The Hippies and the Freaks

Originally posted on Myspace Monday, January 26, 2009 :

I took my kids to the park by my house today (Sunday). It’s a little neighborhood park with a climb-o-rama, a couple of swings and a backstop in a field. We’ve been going up there more lately, since Jack loves to be outside and we don’t have much of a yard. Usually, we are the only ones there, but today was different. There was a crowd of roughly fifteen kids hanging out by some grills they obviously brought. As we settled in, with my shorties screaming (and chasing and climbing) and me with my Ipod perching near to watch over, I couldn’t stop from studying them.

I say they were kids, because they were early 20s and I am now 35 (uggh). The scene reminded me so much of my youth. They were dressed in smart thrift store finds and funky layers. A couple of them had handmade musical instruments and they had three dogs running in circles around the group. I kept drifting back to the days of hacky sac at the tennis courts with so many of my A-Town friends or football in the park with Brad, Ricky and some of my Lubbock peeps. To giant stop-and-go soft drinks and good Thai food. To Randall kids and Canyon kids and Einstein’s and Denny’s. To the skate park and the parking lot across from high school. To Tara Holt’s house or my back house.

I continued my unabashed people watching while listening to music. I always have these heightened sentimental moments in connection with music. Citizen Cope was playing and he (Clarence Gatewood) is probably the same age as these “kids”, so it couldn’t have been that (maybe though - d'artagnan's theme). The group drifted over to the backstop and started a game of kickball. A few of them were smoking and chatting – some were really playing. All of the sudden I felt invisible. Like they didn’t realize I was once like them. At first I wanted them to know. “Hey, I was once like you. I didn’t always dress sensible and shout for children to be careful or they might impair their vision by swinging upside down (can you even do that?).” I got over that urge though and I enjoyed my secret identity.

It seems that until today, I always thought I would go back to that. You know, in the back of my mind. That I was just “taking a break” from those things. I realized today that I am in a new phase of my life now. I’m ok with that. Of course I will have cookouts or go to parks and shows with my friends, but it’s not the same.

These memories serve me well. The guy with the shaved head and the army jacket was Brad Hoover for just a second. And the big head of fuzzy red hair and freckled cheeks had Timmy’s profile. The girl in the colorful beanie was so close to Lauren Moore it was uncanny. That one guy wearing baggy long shorts on a cold day could have easily been Justin Able. That smiling-shy chick with the tattoos and black hair was so similar to Becci Brewer. One by one they all reminded me of someone and sometime. I wonder about these people sometimes. Where they are and what they are doing. I even wonder if they wonder about me.

Now I have park adventures with my family and I enjoy these days just like the ones many years ago. I don’t long for those days (how exhausting that would be). It is nice though. It’s nice to have a reminder of my youth.

Currently listening: The Clarence Greenwood Recordings By Citizen Cope