The Good Old Days

It’s time to talk about the good old days...not your good old days, my good old days.  Good old days for me are very different from my parents' good old days and will be very different from the days kids are experiencing now.

My good old days were the days in the ‘90s when pogs and slammers were in and I actually thought my beanie babies were going to be worth something.  The days where I got Gak in my hair and cut it out myself, ending in a not-so-fashionable hairdo and when my friends and I would try to learn all the words to Spice Girls songs- “so tell me what you want what you really, really want.”  The times when we got excited to put on our light-up sneakers and go to the store to buy some new Lisa Frank supplies so we could play our MASH games with cool pencils, all while tending to our Nano babies, of course. 
   

The fun time in my computer class didn’t consist of seeing who my new friends were on Facebook, but of staying alive on the Oregon Trail.  When malaria hit it was no walk in the park...you’re whole family died and you lost the game.  Fail.  And then you went back to class and learned about the planets, which included Pluto.  If it was a really special day, we paid $1 to dress down (Catholic school) and maybe even got to wear our Old Navy polar fleece vest, which was under our oversized, hand-me-down Starter jacket I was so excited to get. 

I loved Fridays.  Not because I didn’t have to do homework, or looked forward to Saturday morning cartoons, but because of TGIF- not TGIFridays the restaurant, the TGIF show line-up!  Fridays always called for a sleepover with our “American Girl” and “My Little Pony” sleeping bags so we could watch “Family Matters,” “Boy Meets World,” “Step by Step,” and “Hangin’ with Mr. Cooper.”  We also played Nintendo- the original, standard system in which you had to blow into the games to make them work and sit close enough to the TV (at least it was in color) so that the remote was still attached.  

When I was a kid, we rode in style in our burgundy minivan that had an added bonus- a wooded panel (see left)!  I would fight with my sister and brothers, one of which had a mushroom haircut (sometimes known as the bowl cut).  I yelled at them to not look out my window; they just didn’t understand.  Maybe the cool hat and clothes (see right) my mom dressed me in had an effect on my attitude.  

Just imagine what adults will be talking about in 2030 when they refer to their “good old days.”  Remember that iPad thing I used to play with?  Remember when we got lost and my mom found us because of that GPS chip she had implanted into my brain when I was born?  Remember when we hit dad in the face swinging our imaginary golf club to win that Wii game?  Remember when we would have to wait 2 seconds for something to load on our laptop?  Remember when we took that long road trip and had to watch 2 animated movies in 3D in that big, black Escalade dad drove?  Remember when mom said goodnight to us via video chat when she was away on business halfway across the world?

My oh my how times have changed...and will change.  What else does the future hold for new generations now that things such as Walkmans, VHS tapes, and Barney, the dinosaur are a mere memory?  

BB

Our BB King adventure couldn’t have gone any more smoothly.  The weather was a little hot, but could’ve been worse and the chance of rain diminished as the night went on.  The flowers were beautiful and the crowd was happy and excited to see the King of Blues.


The night began with a beautiful white limo ride to Longwood and dinner at 1906, which is located in the Gardens.  We felt  like we we were eating in a very upscale tree-house as we saw greenery everywhere outside the surrounding floor-to-ceiling windows.  The bread came out in a cute little flower pot for obvious reasons and the peach sangria I had was very refreshing.  

After dinner we strolled around the gardens and took some pictures.  We even saw an Amish family admiring the flowers and fountains while they walked around in their straw hats, suspenders, and Amish garb and I hoped they didn’t think I was stealing their souls as I tried to sneak a picture (see left- they are behind the fountain).  My favorite flowers were the angel trumpet flowers that hung upside down (see left below).    

As we sat in row “O” at the outdoor concert set up in Longwood Gardens waiting for BB King to take the stage, we observed a variety of different people.  There was a cute little old lady with white hair and a cute white outfit across the aisle from us who was there by herself and seemed more than content.  She was dancing to the music and clapping to the beat.  Would you feel comfortable enough to go to a concert by yourself?  I guess if the concert was completely sold out (which this one was) not too many people would really notice that you were alone.  

Anyway, we drank delicious blue mixed drinks creatively named “the blues,” while we waited for the concert to begin.  Once the opening act came on (which turned out to be Willie Nelson's son), people became more lively and the sun started to go down as music filled the gardens.  BB King’s band came out and performed before the King himself made his appearance.  As BB cracked jokes about how old he is (he’s 84) and how his chair dancing was the first exercise he had all day, the audience laughed along with him and one person even yelled, “Thank you for coming to Kennett Square and playing for us!”  BB King was very grateful for all the applause and love as he tossed out guitar picks and gave away his own necklace to a lady that brought him flowers.  He sounded great and played “Lucille,” his guitar, with a unique ease and passion that the crowd really appreciated. 

From the ride there to the ride home, the night turned out perfectly, and we got to experience a living legend.  So I guess I could say...it couldn’t have been better!