THESE HAPPY DAYS ARE YOURS AND MINE...
Fuck TVLand and Nickleodeon...Let me tell you why.
Yesterday I caught back to back episodes of Happy Days,which was on the air when I was a young one.I didn't watch it much then and I can count the times I watch it now...twice...yesterday.
I'm not sure what compelled me to do so but I sat through that every problem solved in thirty minutes fantasy of life...TWICE!What's wrong with me?I didn't wax nostalgic to myself about how it was a simpler better time, full of promise and a wide eyed Richie Cunningham do what's right and it will be alright...I didn't even think about how much fun it would be to do the nasty with Joanie...in her room...with her parents downstairs.Fonzi would of been proud of that,right?
What exactly was I thinking?
Two things...Fuck!I'm old...and what has middle age brought me...or to clarify...what have I learned in 43 years?
1.Love is not really love until you pass the 30ish mark.Everything from your first grade school crush until your'e 30ish is practice.A series of trials and tribulations where you figure out what really matters,what doesn't,and how to tell the difference.
2.Everything you know is wrong until your'e 30ish...but that's the pay off from enduring #1.
Wisdom...you see things so clearly after stumbling through your first thirty.
3.You wish you would of known this shit from the git go so you could of avoided the problems you encountered along the way.
4.If you had known what you know now then...what a boring,safe life you would have had.
I look back at my life so far and have no real regrets (well...maybe 2 or 3...) to speak of.I'm not rich...I struggle to get by, it's not third world barefoot walking through a slit trench struggling, but it's a struggle nonetheless.But because of that stuggling I am rich in character...some good,some bad and if asked for some reason to pass on nuggets of wisdom I would say this:
Always own a dog...they will teach you about loyalty and friendship more than any person can...even in death.
Trust people as far as you can throw them.
No matter how many times you get knocked down, buy a gun, and fantasize about shooting the next person that knocks you down,then get back up...fortified by that gun,should you ever (god forbid) need it.
Always tell the truth, even if it gets you into deep shit.
Work hard at whatever you do...dedicate yourself.
Don't beat yourself up,learn from your mistakes and move the fuck on...nobody likes a whiner.
God...how many beers have I had?Enough to pontificate like a retard...you guys already know this stuff....right?right?
Remember the stuff about the dog...it's important...
to me