Thoughts of "my generation" were placed on the turntable of my life with the news of John Entwistle's death late last month. Entwistle was the quiet bassist for The Who, and their first album "My Generation" introduced their music to us all in 1965. The title song from that album shouted "bridge burning" words to earlier generations.
"People try to put us d-down (talkin' 'bout my generation)
Just because we get around (talkin' 'bout my generation)
Things they do look awful c-c-cold (talkin' 'bout my generation)
I hope I die before I get old (talkin' 'bout my generation)"
John Entwistle did die before he got "old." Just as his band mate Keith Moon who died in 1978 did. Just as eight of my littermates from the Newport High School Class of 1970 did. The lyrics of "My Generation" pointed a challenging finger at my parents' generation. Ironically, many members of "that" generation also died before they got "old" as have thousands from every generation.
It is instinctive to separate one generation from another especially when you are young and much "smarter" than your parents. And it is apparent that you reach the pinnacle of "smarts" in the midst of phase one of the generational path, a phase I call "Checking In." The "Checking In" phase of life's journey is that time from birth until you have children of your own (the next generation).
Every one hundred years we see four to five generations. Historically, my generation is referred to as the Baby Boomers, the post World War II group of "kids" born between 1946 and 1964. Since I'm a 1952 model, I consider my generation to include those souls introduced to the world from 1940 to 1964 (twelve school years either side of 1952). The approximate mid point of the "Checking In" phase is age 13; an age associated with descriptive words like teenager, rebellious, independent, pubescent, smart aleck. The age at which I stood when I first heard the words to "My Generation." I thought the lyrics cool. After all I was 13, thought my parents and teachers were regularly "putting me down" with a particularly "cold" attitude. And I surely didn't want to grow "old" as they were. In retrospect, I was wrongly influenced by those lyrics, but the words still hold truth for my generation.
Let's flip forward to the "back pages" in the book of life where we find the revealing words of the wise one, "Ah, but I was so much older then, I'm younger than that now." (Bob Dylan, "My Back Pages," 1964). I no longer "hope" I die before I get old, I know that I will.
I am fortunate in that I do not know anyone who is truly "old." I have several close friends in their eighties and a couple in their nineties who are anything but "old." They may be "long" in years, but definitely not "old." I am 50 years young and my life's pursuits are keeping me young at heart. So, in the end, Death will knock on my door just as it will at yours. But if Death is looking for an "old" person, the knock on the door will go unanswered by my generation. Among us there is absolute refusal to grow "old." And the music of our times is the soundtrack of forever youngsters.
The key ingredient to assuring that one dies "before I get old" is the friendships made and cultivated. Reconnecting with long-term friends after times of absence is rejuvenating. My experiences during this past month are a testament to being forever young. Events that I identify with more youthful times were enjoyed over the past four weeks. Let me recount them.
Kathryn and I went to an Eagles concert on July 2 at Alltel Arena in North Little Rock with James (Class of 1971) and Marie Biggers and Jim and Bonnie Johnson from Russellville. It was a wonderful show! I first saw the Eagles as a backup group to Yes in 1972. On this evening in 2002, they crammed a thirty-year repertoire of hit tunes into a three-hour, crowd-pleasing performance. Their "Hell Freezes Over" concert in 1995 was outstanding, but this concert transported me back in time when the Eagles were relative unknowns, when I was living "life in the fast lane" as a college kid. They "took it to the limit" and left me with a "peaceful, easy feeling." I truly love live music and there is no finer soundtrack to life than the music of the 1960s and early 1970s. Yes, I'm biased, but I love the music of my generation. The first concert I attended was a Dave Clark Five show in 1967 when I was 15. I still have the ticket stub. "Ah, but I was so much older then, I'm younger than that now."
Two days after the Eagles concert, Kathryn and I attended the wedding of a friend. Not the wedding of a child of a friend, which is the norm these days, but the wedding of good friend Ronny Brown. Ronny and I laughed a lot together throughout the 1980s when both of us were living in Newport. Ronny was on Bill Keedy's football staff at Newport High School then. He was a member of the Class of 1970 at Hope, Arkansas. John (Class of 1969) and Sue Pennington were also at Ronny and Barb's wedding on the 4th of July. What a blast to share fireworks with friends!
