The case for youthful exuberance.

The best time to do crazy things is when you are young, a teenager, or at least a young adult. That is the time you are pushing boundaries, experiencing life, and learning from your mistakes. Mistakes are good - if you learn from them, that’s how you become experienced. It’s better to make mistakes when you are young because people are more tolerant with young people making mistakes or doing crazy things than with older people who make mistakes or do crazy things, and handling the subsequent repercussions are easier to deal with or fix than when you are older and fixed in your ways.

Like going to jail, or getting fired from your job, or not getting hired because of you personal choices of facial tattoos or piercings, or hair color and style/grooming. Or clothing style. You can get away with those things as a kid , because you probably are still living at home and your parents pay most of your living expenses, whereas as an adult, you pay your own rent or mortgage, and maybe have a spouse and kids of your own, and rely on you, so you have to comply with society and their expectations.

I grew up during the 1970s , and the 1980s, with rock and roll music and all that craziness of stage makeup and wild clothing, like Kiss, Alice Cooper and David Bowie’s persona as Ziggy Stardust. But the craziest ones were punk rockers. You couldn’t Dress like a punk rocker and expect to hold down a job, or get a job, unless your job was in a punk rock rock band. But you could do those personal grooming choices as a kid, for a while, and get away with it. But then real life catches up with you and you have to conform. You have to get a job, people close to you depend on you to bring in a paycheck.

The reason for my preamble above, is that I have a friend whose son came to do some work at my property recently. He is about 50 years old, a grandfather, hard working, conformist. But not always. I knew him, but never really talked to him, until the time he came to do some work for me. Back in the 1970s he lived in Adan Jose, in the Bay Srea, and played guitar in a punk rock band, at venues all over the Bay Area. He lived the punk rock life style, dressed the part, lived the life. One day he was walking past a recording studio when someone grabbed him and asked if he would come in and be in a music video they were filming with Huey Lewis and the news - heart and soul. Of course he said yes, and he was dressed the part, so he fitted right in. I found the video on you tube and screen shotted the picture here. His name is Ian, and he will always be the crazy punk rocker seen here.

He is now a grandfather, he does have long hair worn in a ponytail, but the color is normal, his clothes are conventional. But he will always have those memories of being a punk rocker - with a music video as proof. How cool is that!

When he told me his story, I told him a joke I knew, which he loved. Here it is: one day I took my dad to the mall to do some shopping, and come lunch time we ended up at the court to eat. Now my dad is a quick thinker, and has a really sharp sense of humor. We were sitting at our table and a couple of tables away was a punk rocker dressed in all his gear, chains and studs and leather, with shocking red and blue spiky hair standing a good 24 inches up in a Mohawk. My dad doesn’t get out much, and had never seen a punk rocker before, and I saw him staring at him in amazement. Eventually the rocker had enough, and snarled at my dad. “ what are you staring at, old man, never seen a punk rocker before?” Knowing my dad, I held my breath, oh no, here we go! He answered “ when I was young, I attended a party and dropped some acid. I was so stoned I fucked a peacock. I was just looking at you wondering if you were my son”.

Ian laughed. “Oh man, those were the days. I’m so glad I did that, I’ll never forget them.” That’s what is so special about youth and the experiences you have, crazy as they might be. You can’t do them when you are old. But you can when you are you.