I AM THEM

I swore I would never become one of them.  I mean really.  Never!  Never!  Never would I become one of them. 

It started by a simple act of getting my collar straightened as I came out of the examination room.  “Here, let me fix your collar.  Don’t want it standing up.”  Then I told office staff how I got in trouble with a teacher when I defended having your collar turned up and your shirt tail out.  “That looks stupid,”  the teacher said.  “It looks cool,”  I replied.  And the next time I saw that teacher, I was wearing a white blouse, with the collar turned up and the tail pulled out.  It was the early 60’s and I do believe my actions had a negative influence on my grade.  A rather substantial influence.

I swore I would never be like them. 

“How can you study with that music?”  my dad asked.  “Turn it off so you can concentrate.”  That music?  What was wrong with that music?  Elvis.  The Everly Brothers.  Bobby Vinton.  Brenda Lee.  The beat.  The sound of the waves.  Blue Suede Shoes.  They helped me focus and, besides, just because it wasn’t Benny Goodman or Glenn Miller or Bing Crosby doesn’t mean it wasn’t music.  I mean, how many times can you hear Over The Rainbow and not want to barf?

I swore I would never be like them.

I could continue with “I will never be like them”  stories, but let’s go back to the conversation in the doctor’s office.  The conversation did not end with my remarks about collars and shirt tails.  It continued with me saying, “It did look cool to me, but I guess it did not look good to them.  You know those that think everything in their day was better.”  And I should have stopped there.  Instead, I finished with, “Of course, I absolutely hate the ripped jeans and wish that fashion fad would pass.  I mean, who in their right mind would work for hours to pay for a pair of ripped jeans?”

And then — WHAM — there I was, sounding like them.  OH NO!!!  I instantly realized: I AM THEM.  Our clothes were better.  Our music was better.  Our education was better.  Our cars were better.  I AM THEM.

Are we “THEM”  when it comes to our faith?  Yes, hold true to our foundation and the Word of God, but are we “THEM?”  Do we allow the past to stop the future?

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PS.  For full disclosure.  I am totally THEM.  Our music was better!  Today’s generation even listens to good ole rock n roll!  And today’s one-mold-fits-all cars cannot hold a candle stick to the cars and pickups of the 50’s and 60’s.  Tail fins.  Sweet sound of a car with glass packs.  Pink Cadillac.  Now that is personality.  Our education produced people who can think for themselves and have common sense.  And a shirt with the collar turned up and the shirt tail out is still cool.