Ageism

I have come to grips with the fact that i'm getting old. Not ancient old, or even old in a physical sense (mind you in the morning it takes me a while to get my legs moving,- especially after playing hockey the night before). I guess my sense of age has become more noticeable in a cultural sense. Are you confused with what i'm getting at? I'll explain. Last Thursday, my niece Shaina, from Calgary came over for a visit. We had a real swell time together. It was cool having her hanging out with Sam and checking out the neat stuff that is to see in Victoria. Heather, Sam and Shaina went on a double decker bus tour of Victoria. Long and the short of it,, it was a good time. Now Shaina is a really good kid. I have always said, that if Heath and I could raise kids like Shaina, Lindsey and Jeff (Lindsey, Shaina, and Jeff are my brother and sister-in-law's (Kim and Lori) kids) we would be doing a good job as parents. She is also 17 years old, which is eons away from my 33 years of age when you consider the culture of being 30, and of being a teenager. At 17 i was listening to old school rap groups like Run DMC and starting to get into this new hip music from Seattle called grunge. Teenagers, i don't know what they are listening too,- i know rap music is taking over Rock music as the voice of youth (I'm i right on this?). I remember a few weeks back working in a house being constructed. For however long i worked construction, it was always classic rock that permeated the airwaves of the work site. A steady dose of Zeppelin, Eagles and Nazereth would be heard on some Roofer's ghetto blaster. On this particular day, "gangsta" rap was being played on site, and the workers were all younger. I could see in a few years that this will be the norm. Will Rock and Roll really die? Crazy to think that this could be the case! So yeah, i guess i don't really know what kids are listening to. But i thought i always had some semblance of understanding when it came to current trends. I listen to the local modern rock station and had taken notice of some of the current groups, like Franse Ferdinand and Arcade Fire. But did i really know acutely what was going on with kids. Well i tell you, visiting with Shaina brought to light that i might be old as disco. We started talking music, and i mentioned that i had the new Chilli Pepper's disc. Shaina politely mentioned that she wasn't too into the Chillies. I kind of thought in my mind, how could she not like the Red Hot Chilli Peppers? It did not take me long to figure it out. The Chillies are old. If you really think about it - they are. But they used to be the most hip-happening band around! Later on when we were cruising around town, The Tragically Hip came on the radio. I said, "yeah crank it up this is a sweet tune!" Shaina groaned in despair. I was like, "What? How could you not like the Hip?" Again, started thinking, Gord Downie and the boys are getting old. Another example of sqareness (i don't know if that is a word but i am just going with it), we were at Beacon Drive-in,- having ice cream, and i thought i have to mention a band that she would think was cool. So i threw out, "What do you think of the band Block Party?" Now i have to note that this is a group that i was introduced to by my good buddy Erik Larsen, who is my one pipeline into all that is new, hip and current in modern music. He played me this Block Party album and i thought it was pretty good. I ask Shaina, she said no, she never heard of them. I was like, "What? No, you had to have heard of The Block Pary! No never had. So that was that. I knew that I was out of touch. But i also realized that all teens are different. Its not like the Breakfast Club where you could really type cast kids. All kids are different,- especially now in our hallowed post-modern era where all types of fads are fair game. O yeah i know there are patterns - like all human behavior you find patterns. But the Breakfast Club (By the way, during our visit Shaina mentioned that she could not sit through a whole viewing of the 80's teen classic. To my perplexity she percieved it as lame.) showed personality types in real tight parameters,- the nerd, the jock, the misfit, the hood, the prep. All kids, like musical tastes are different. And i knew i was old. And you know, there is liberation in that. If anything there is humour in it. You have to laugh at the absurdity of time. One second you can be in high school, concerned about your hairdoo, the next second your bald, with a wife and child (albeit a hot wife and cute child), typing away in your plaid pajamas with Sports Center on in the background. Then you realize that you just bought a station wagon because the more sporty car that Heather and you owned the last few years is too small to hold your family. Heather even said a few days back, "I can't believe i'm saying this, but i'm so glad that we own a station wagon, the stroller fits in so easy!" So yeah i'm old but i'm fine with it. There is peace in not caring about being the grooviest kid on the block. So, i'm going to crank up The Chilli Peppers, and be thankful for the passage of 33 years. Maybe i'll take the skateboard out of my recently built work shed and go for a skate - searching for that vibe of former youth. S.F