The Kids Are Alright

or Waxing Gibbous

Buddy Guy was 65 in 2001 when he put out Sweet Tea. The album begins with ‘Done Got Old’, which is about… getting old. The lyrics are simple enough, but the whisper-growl of his voice and the sad lonely guitar bring it to another level, specifically the sub-basement where light can’t get in. You feel it. Aged, tired. But let me rewind.

Nola’s middle school had a dance last Friday. Well, not a dance per se. There was a DJ and music and ‘dancing’, but it was not ‘dancing dancing’. There were no couples or anything. There was a lot of kickball and running around and goofing. Just kids out playing together on the school grounds in the gentle breeze of the early evening — all with easy access to pizza, assorted snacks, and bottled water.

Hmmm, let me rewind further.

Nola didn’t want to go to the dance. She said she wasn’t interested, but I know she has a lot of wallflower energy. I think she gets that from me. Although my energy is more of a pale weed in a dark unlit corner of the yard. Pam and I were fine with her not going. She doesn’t have to grow up right away. We want her to be a kid as long as she can. Sure, at a dance there are still life lessons to be learned and social hoops to jump through and…