Tuesday, July 11, 2006

Tangled up in Youth

Recently my Boss entered the small cramped office room my co-worlers and I share. "Anyone heard of a Big Name Band having a concert at the Wizards Stadium?"

We turned and showed each other our quizzical expressions, shrugged and returned our attention towards him.

"Some old guy" he continued, "Like my age."

"Jimmy Buffett" Smart Aleck #1 asked.

"No...but someone like that". He then proceeded to quote us the figure they wanted for our Corporate Suite that night. The price for 20 people to attend.

"Wow" said Smart Aleck #2. He immediately got on the phone and called the Stadium the moment Boss left the room. He got the name of the Top Secret not yet released name of the Big Band!

"Thanks" he concluded, turned toward us and waited for just enough time to gain an air of drama.......

"Bob Dylan."

Pause.

"Who's he?" Smart Aleck #1 asks.

Co-worker #3, The Hunk leans back in his chair and twirls his pen between his fingers, "I never liked him much." Looking at me he says, "You tell them."

I begin.

"Blowing in the Wind". Blank faces from the Smart Alecks.

"Rainy Day Woman". Still blank.

"Like a Rolling Stone". Now head shaking.

"Mr. Tambourine Man" More head shaking.

"Subterranean Homesick Blues" They both look incredulous. I begin to Rap the words (like Dylan did all those years ago)......


"Johnnys in the basement
Mixing up the medicine
I'm on the pavement
Thinking about the government"

Now they look like they are going to start laughing.

I suddenly had the image of my Mother rapping Guy Lombardo trying to convince me 30 years ago there was no better music than THAT.

I gaze across the abyss of the generation gap and suddenly it hits me!

"Guns and Roses?" Finally they nod. "They covered his "Knocking on Heavens Door".

"OOOOOOOOKKKKKAAAAAAAAYYYYYYY" Smart Aleck#1 says in his Napoleon Dynamite imitation and they resume their tasks at hand, ignoring me and the Hunk.

"Gun's and Roses is over the Hill for them" he informed me. Then he resumed working.

I sat semi-stunned.

4 comments:

Paul said...

Yet any musician, including the ones these morons listen to, would genuflect at the mention of Dylan's name.

Lisa :-] said...

This is so funny, Mary. I just started working with a crew of kids not yet twenty. The music I think of as "recent" was recorded before they were born.

The "music" they listen to makes me want to puke. And I have never heard of any of the bands.

I am now officially an old fart.

V said...

Hehehehe,
V

sonia a. mascaro said...

Hi Mary, thank you for your visiting and nice comment about my family's photos! Nice to "meet" you!