To Get Here

 Almost everyone I know  looks back on their childhood with some degree of nostalgia. No matter how tough the times, you can always find something that makes you smile and feel good.  I was a child of the seventies, having been born just days before President Kennedy was assassinated, meaning I came of age during the latter stages of the Age of Aquarius and developed into what passed for an adult during the era of gas shortages, Watergate and Fonzie.

Personally, I love the Seventies. The music changed as the decade wore on, but it was (and still is to a certain extent) the soundtrack of my life.  While nothing will ever replace The Beatles as the most important musical influence on me, Wings, The Doobie Brothers, ELO and Chicago did a lot to shape the person I was to become as the decade wore on. 

And while many call the automobiles of the decade those of the Malaise Era, these were the cars of my childhood.  Fortunately, growing up the Seventies meant I was surrounded by the great cars of the Sixties, and those that were to become nostalgic touchpoints for me in the Seventies, including the Gremlin and the Vega (two no-so-great cars of the decade which came to signify the decade), the Grand Prix, the Camaro Z28 and the Pontiac Trans Am.  Not to mention my beloved Corvettes (not mine personally - mine is from 1991, but that’s a different story).

Speaking of the Trans Am, that reminds me of my favorite movie of the Seventies, Smokey and the Bandit.  I don’t exactly know how many times I have seen that film but it has to number in the thirties at least.  It’s one of those that I don’t turn off when I come across it on TV on any given day (and one that I can easily pop the DVD in and watch whenever I want).   There were so many good films that came of out this decade, including of course The Godfather (I and II), A Star is Born (I’m pretty much a sucker for almost any Barbra Streisand film of the decade - I thought she was absolutely stunning back then), Saturday Night Fever and, of course, Grease.

The reason for this sudden quick trip down memory lane was really inspired by a more recent film that I just re-watched, called The Last Movie Star with Burt Reynolds.  Burt Reynolds WAS the Seventies - he was an action star, a dramatic star and a comedic star. He was the embodiment of cool. He was probably the reason (my uncle being the other) that I grew and maintained a mustache for so many years.  I loved Burt Reynolds in the Seventies and seeing him in his later years (The Last Movie Star was his last film) was sad, but it was also inspiring. His fictional character was really Burt Reynolds with another name. Even the flashbacks were Burt Reynolds movies from the Seventies.  Watching the film reminded me - in a good and bad way - that time has moved on and, with it, I have aged as well. I was a pretty carefree kid during the Seventies, with almost nothing to worry about except what kind of car I was going to drive someday (always a Corvette - which took decades to happen.  Almost always a Chevrolet, though), what music to listen to (see the above list), what movie to see, and who I was going to date.  That pretty much took care of itself when I dated the girl next door for the first time in 1979 - and we have been together ever since.

There was a great song in the film called “To Get Here”, written by Diane Warren and performed by Willie Nelson that reflected on life. And while it wouldn’t have made sense to me back in the Seventies, as I sit here in 2025, it sums up my life perfectly.  So I’ll end with those lyrics:

There are things I've done

I wish I could undo

I'd take back all the pain

I put the ones who love me through

And I'd make some better choices

I'd take some different roads

I'd hold on to what mattered

I would never let it go

Life is 20 20 hindsight

Might take a lifetime just to get some insight

Might not always get it right

But you get where you need to be

All the mistakes I made, I'm glad I made them

All the wrong turns I took, I had to take them

Can't look back with regret, 'cause the view is never clear

That's what it took to get here

There are things I said

I wish I could unsay

I'd erase all the hurt

From those I have hurt along the way

And I'd make the right decisions

And change some I made before

And I'd love a little deeper

And I would give a little more

Sometimes you get second chances

When they come you gotta go and grab them

Might not be the way you planned it

But you get where you need to be

All the mistakes I made, I'm glad I made them

All the wrong turns I took, I had to take them

Can't look back with regret, because the view is never clear

That's what it took to get here

And you can't go back and change anything

You can't make what happened happen differently

But you can get what you need

Get where you need to be

All the mistakes I made, I'm glad I made them

All the wrong turns I took, I had to take them

Can't look back with regret, because the view is never clear

That's what it took to get here

• Ocean City, NJ

Checks and Balances

While I ended up as an English major in college, and currently make my living teaching English to middle school students, I loved Social Studies (or History) when I was a student.  In fact, had I taken a class or two more, I would have been certified in that and who knows how my career might have been different.

With that said, one of the things I loved as a student was the study of American history - specifically the Constitution.  I seem to remember that the founding fathers created three branches of government to allow for checks and balances - keeping one branch from having too much power.   I always accepted that that was the expectation here in the US - the Legislative made the laws, the Executive carried out the laws and the Judicial made sure it was all kosher.

So you can imagine my dismay as I continue to follow the follies of the Trump administration and their blatant disregard of the judicial branch of government.  They seem to do whatever they want and, sadly, the Judicial branch seems to be completely ignored. But what is more disturbing is that the Supreme Court - the ultimate arbiter of Constitutionality in this country - seems to be, if not blatantly ignorant ,then at least anemic when it comes to assuming their rightful position in the whole "check and Balances" equation.

It's time for the justices to remember that their job is NOT dependent on who is in the White House once they've gotten the job. And it's time for the justices to remember that they have an obligation to uphold the  US Constitution - even if it pisses off the Chief Executive.

So what do you say justices?  How about doing your damned job. And not making the judicial branch simply an extension of the Executive branch. Because that's not what the founding fathers intended.

Do your job.

Oldies . . . and Goldies (or How the Beatles and the Rolling Stones are still relevant in 2025)

 Just a quick note for today to say how remarkable it is to me that, in February of 2025, both The Beatles and the Rolling Stones won Grammy awards.   Perhaps some of the votes were sentimental (I mean, how many more times might you, as a member of the academy, get a chance to check "The Beatles" or "The Rolling Stones" on our ballot).  But  the fact that they are still relevant - and still known by enough of the academy to warrant a statue, is just remarkable.  

Think about all of the groups and artists that have come and gone since both of these groups burst on the US scene in 1964.  Do you seriously think that Gary Lewis and the Playboys would have received a vote for any new record released in 2025?  And while that's an extreme example, it just  goes to show how culturally significant both of these groups were and are.

I have often said what I'm about to say yet again - it is remarkable that, for every day of my 61 years on Earth,  I have been privileged to be surrounded by the music of The Beatles. And that, for my entire record buying life, I have been able to add new music to that collection - be it by the band itself, or its individual components - John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr.  Ringo just released a brand new album - at 84 years young!!

They have been the soundtrack of my life and I'm so thrilled to see that they are once again Grammy award winners.