MJ and old Things (including me)

I recently found a new radio station and they play a lot of good “old” music, you know like Michael Jackson, circa 1984.

One morning the kids and I were driving somewhere when “Wanna be Startin’ Somethin'” came on the radio and I cranked it up and started car dancing and then talked about how this was my FIRST record album when I was a little girl and how I got the ACTUAL record called “Thriller” for my 9th birthday and how excited I was and how cool I thought I was and how I listened to it over and over and watched the Thriller video SOMANYTIMES on MTV!

And in the back seat?

*crickets*

And then.

“Mom, what are you talking about?”

“Mom, you’re acting so OLD!”

“What’s a record album?”

Right.

I attempted to explain, ALL THE THINGS and it was hard and I could FEEL the weird looks I was getting from my kids, even though I was not facing them.  Although I did get a glance in the rear-view mirror…

And then I looked down to make sure I was not wearing my Mom Jeans.
(whew!)

So, instead of getting all uptight about the fact that MJ is not known to my children, I continued to rock out to “Nah, Nah” and embarrass the hell out of my kids in small town traffic. It was fun.

Then B asked why he (MJ) was so popular “back then” and I explained about him being an amazing pop star and how he had been performing since he was a little boy, etc.  He also asked if he was alive or dead and I told him that he died a few years ago.  And then I realized he passed away on the day I flew to Louisiana to sign the lease on the house here and how when I was driving back from the airport in Dallas they were reporting his death.

Then we went back to talking about record players and what they were and how I would have to “google” it for him to show him a picture.

And then I felt about 145.3 years old.

The conversation kept on when I brought up telephones with wires, and t.v.s in which you had to GET UP to change the channel and the fact that you could NOT pause a show when I was a kid.

And all these memories came flooding back and all the sudden, there I was, sitting in my parents’ living room on one of the ugly brown love seats (sorry, Mom), “flipping” channels on the huge cable box with the long wire while eating an oatmeal pie after school.

I was probably watching Three’s Company.  Or a re-run of Happy Days.

And afterward I probably went and to listened to “Billie Jean” 4 of 5 times in a row on the state of the art record player in my room…

Then I asked him.  “Where do you think technology will be when you are my age someday?”  And he didn’t really have an answer.

So I told him he’d be having the same conversation with his kids someday about how you actually had to HOLD the cell phone yourself or something like that…

I mean can you even imagine?

I know I can’t…

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