Man, the 70s are out of sight. It's the goddamn Space Age. Can you believe that shit? Even our orange juice now is sci-fi now. How funky is that?
My brother just came back from Vietnam and he says America will never try to bomb its way to peace again. Says we learned our lesson. Can you dig that? I hope he's right. Time to give peace a chance.
When he got back, he bought a used car, '69 Camarro. Sometimes we tool it around town. It's totally sweet. When he gets home from work we drive it down the strip. All the stone cold foxes down there turn their head as we drive by. They don't mean to, but he always catches them looking in the rear view mirror. My brother could have a thousand girls at the snap of a finger.
Sometimes he gets restless and drives around town at night. Says it helps "him find his center." Dad tells me not to worry about it. Says he's a man now. Says he has a lot to think about.
Sometimes he gets a little heavy and doesn't want to talk. When I ask him what's the matter he says it's nothing. Says he's just been trying meditation to get grounded. Dad hates when he talks about that stuff. But since he's come back, Dad doesn't ride him like he used to. They don't seem to have much to say anymore, but I think they seem to have an understanding.
He's been working with the old man at the office, helping do books. Looks totally pinkpolo'd in his slick tie and nicely pressed shirt. I'm proud of him. He says everything is going to better now that the war is over. Says we're going to have peace. Not only overseas but inside.
Sometimes he gets a little heavy and doesn't want to talk. When I ask him what's the matter he says it's nothing. Says he's just been trying meditation to get grounded. Dad hates when he talks about that stuff. But since he's come back, Dad doesn't ride him like he used to. They don't seem to have much to say anymore, but I think they seem to have an understanding.
He's been working with the old man at the office, helping do books. Looks totally pinkpolo'd in his slick tie and nicely pressed shirt. I'm proud of him. He says everything is going to better now that the war is over. Says we're going to have peace. Not only overseas but inside.
He's been taking classes in T'ai chi and been on a health kick. Spent a whole day eating nothing but carrot juice. Been seeing this girl in Southington who makes her own yogurt. I think he likes her. I like her too. She's really nice.
He says things can only get better from here. The war is over, man has walked on the moon, and Nixon is on his way out. Soon, he says, Americans will discover the true last frontier: Themselves. A revolution is upon us. We are right on the cusp of a new day. And my big brother has never been wrong. If he says it, it's true.
He says things can only get better from here. The war is over, man has walked on the moon, and Nixon is on his way out. Soon, he says, Americans will discover the true last frontier: Themselves. A revolution is upon us. We are right on the cusp of a new day. And my big brother has never been wrong. If he says it, it's true.
A new world, a new way. Can you dig it? I know I can.
I don't know about you, but I think it's outta sight. Completely out of sight.
And then there was disco!
ReplyDeleteVery evocative writing- it captures the essence of the period and the idealism that was subsequently submerged in the 1980's greed and corporate power surge.
ReplyDeleteI love this! Good use of slang! You seem to be getting a lot of inspiration out of photographs.
ReplyDeleteI totally thought that picture was a girl, and I was so confused as I was reading. Ha ha!
ReplyDeleteWe did totally discover ourselves, then we put what we found on the internet. Hello? What do you think Facebook is for anyway?
Zanti-- I KNOW!
ReplyDeleteKemuel... idealism wasn't exactly torpedoed, it was simply redefined. I have a post on this topic coming up, if I can get to it.
ReplyDeleteJenn-- it helps that I just read this book on photography, so I guess I've been thinking about it a lot. Plus, it's more fun to make up stuff about the past then to slavishly report it.
ReplyDeleteMs. Proof-- the line between boy and girl was not very distinct back then!
ReplyDeleteI think this could be a reoccurring theme in your blog: writing narratives from 70s pictures. They're really good!
ReplyDeleteI agree with Nicole -- narratives from photos works well and you do it well. Nice capture of the period and a returned vet.
ReplyDeleteNicole and Trina-- actually this was one idea I had at the beginning, using found objects and old photos to create narratives. It just seemed devilishly difficult to maintain. But rather than wallowing in the pop culture morass--bear in mind, I don't even have CABLE-- the idea of doing something creative appeals to me.
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