie
Another movie favorite of mine; although not as popular was the movie Tron. A remake of the movie came out in 2013. Another ‘gotcha’ to my age. I am at that place in history where I watched the originals of the re-makes!
Here we had another science fiction entry into the movie theaters of 1982. This feature came by way of Walt Disney Productions. The story follows a computer programmer who gets trapped inside the program running in the computers’ mainframe. The plot follows the characters attempt to escape from the belly of the computer. The special effects were fabulous and it became a cult classic while spinning off video games, comic books and a television series. It was nominated for numerous Academy Awards.
The movies of 1982 were the stuff dreams were made of. I realize now that in the days of high school I saw more movies than I do 30 years later. I have far more disposable income than I did then. Perhaps the movies today are speaking to the 17 year old high school kid of the 21st century? Perhaps finding the time becomes the issue?
Then there was the music. Another nod to my current age. Now there are radio stations that specialize in playing the music from my high school days. When I hear the tunes it is almost as if I am right back in the moment. It is amazing how music can bring back the sights and sounds of a moment in time.
From breast beating ‘I Can Do This!’ music like Eye of the Tiger and John Cougar’s love in America song, Jack and Diane, it was music that made your feet move and touched the heart and soul. I am sure that the music today does the very same thing but this was time of youth for me and maybe you. Things were very different then. More crystal clear? A time full of the possibilities of what would come. Now we welcome 2014, did I ever think I would live this long? I never thought that far ahead. It just wasn’t done.
Hair Style 1982
I was thinking about the next time me and my buds would head out to the movies. What was going to happen in Mr. Hidalgo’s Spanish class tomorrow. Did I really have to read that book for English class or could I watch the movie and still write the essay? How many more classes could I skip without serious trouble? The farthest ahead I was thinking was to my Senior year. What fun was that going to be? When’s my drivers’ ed. class? How would me and closest friends spend summer break?
Last night all this passed in front of my minds eye as I was trying to stay awake long enough to kiss my wonderful wife as the clock struck midnight. The television was showing the ball being dropped in New York City. Fireworks were firing off across the world. The citizens of the world were celebrating the passing of the old and the coming of the new. Some were welcoming 2014 with nothing more than the thought of getting permission to go out with their high school buds. But some of us were welcoming 2014 while thinking we never new we would live this long. Happy New Year!
