Rock-tober 12, 2017

I returned to Long Beach for my 30th class reunion this year. I don't know about the girls, but when the guys clustered together, we inevitably talked about the growing list of aches and pains that had become a part of daily life. It's annoying when your knee is a better weather forecaster than the meteorologist on the local news. Years ago, I tuned out during TV commercials hawking pain medicine that promised to soothe all that ailed you. These days, I find myself weighing the promised benefits against the probable side effects, some of which sound just as bad or way worse than the original ailment. One drug was touted as a relief for joint flare ups. Possible side effects: joint flare ups and intestinal bleeding. I'm thinking, "How in blazes did you bozos get past the FDA?"

For most of us guys at the reunion, an additional accomplishment of leveling up a couple of decades was leveling up in weight class. One of my buddies proudly proclaimed, "Of course I'm in shape. Round. Round is a shape." My doctor once told me, "You know, Wayne, for your height, you should be 165 pounds." I laughed. "Doc, 165 is so far back in the rear view mirror, I haven't seen it since Junior High."

Yet another common point of commiseration was the old receding hairline. I worked with a guy who was particularly sensitive about his. Whenever I wanted to annoy him, I'd just stare at his forehead. He'd instinctively reach for it, asking in a panic, "What?! What's wrong?!" We'd all get a good laugh. Back at the reunion, my buddy Mike made me laugh as he seemed to greet each new arrival, "Dammit, you've still got good hair!"

At least in this one area, the old gene pool worked in my favor. Men on Dad's side of the family didn't seem to go bald. They'd go grey, sometimes very early, but never bald. I can do grey. A touch of grey is cool. A touch of grey is distinguished. A "Touch of Grey" is today's feature.

The Grateful Dead began their eclectic, psychedelic incursion into the rock world in 1965 and continued until Jerry Garcia's death in 1995. Along the way they picked up a Lifetime Achievement Grammy and induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Of the 30 singles they released, none charted higher than "Touch of Grey" which reached #9 on the Hot 100 in 1987. It's fitting that the 30th anniversary of its release coincides with the class of '87's 30th class reunion.

To my knowledge, only one of my classmates was a true Dead Head. She once mentioned she followed them on the back of a motorcycle on one of their tours across the southwest. She's gotta have some epic stories, but they're not mine to tell.