Have you ever wished you could travel back to a more joyous time, before busy schedules, hectic careers, and numerous obligations? Jet back to the 80’s, a time of great music, fun styles and total freedom. On June 22, 2012, I shared the day with a close friend watching the Rock of Ages at Showplace East. The songs of Bon Jovi, Journey, Poison and other artists of the 80’s played as two young lovers ventured to Hollywood to chase their dreams. Stacee Jaxx and his band jammed out on the stage. The diehard fans, going crazy over Stacee, brought to mind the summer nights at Kramer’s Lake. On Sundays, my friends and I would crowd in front of the stage and head bang to the music; we were young, wild and free. Oh how I miss big hair, great music and the Magic Power of the 80’s.
Tears began to flood my eyes, as the songs surfaced memories of a dear friend whose life ended in a tragic accident on this date in 1985. I loved remembering all the fun times back then…cruising the back roads, swimming in the stripper pits, partying at the TKE house, and dancing the night away. I will never forget my forever friend and all the amazing days we shared in the 80’s.
I recall an eerie feeling as my dear friend and I drove away from the theater that day, like a premonition of some sort.
Time for a slight intermission…visited the cemetery, watched my youngest son’s baseball game and then headed to Las Vegas for a conference with one of my USI colleagues.
We attended some conference sessions the next morning, and then, took a break by the pool. As we were leaving the pool area, I heard a familiar voice in the distance. I turned around and hollered their name, and sure enough my voice recognition was superb. The intriguing part of this chance meeting was that this young man and my colleague attended USI at the same time several years ago. The three of us made dinner plans for later in the evening and parted ways.
We met up for a Mexican dinner and then ventured out in search of some 80’s music. We listened to a few bands at various hotels and enjoyed some dancing, but no worry I didn’t live out any of my head banging days. This night was a definite cure for all the stress and worry of the past few months. I couldn’t believe I was granted the opportunity to relive my days of dancing to the 80’s with two friends from another decade. We had a blast that weekend, and the stress of my busy life began to diminish.
The 80’s weren’t over yet. As we waited for the cab for our red-eye trip home, we chatted with some guys loading some equipment into a commercial van. When we arrived at the airport, they were in the luggage line behind us. I decided to ask the name of their band. When they told me they were with Eddie Money’s band, I thought “no way”. But, as we approached the terminal, there Eddie Money stood. We snapped a picture with him and listened as he told us about his family back in California.
That week in 2012 was so engrained in the 80’s that I couldn’t help but wonder, as I boarded the plane, if God planned to take me home that night. The calm came over me when I arrived safely back home with no way of knowing a storm was on the horizon. Again, I am thankful for the Angels God has placed in my life here on Earth.