The Wonder Years...Is there any other show on television that every week had . We all knew a or had a Paul Pfeifer, the best friend. We all had (or still have) a Winnie Cooper. We had "the dream girl". Maybe some of us had a Becky Slater, whose aggressiveness and hostility towards men who "steal" a girl's best friend. We all knew that life within a family unit wasn't all laugh track humor and "gee, golly" prefacing a climax in plot structure...Though it would have been pretty cool if Daniel Stern could narrate my life after every episode.
The past year has given my generation the first "reality check". The Arnolds were a microcosim of the American family that had to deal with the Vietnam War, changing social trends, and the whole re-definition of the American family. Our generation received it's first reality check back in 2001, when in my first week of school, I didn't expect to be able to see from my dorm room smoke billowing from lower Manhattan 40 miles away. We were thrust into the true first challenge of a generation. "
The Wonder Years", no matter the differences of the times, was a general statement about growing up. We didn't neccessarily "like the same music, like the same bands, and like the same clothes" of our parents...But in hindsight, (and the fact that no short amount of time in American history produced so much great music over a short period of time), we are connected more than we think.No show has had a better compilation of music to go with the story. And it's almost tragic. The musical soundtrack that helped us connect to the show is the reason that Kevin Arnold, Paul Pfeifer and Winnie Cooper have not been able to grace our DVD racks with their presence.
I like to think that I'm still "livin' the dream". I did happen to hit 2 Mets games, a Dave Matthews concert this week & ran in a relay marathon down the shore. On a beautiful day that proved that the days of salmon shorts & flip-flops are almost an everyday occurance, I ran a 6.5 mile leg and still happened to gain weight....It was probably water weight...All of these shore races are thrown for people who run to drink..)
My good friend Mike accompanied me to CitiField this weekend. We lived in the same house for 3 years. Drinking beers, sampling the Danny Meyer fare (having a Shake Shack so convenient now is a wonderful touch), and just laughing the day away about everything from "the Century Club" to the time he broke up with his now fiancee and he had to share custody of their cat. But each day that I get a wedding invitation or a birth announcement from someone who was a part of those "wonder years", its an amazing thing to be able to share those life experiences that were the furthest things from our minds. And while the seeds of friendship were planted back then, nothing is more rewarding than what "blooms" from those life events.
A season of the Wonder Years would be the perfect solution for a rainy Saturday down in Sea Girt....I can wonder, can't I?
Loved this my long lost 10+ years younger fraternal twin...loved every bit of it. As you know, I met your wife this weekend and I hope she can bring you all the Wonderful Winnie-ness we all deserve in a love.
ReplyDeleteAnd since we are looking back -- at Stonehill in the 90's, the Century Club meant something very specific and was related to drinking (shocker!)...does this same reference apply with you and Mike???
BTW, I am jonesing for some Shake Shack big time.