“Oh, man! Do you believe this?”
“What’s the problem?”
“This stupid article I’m reading. It says that today’s youth has no respect for anything…”
“Today’s youth?”
“That’s us, freak. This says we’re more violent than any other generation before us, and it blames rock and roll.”
“I don’t know…”
“Oh, come on! We’re not that destructive!”
“We’re hardly destructive at all.”
“Damn straight! Umm, do you think you could take another plank out of that bench – the fire’s getting low.”
“Sure thing.”
* * *
“Say – hi!”
“Hi. What are you doing here?”
“Studying to be a brain surgeon. What do you think?”
“Aren’t you supposed to be in school?”
“Naah – I’ve got a note.”
“Me, too! What does yours say?”
“Please excuse Donna from school on Monday.”
“That’s it?”
“What do you want? A novel? Why? What does yours say?”
“Alice will not be in school today because she has an impacted wisdom tooth and has to see a dentist to determine the extent of the problem and, if necessary, find out if she is a candidate for oral surgery.”
“Man, you always did have a better imagination that I did!”
* * *
“I saw the Who’s last concert at Maple Leaf Gardens.”
“Oh?”
“Yeah. I had seats in the third row. And…and, I’ve seen Rush three times in the last five years…”
“Well, who hasn’t?”
“And, I was right up at the stage when Springsteen was at the Ex.”
“Really?”
“And, I saw Bowie and Wham! And Tina Turner and -“
“And, I suppose you saw the Stones at the El Mocambo?”
“Yes, as a matter of fact, I did.”
“Come on!”
“No, I remember it very clearly.”
“How can you? You would have been three years old at the time!”
“That’s rock and roll.”
* * *
“Alan?”
“Jack…hi. How ya doin’?”
“Not bad. You look pretty rough, though. How long you been in line?”
“Since Saturday afternoon.”
“You nut! How have you managed?”
“Friends have been bringing me food. I’ll buy them tickets. It’s not a bad arrangement. At least we’ll get good seats…”
“If you’re lucky.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Well, you know. The best tickets are always reserved by the people who own the stadium, the promoters, the stars and their sponsors. The tickets that go on sale are never the best – you’ll be lucky if you’re anywhere near the stage!”
“Alan, you’re a real jerk, you know that?”
“I do my best.”
* * *
“Ouch!”
“What’s the matter?”
“My legs are stiff from sitting so long. Man, the ground is cold!”
“Hey, the tickets go on sale in…less than five and a half hours. Hang in, there. You’ll make it!”
“I know…I know. But, sometimes, I think I may be getting too old for this sort of thing…”
“For rock and roll? Too old? Rock and roll isn’t a type of music, man, it’s a state of mind, a way of being, a way of making contact with the vibrations of the cosmos, a -“
“I can’t feel my legs, man.”
“You’re getting too old for this sort of thing.”