Back in the Day

By

C. Neuroticus Absolutus

Back in the day,

We thought ourselves immortal,

Racing along the bluff-shaded road that followed the river,

Foot heavy on the throttle.

It’s a wonder we didn’t kill ourselves

Or someone else.

Back in the day,

Our far-less-jaded dreams

Dripped with the impertinence and arrogance of youth.

The only dragons and demons we knew

Lived in the pages of children’s books

At the library.

Back in the day,

We’d sit around the drug store

Boasting of things we’d do, the fortune and acclaim we’d win.

Sweethearts sat close in a booth and drove each other crazy

Holding hands under the table

Or rubbing a leg or two.

Back in the day,

We parked at the drive-in and

Ordered homemade fries and the best burgers in the world.

Later, at the parkway overlook,

We studied biology and anatomy

And traded mustard-flavored kisses.

Back in the day,

Neighbors said hello and more,

At church, on the street or at a high school football game.

Gossip raced through a switchboard and along party lines,

Keeping us in touch with a human warmth

Much kinder than today’s instant messaging.

Back in the day,

A quarter bought a day at the movies,

With serials, the news, the Three Stooges, cartoons, popcorn and drink to accompany

A double feature in Technicolor and a chocolate bar high.

Six hours of exploratory groping in the dark

Was exhausting.

Back in the day,

Movies brought the world closer,

Fantasies until ghosting, snowy-screened televisions came into our homes

And showed us ordinary people prospering in the world beyond our mountains.

That storybook life beckoned

And we answered its call.

Back in the day,

We fought two wars we thought

Would finally make the world a place where men were free

And the skies were always blue.

But then came Viet Nam, Iraq and Afghanistan where many, too many, died

And we never understood why.

5/10/09