As per the typical formula; Watch movie and/or listen to music, get inspired, pen poignant blog entry (or lack of poignancy depending on your perspective and whether you find this useless drivel or not).

So here we are again.

This all comes from this morning’s drive to work.  Stuck in traffic music was playing on the ol’ car stereo.  And low and behold, I got an itching for something old but new.  Let me clarify.  I got the itch to listen to an artist of my ‘generation’ who just released new music that was inspired by a film and movement he had been a part of.

As a side note, I once had a colleague mock me saying I “couldn’t relate” to this type of music.  First of all, I’ve never professed to relate.  And second, music is a window into what someone is feeling, thinking, or dreaming.  It was my window into something different yet similar.  It wasn’t about relating.  I didn’t know the violence that the music spoke of, but I did know the struggle to find my own voice and path.  That’s universal. And hearing that in a multitude of forms makes a person feel a little less lonely.  But I digress.

This entry isn’t about that.

The song got me thinking about the past and how things in life have come so far.  The friends, the foes, the family; it all changes with time.  Both good and bad.  But what really stuck with me throughout the message of the song was perseverance.  You have to push through those obstacles that block your path toward growth.  And that’s financial, emotional, and physical growth.  It’s all important.  The obstacles are always going to be there.  But then there’s the people that accompany you along this journey of growth that are equally, and sometimes, more important than your own growth.

And there’s different levels to these relationships you have with these people.  Like rings of a tree in how close or far they away they are from your center.  The closer, the more impactful.  The farther away, the more likely they are to be background.  And those rings of relationships change over time and may never return to the original location.  After all, time changes everything as they say.  Whoever they are.

Listening to this song reminded me, I don’t have friends…..I have family.

So this is the end of the eloquence.  This blog ain’t about me or about that.  Today it’s about straight talk cutting to the core.  It’s about three homies that I could never live without.  They are part of this and they know who they are.

The memories are never too far away from me.  Think back on it; we had those all-nighters.  Awake.  Just talking about the girls, the cars, the music.  We never thought too far ahead.  We just focused on the moment.  How about the cruising we would do on the weekends?  You name the place, we were there.  It started on River Road in the beginning.  Burger King and Van’s Arcade.  It wasn’t really cruising then as the cops used to get in everyone’s mix.  It was more about posting up.  Then there was the waterfront in to Tacoma.  Same situation there.  The cops used to watch and count the number of times the same cars would drive through.  So instead we would get there early enough to park in one of the turnouts along the road.  Then we could just cool out next to the freshly washed and waxed ride.  But watch out.  Having that stereo too loud while driving or being parked would get you a ticket.  And the stereos.  We were on a budget.  No silver spoon like some of the d-bags we went to school with.  We scratched and clawed to scrape a little cash together to put some loud tunes in our rides.  We visited Music Machine and Foss Car Audio and hoped and wished that one day we could buy that pullout single DIN CD player.  Eventually we got there and our stereos were it.  We installed those things ourselves.  Only partly due to us not being able to afford it.  But more about just doing it ourselves.

Our paths were littered with bad decisions.  But we needed those to find our way.  You can only fall out of a Honda Prelude sunroof so many times before the cover story of ‘falling down stairs’ won’t cover it any longer.  Covering the linoleum floor with beer for a ‘beer slide’ may have not been the best way to entertain partygoers either but it was only a rental house.  The ‘potion’ was inspired from listening to this very genre of music.  It may have not tasted the best but it was functional and did what it need to do.  Then we tried to advance our craft.  Vodka jello become an identity for the crew.  It wasn’t a party if there weren’t 5-gallon buckets full of vodka jello.  Unfortunately too many times it become a coating on our walls.  Thank God for damage deposits.

The bad decisions weren’t limited to parties and cars.  But even with those horrible decisions about relationships and the times we thought they were the right one or just the one right now, we never abandoned each other.  We supported, pumped up, and even had to console each other over tears and beers.  Through the drama, the heartbreak, the love, and children, we were and are still there for each other.  It just got tougher over the years to stay in touch with life happening.

I remember it all and I remember the P3P.

We’ve grown up and now it’s all about the kids and the jobs and the family BBQs.  It’s about obligations and a lot of times, that takes our focus away from what got us here.  Life happens and it changes things.

Hell, it changes everything and it all matters.  I miss you guys and you are a part of me.  I want you all to know how much I think about you guys.  I remember all the great times and challenges we had back then.  Just trying to grow up and have a voice.  Trying to figure out who we were.  And then I think about the relationships, getting married and our children.  Trying to make the best possible life choices for a family but not even knowing if you can make a decent choice for yourself.  The tiring stress and anxiety that comes with an adolescent-like adult just trying to do right.  And then transition to now; here we are.  We’re dads still trying to find our way somewhere between disciplinarian and loving partner and 16 year old boy who still questions authority and wants to roll down Ruston Way.

Finding balance in all of those realities is, and has always been hard.  But you guys have always been with me.  I love you guys.  Never forget that.  One more time for P-Town....