Spring Break
Introducing the passion of the Old School
Sanjai Tripathi
Issue date: 1/14/09 Section: Forum
Back then, being racist used to just be a personality quirk, and the need to end apartheid in South Africa was a debatable notion.
I have a recollection of Ollie North's amnesia, the birth of hip-hop, the threat of the Japanese taking over the world economy and Christina Applegate as a bottle-blond bit of teenage jailbait in the show "Married With Children," on the brand-new Fox Network.
I remember Mikhail Gorbachev's birthmark. We used to have this thing called the Cold War against this place called the Soviet Union. It nearly destroyed the world. Perhaps you've read about it.
I saw it end when David Hasselhoff tore the Berlin Wall down.
I remember when Michael Jordan flew through the air, and Michael Jackson became the first man to walk on the moon.
Like most of those from older people, my reminisces are probably vague, gratuitous and boring to the young. But that doesn't take away from the point; we Old School have seen things, and you can learn from our experience.
Aside from the often esoteric facts of history, one major lesson we can impart is an appreciation of how quickly life happens. You're just puttering along, enjoying the promise of your early 20s and marveling at your own recently matured lithe, attractive body and the infinite possibility of life.
Then you blink, and all of a sudden it hits. Time is like a thousand rapid cuts.
While you once had a svelte, defined chin and smooth torso, there appears these hideous things called "waddles" and "pooches."
You'll discover what "dyspepsia" means. Hair disappears from the places you want to have it and appears in places you'd never imagine it could grow.
Regular actions that once came easily, like getting in and out of a chair, become ordeals that generate involuntary groans every time you attempt them.
As your previously vigorous and beautiful body disintegrates around you, the shocking realization strikes: I'm going to die someday.
I have a recollection of Ollie North's amnesia, the birth of hip-hop, the threat of the Japanese taking over the world economy and Christina Applegate as a bottle-blond bit of teenage jailbait in the show "Married With Children," on the brand-new Fox Network.
I remember Mikhail Gorbachev's birthmark. We used to have this thing called the Cold War against this place called the Soviet Union. It nearly destroyed the world. Perhaps you've read about it.
I saw it end when David Hasselhoff tore the Berlin Wall down.
I remember when Michael Jordan flew through the air, and Michael Jackson became the first man to walk on the moon.
Like most of those from older people, my reminisces are probably vague, gratuitous and boring to the young. But that doesn't take away from the point; we Old School have seen things, and you can learn from our experience.
Aside from the often esoteric facts of history, one major lesson we can impart is an appreciation of how quickly life happens. You're just puttering along, enjoying the promise of your early 20s and marveling at your own recently matured lithe, attractive body and the infinite possibility of life.
Then you blink, and all of a sudden it hits. Time is like a thousand rapid cuts.
While you once had a svelte, defined chin and smooth torso, there appears these hideous things called "waddles" and "pooches."
You'll discover what "dyspepsia" means. Hair disappears from the places you want to have it and appears in places you'd never imagine it could grow.
Regular actions that once came easily, like getting in and out of a chair, become ordeals that generate involuntary groans every time you attempt them.
As your previously vigorous and beautiful body disintegrates around you, the shocking realization strikes: I'm going to die someday.
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