Those that are my age are often puzzled at what goes on with younger generations today. As a group we often shake our heads and secretly, and often not so secretly, long for what we think were the ‘good old days.’ But the fact is that along with the accumulation of knowledge and living that comes with a lifetime of ups and downs, also comes a subtle fog that settles over the past.
Was our childhood really as Opie-esque and Aunt Bee-ish as we remember? My guess is that was true only if one lived on a movie set. This was brought home to me a little while back when I was called by a member of my high school graduating class. She was on a committee that was putting together the 50th high school reunion, and I was the last member of the class that they were able to locate. An adult life of constant moving had made me hard to track down. What is more, I had no friends that I kept in touch with from that time. I had moved there my junior year from overseas, and it had been a hard adjustment. I had happily gone on to college, and never looked back.
In conversing with my classmate, who I did not remember, I made the comment that I had not enjoyed my two years there very much. She just laughed, and said that in all the calling she had done, no one had looked back on their high school years very fondly. I was surprised. Certainly among that group she called there had been those who, from my viewpoint, were living the perfect high school life. So much for the ‘good old days.’
Now let us look at today. That boy at the bus stop, plugged into his phone may have his billed cap on backwards (why?) and his pants at half-mast (why, why, why???), yet I imagine he is filled with the same uncertainties, anguish, and what feels like a hopeless desire to fit in so many of us had at his age. His ideal may not be Mayberry, but whatever it is, you can be sure he does not feel he is achieving it.