Some Have Gone And Some Remain

I took my dog to the vet today to have her “anal glands expressed.” This is brand new to me as my animal familiarity has only been with felines and flamingos for most of my adult life and I don't recall any anal gland situations with them. But anyway when they got “in there” to express them, they found an unusual amount of hard crusty ‘you know what’ and the vet, a short, compassionate “Pippi Longstocking type” recommended a “warm water enema” as my dog was “severely constipated.”
Of course, being the conscious mommy that I am, without hesitation I agreed and the procedure took about 15 minutes. My dog was then brought to me wrapped in an apricot-colored towel. What wasn’t told to me, after I paid the 86 bucks, was that the entire enema “residue” that was released behind closed doors of the clinic, needed more time to rid itself. My cute little baby shit all over her Martha Stewart bed, the floorboard, her leash, my jeans, my right forearm and her back paw. It was quite the explosion of shock combined with my pangs of sympathy and we rode home silently, both trying not to breathe in too deeply. As a distraction, I turned on 97.9 FM my absolute favorite “oldies” station. Somehow returning to 1976 helps in these kind of situations. As the pup stared at me with her “What the fuck did you just put me through?” eyes, I went from the present “shit happens” moment to reflection as I often do…
As weird of a tangent this may take for all of you, I began wondering why I don’t know one single popular 2010 band; that all I listen to 24/7 are the hits of the ‘60’s and ‘70’s and I am totally ok with it... The "Breakfast Club", "The Fab 4 at 4."... When I am cruising in my VW bug and the likes of The Beatles, Carole King, Billy Joel and Fleetwood Mac fill my compartment like helium in a balloon, I am not only content but also free. And I know you know what I’m talking about.
“Sing me a song you’re the Piano Man… Sing me a song tonight… ’Cuz we’re all in the mood for a melody and you’ve got me feeling alright.” Whoa! Take me and sit me right down with those memories! Soon it’s 1974 and I'm no longer a girl from a trailer park sitting next to my dog, who smells like shit, trying to get back to the park without running out of gas since the reserve light went off 15 miles ago. I’m now a 16 year old wrinkle-free, worry-free and rocker girl.
I wonder if our parents were like us, you know? Like, they had absolutely no idea who the popular bands were in the ‘70’s. They lost themselves in their own reflections of “their” songs and “their” artists of the ‘40’s and ‘50’s and I/we thought they didn’t understand us and didn’t know what real, authentic music truly was. I remember thinking how square they were, didn’t you? They not only didn’t have taste in what was exceptional, but they didn’t really understand our cores either.
Oh yeah, I can tell you I’ve heard of Lady Gaga, but ask me a title of a current song of hers and I ‘ll look at you like a deer in headlights. Or ask me to name one Hip Hop band or the top 10 in Heavy Metal or Rock and you know I can’t lie to you people. But did they understand us? The parentals? Did they appreciate our desires and ideas and intellect that would surely change the world and make it a better place? You know, I think about this from time to time. They weren’t that different from us and we aren’t that different from the youth of today and yet we are all worlds apart. They thought we were young and naïve. We think they are out of touch, messed up, selfish and all of us find our own generation to be unique. Oh, we threw our fits and we used language that put them in their place and caused them pain and yet we reflect upon them now with regret. What fools we humans are. What fools, what egotistical fools the next generation will be. And how the hell did I get from my pup spewing brown-water like a fountain to this? I’ll tell you how… A Tangueray and tonic with extra lime, that’s how! I leave you with a moment to ponder and shouldn’t we since we are at a close of another year? I heard this classic the other morning and it resonates with me still…
“There are places I remember
All my life, though some have changed
Some forever not for better
Some have gone and some remain
All these places had their moments
With lovers and friends
I still can recall
Some are dead and some are living
In my life I've loved them all”

Happy New Year!
-tpg