It's An End of a Decade

Mom and Dad, affectionately known as M & D came to visit last weekend. They brought with them a sense of calm that only people retired for 20 years can know. They also tried to bring us some homemade jam but the TSA confiscated it - could have been used to spread all over their stale Delta bread before they blew up the plane - gotta be careful. I didn’t ask M&D if they had succumbed to the full body cavity search at Detroit Metro; I’ll have to follow up on that.

One thing that did make it through the TSA pat-down and the metal detector was my 1980 High School Yearbook. I was a sophomore at Marshall High School that year and I must confess that I was not a stellar student. I played basketball. That’s what I did…period. So it was a bit surprising to discover that my 1980 yearbook editors included some incredible political commentary that would have been way over my head at the time, and probably still is. But before I get into that, let me quote some of the profound inscriptions of my classmates (signatures removed to protect the sappy, corny and trite writings of 16 year olds – grammatical errors and misspellings included):

To one of the sweetest girls I know. Good luck in basketball for the rest of the season and also good luck in the future.

Just remember that when we go out to football games and get hit in the head with a bottle, we believe in organized sports. Get bent. Oh well, gotta go, your a real sweetie and I love ya.

You have stayed the same sweetheart that you were in kindergarten when I played with dolls and you played with trucks. I know you’ll stay uncorrupted if you come to MYF more often and participate in the friendship circle.
You are a wild and crazy chick who I have not known very long but I like ya just the same. Take it easy or any way you can. Good luck! Get wild! Party Harty!

And my personal favorite…I think you’re a real sweet girl and I would like to get to know you a lot better! I hope you feel the same!

In the back of the yearbook was a page called “It’s an end of a decade.” It talked about the 70’s beginning in the midst of the furor and turmoil of the Vietnam War and how the 70’s were also a decade of rights – equal, gay, voting and drinking. Names like Anita Bryant, Jimmy Carter and Patricia Hearst were included in this commentary along with Watergate, the Guyana People’s Temple and inflation.

It’s hard to believe we’re coming to the end of yet another decade. It seems like not so long ago that we were stocking our basements full of bottled water, spam, wine and Twinkies and partying like it was 1999.

I wonder what the next decade will bring? Hard tellin’

Love ya, mean it, don’t go changin’ just to please me. Stay sweet and good luck in the future. You’re the best and all the best people know it.