When I was young

there was this thing called ‘pop music.’

People would turn on their players,

And then they would listen to the tunes

that everybody else seemed to enjoy.

Nobody enjoyed this music

but it was the way of the world

And everyone pretended to.

No,

it was not the music of ‘Pops.’

In fact, it was mostly for kids.

In those days

there was this thing called ‘transportation’

and it allowed people to go from place to place

to place.

Folks would travel like that,

leaving their homes and the immediate environs

to explore and experience the new and the different.

Oh! And there was difference!

Society was less generic.

There was deviation.

There was variation.

There were alternatives

to what had happened before.

And there was a ‘before,’

A separation from the indescribable now

that we constantly enjoy today.

Things were different then.

Things seem fresher.

Things seemed…

I can barely imagine how things seemed

or what it was like

or how we survived

in that far-off past.

t was so long ago.

You really don’t remember?

Are you sure you weren’t there?