I Double Dog Dare Ya

"Sometimes, it's a toss of the coin. Heads, you're in the right place. Tails, you're life is nothing but a cess-pool of confusion."

-Me

Not completely in the talkative mood thanks to being a little worn out over taxes. If I'm as lucky as I was today, I just might get a fucking refund. Savings, baby. It's going into savings. Well, either that or to, finally, get that 50-inch HDTV I've been wanting because I love me something slim.

Alright, the amazing news. Richard, my friend that's worked with various bands in the past and occasionally with some recently (Remember him and The Police, last year?) to help in setting up the stage came up to me in the gym. He told me he has another t-shirt for me since it's his form of paying me back for all those bootleg DVDs I've been loaning him. It is nice seeing movies in the theater in your own home, no? We're just 2 goofy doofuses in the gym laughing about what we've seen while others look at us confused.

Well, a little-known band called Nine Inch Nails played our town years ago. Of course, they've hit it big in such a major way that pretty much everyone knows about 'em. Even I, one that doesn't listen to them, know who Trent Reznor is. Fascinating guy, of course. It takes a very special type to pour his heart out for others to read or listen to. Even the darkest have feelings. This tour for Nine Inch Nails was from their Downward Spiral promotion. Richard worked with the band and met Trent.

Now, get this. Trent gave Richard his t-shirt. Now, guess what I have sitting in my room upstairs. Let's just say that Sara is getting a major surprise for Valentine's Day because I'm giving her a t-shirt once worn by Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails! I'm curious as to how she's going to react to all this. Will the shirt be framed or worn? The damn thing has been in Richard's house for a long time just laying there under a lot of junk, etc. It's a weird world how I end up with being able to give something very meaningful to someone that spent a lot of time listening to his music through good and bad times. I mean, Nine Inch Nails is big for those that enjoy music that causes a person to thrash around or find beauty in ugliness.

Note: Richard watched Trent shoot up heroin while wearing the t-shirt. Weird. Should I tell Sara that?

Alright, enough of my damn good luck. I'm not feeling so emotionally sweet right now so I'll give you the gift of goodness once given to me by a friend's forward. The damn thing made my day long, long ago and, yes, I did post it on my old blog. Got a lot of responses about how nice it was to take a trip back. Now, relax and smile after reading this.

"Close your eyes...........and go back.....
Before the Internet or the Mac
Before semi-automatics and crack
Before SEGA or Super Nintendo....
Way back.....
I'm talkin' about hide and seek at dusk
Red light, green light.
Playing kickball and dodge ball until your porch light came on.
Mother May I?
Red Rover
Hula Hoops
Running through the sprinkler
Happy Meals
Wait........
Watchin' Saturday morning cartoons
Fat Albert, Road Runner, Smurfs, Picture Pages,
G-Force, and He-Man
Wonder Woman and Superman Underoos
Playing Dukes Of Hazard
Catchin' lightning bugs in a jar
Christmas morning.........
Your first day of school
Bedtime prayers and goodnight kisses
Climbing trees
Getting an ice cream off the ice cream truck
A million mosquito bites and sticky fingers
Jumping down the steps
Jumping on the bed
Pillow fights
Running til you were out of breath
Laughing so hard that your stomach hurt
Being tired from 'playin'.......
Your first crush
Rainy days at school meant playing 'Heads Up 7Up' in the classroom
Remember that?
I'm not finished yet
Kool-aid was the drink of the summer
Totting your friends on your handle-bars
Wearing your new shoes on the first day of school
Class field trips
When nearly everyone's mom was at home when the kids got there
When a quarter seemed like a fair allowance
and another quarter a miracle
When any parents could discipline any kid or feed him
or use him to carry groceries and nobody, not even the kid,
thought anything of it
When your parents took you to McDonald's and you were so cool
When being sent to the principal's office was nothing compared
to the fate that awaited a misbehaving student at home
Basically, we were in fear of our lives but it wasn't a drive-by
Shootings, drugs, gangs, etc. Our parents and grandparents were a much bigger threat!
And some of us are still afraid of 'em!
Didn't that feel good, just to go back and say, "Yeah, I remember that!"
There's nothing like good-old-days! They were good then
and they're good when we think about them
Share some thoughts with a friend who can relate,
then share it with someone that missed out on them.
I want to go back to the time when...............
Decisions were made by "Eeny-meeny-miney-mo"
Mistakes were corrected by simply exclaiming, "Do over!"
"Race issue" meant arguing about who ran the fastest
Money issues were handled by whoever was the banker in Monopoly
Catching the fireflies could happily occupy an entire evening.
It wasn't odd to have two or three "best" friends
Being old, referred to anyone over 20
The worst thing you could catch from the opposite sex was cooties
Nobody was prettier than Mom
Scrapes and bruises were kissed and made better
It was a big deal to finally be tall enough to ride
the 'big people' rides at the amusement park
Getting a foot of snow was a dream come true
Abilities were discovered because of a "double-dog dare."
Spinning around, getting dizzy and falling down was cause for giggles
The worst embarassment was being picked last for a team
Water balloons were the ultimate weapon
Older siblings were the worst tormentors, but also the fiercest protectors
If you can remember most of all of these, then you have lived
Pass this on to anyone who may need a break from their "grown-up life."
I DOUBLE DOG DARE YA!"

So, I'll be off to Indiana tomorrow. Hope this cheered you up or at least made you realize that all that 'playin' outside was worth it. Summer, your present is in the mail. Thanks for sticking with me all these years. Happy twats all around.