Then two days later it was off to a family reunion in Wilson, Arkansas with my mother, sister Lana, and youngest daughter Elizabeth. Lana was back "home" from Las Vegas so that she could attend her 30th Newport High School Reunion the weekend of July 12-13. Family reunions are a lot more fun at 50 years old than they were at 13. "Ah, but I was so much older then, I'm younger than that now."
All who attended the 30th reunion of the NHS Class of 1972 were unable to render a reliable account of the two-day event. It is my understanding that many who were present will only be able to recall their time there through pictures and folklore. Sorry I missed it!
The annual Newport Country Club Invitational golf tournament took place the weekend of July 19-21 where I met up with long time partner Greg Hubbard for a little golf and a lot of laughter. So many great friends from days gone by in Newport gather for this tournament that is always so much fun. And you don't have to be much of a golfer to enjoy the party atmosphere. Fore!
The weekend was marred by the death of Bobby Fortune, one of my guardian angels when I was a youth. The fact that I was back "home" at the time of his death allowed me to have some time with his children and my life long friends Mike (Class of 1969) and Karen (Class of 1972) as well as Miss Sugie, his wife and an angel indeed.
The Friday round of the golf tournament was cancelled due to a torrential rain. That Friday afternoon while visiting at the Fortune home and standing outside in the rain, "old" littermate Eddie Jones came by on his bicycle. He stopped for a brief conversation before heading off to the high water flooding the intersection of Magnolia Street and Lakeside Lane. Proof that neither one of us has sense enough to get in out of the rain. Some things never change! Eddie was definitely having a fun time riding his bike through flooded streets.
That same weekend, Lana and I traveled to Jonesboro on Saturday night for an "old" hippies reunion with college pals. Those of you who knew me well in the early 1970s know that I approached life from a little left of center. My "compass" from that time was missing a "true" North, so I lost my way a lot. However, the friendships found during those experimental days have remained ever so "true." A good time was had by all who were there with us in person or in spirit.
On the heels of all these reunions, I drove up to Fayetteville last week to have dinner with childhood partners in fun Donny Appleton and Gene Bennett. We were joined by their significant others, Robin and Shannon, and had a great time reliving "old" times. We also talked about the upcoming Big Birthday Bash that the Class of 1970 is throwing for ourselves. We very seldom need an excuse to have a party, but this year we have a dandy reason to circle the beer wagons. Since most of us were hatched in 1952, we did the math and came up with the answer that we would all reach the magical age of 50 sometime this year. So, littermates, do not slack on the respiratory exercises. You will need some strong lungs to blow out a cake on fire with 50 candles. We will gather at the Legion Hut on September 7, 2002 at 7:00 pm. (Yes, the Hut is located in the very same place it was when the dancing stopped in the spring of 1970.)
Just as the Eagles had a 30-year reunion tour this year, we can only imagine a Mystic Blues reunion; or how about a reunion of the Seven Wonders or the Empty Room. The sounds of the Know Body Else and the Box Tops are probably still echoing in and around the Hut as well. I can hear the music! Be there on September 7. We will celebrate with libations and conversations. Happy Birthday Class of '70!!!
With apologies to the Temptations, I will shut the door on this Miles' Files with my rendition of their chart smasher "My Girl" from 1965.
"I've got sunshine on a cloudy day
When it's cold outside, I've got the month of May.
I guess you'd say
What can make me feel this way?
My friends (my friends, my friends)
Talkin' 'bout my friends (my friends).
I don't need no money, fortune, or fame.
I've got all the riches baby, one man can claim.
I guess you'd say
What can make me feel this way?
My friends
Talkin' 'bout my friends."
My "compass" heading is Newport, yet I'm still Miles from nowhere ... guess I'll take my time.
joe
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