Saturday morning!  Something special about a Saturday morning; and that’s (for me anyway)  true whether you’re working or ‘catting around,’ or said another way – “rat-killing.” 

Ok, Ok nothing like some Okie slang to get me started. But, after all, I am a Okie, true blooded – thru and thru, and although I’ve traveled Route 66 it wasn’t in a beat up old “Grapes of Wrath” pickup truck, but, come to think of it – it was a ‘beat-up’ old 51 Ford Coupe that took me and my high-school chum, Danny, all the way to California one summer between our Jr and Sr years in H.S. – ah – the ‘Good ol days, yes?’

Yeah, I know, I spend a lot of ‘ink’ talking about the good ol days.  Well, on 2^nd thought – it’s not ink, at least in these fantastic days of computers, faxes, cell phones and robots that answer the phone/take messages – for us.  So… what would it be if not ‘ink?’  Oh, I’ve got it – instead of ‘ink’ its “black fairy dust against the white-screen.”  Could we call it “Black Fairy Dust,” or would we be labeled racist?  Probably the latter, especially in this ‘day and age’ when the least insinuation about ‘race’ is considered racist; talk about "pure tripe."  Gee….

Oh yeah, back to the original point; that I spend a lot of time talking about the ‘good ol days.’ Yeah, Yeah, I know; they (the good ol days) weren’t all that good, after all what’s good about wars, great music, draft resistance, drugs, booze,women, booze and all that stuff.  Hmm…. five out of seven (you do the math) ain’t bad. 

Anyway… "What a day for a daydream, what a day for a daydreaming boy" - oh, x'cuse me - where was I --- there is something one can think about for a second (as time whizzes by in Rocket speed) … and that is – the younger generation, and in this case I’m talking about those in the 30-40 age brackets, don’t seem to have any.  Good Ol Days that is.  I never hear my kids (who are in that age bracket) talking about “good ol days.”  Is it because they (that generation) don’t think the way we did/do, or is it because there are no ‘good ol days’ for them.  The Vietnam War and 'those times’ fascinate my youngest son, who has questioned me extensively about it (while my oldest never has).  Once when he was being particularly inquisitive about a sensitive topic (whether or not I had ever killed anyone in Vietnam) – I wondered aloud why he didn’t ever discuss the ‘good ol days’ of his own life – and got this as a reply; What ‘good ol days’ Dad?  Continuing on he told me - that his generation was known as the “Brand X Generation” - wherein nothing in particular happened, no wars, no draft, nothing really -  just plain vanilla.” 

I was astounded that anyone could refer to his or her generation in such a way, but then again, us Baby-Boomers hold such a high regard for our own generation.  Ever wonder why that is?

Our parent’s generation has been referred to as “The Greatest Generation,” and in my opinion that’s dead on right, but the love for the times of their youth, or the glorification of it – is missing in action.

Could all this be simply because our generation was the first to be easily captured both musically - and on the screen?  Possible.  But equally possible is the fact that our generation ‘was one of a kind,’ and like no other mankind will ever see again.  Oh…. That sounds good, doesn’t it?

All this came to me yesterday – when it occurred to me that “Everyone has good ol days,” or so I (mistakenly) thought.  After remembering the conversation with my youngest I looked around me - at 2008 – the ‘gang rappers dominating television, the mixing of the races, no music to speak of - increasing crime, war, electronic bull-shit like computers, faxes, cell phones, and all other forms of cyberspace neurons, plutons and saxtons  - stirred – together with the complete breakdown of adult control of children, sub-par school education, open borders where merely wobbling across the line and dropping a kid means a lifetime of the American taxpayer paying ‘cradle to grave’ expenses – has (for sure) created "times" that nobody will ever look back on with any degree of fondness, forever and forever proving false that ol saying I've always heard - "these days are the good ol days of the future."  No... not true, not true. "These days" - will never be the 'good ol days.'  The 'good ol days' are gone......

Gee…. No wonder the phrase ‘good ol days’ doesn’t mean what it used to.

ice