The Boogie...Downed.

I am in my home state as I write this, and as I was walking out this morning to run some errands for my female parental unit, I, for whatever friggin' reason, starting reminiscing on my childhood.

I was a child of the 1970's and 1980's, and especially in the 80's, I experienced, well, mostly crappy memories...:)

However, I remember some things fondly...

Striped Lees (and the following parody of Tears For Fear's "Shout" when the fashion played out)...

Kangols, hats, that in hindsight, looked better on old white men (or recently, Samuel L. Jackson).

Sheepskin jackets that I never owned, because one my family couldn't afford them, and two, I have this allergic reaction for bullets (folks got shot a lot for them in the Bronx).

Shell top Adidas (never owned those either, but I did have suede Pumas; different colors as well, and I kept a toothbrush in my back pocket to try to keep them clean).

I listened to hip hop when it was, well, hip hop.  I also listened to Bon Jovi, Poison, Whitesnake, and all the other "hair bands" of the day.

Folks said I was a sellout.  As a black man, I didn't have many black friends.  My best friend to this day (even though at times we are not as tight as we once were) is of Latin descent, and most of the folks I hung out with were the same.

A few years ago, that same friend was driving me and my wife around (I believe this was before I had kids) and when I said something about being home, he said bluntly..

"This isn't your home anymore."

I think that memory really kick started this post.  It made me remember the past, look at my present (a black man in the MidWest who is opinionated and has been alienated because of that opinion), who has come "home"...yet I am not going to see those people from that era of the 1980s.

Is some of that my fault.  Absolutely.

Are memories awesome?  Well, some.

They make you what you are today...good or bad, better or worse.

But the term "home" has been foreign to me for a long time.

I guess that makes me sad.

But, I keep on trekking on, figuring out what to do next...as a father, as a husband, and for those who can deal with my opinions, a friend.

Oh, as an author, two.  At least I've sold 12 books in 17 days....better than I was b4.

Anyone over 35 remember the 1980's TV show "The Greatest American Hero?"

Teacher get a suit from space that, once he puts it on, he becomes a superhero.

Problem is, he lost the instruction manual on how to use the suit.

Life is sort of like the same way...cept you never got the manual to lose.