The Stroll

LOOKIN' BACK

I've been for a stroll. It's a lot more strenuous than I remember. I find myself just a little out of breath. Of course, sneakers and a carpeted hallway aren't as conducive to strollin' as white leather loafers and the hardwood floor at the community building were.

I bought a Fats Domino's Greatest Hits cassette a few years back and every time I play it I wallow in nostalgia. When Fats breaks into "I Wanna Walk You Home," I can't help myself. Next thing I know I'm strollin' down the hall. Hey, it's like sipping through a straw, you never forget the technique.

For those of you who don't remember, The Stroll was a popular dance in the 1950s. Ah, those were the times. The times of the poodle skirt and the poodle hairdo, pedal pushers, Jamaica shorts, and crinoline petticoats.

I have the volume on the cassette player--yes I have one--turned up to full blast. Maybe my mother was right all those years ago and loud music ruined my hearing. Or, perhaps, I'm just addicted to hearing rock and roll at maximum decibels. Anyway, I'm jammin' out.

When my son called and I told him what I was doing, he wanted to know what I was jammin' to. He laughed when I told him it was a Fats Domino cassette. First he laughed because it was a cassette and not a CD, then he laughed and said he thought maybe I'd broken down and bought "Rock That Body" by The Black Eyed Peas. Not likely, I informed him, listening to those guys will make your hearing go bad. I'd say I've never heard of them, but I have. However, I have to question how good can their songs be if they can't come up with a better name than a vegetable? I risked having him laugh at me again when I asked if I could "stroll" to their music. I think he's still laughing.

Whoops, excuse me, there's "Walkin' to New Orleans" and I'm feeling an urge to take another stroll.

Lookin' back is so easy when you set the mood and Fats Domino does it for me like no one else. I'm trying to imagine a teenager of today--when they get to be my age--reflecting on the music of The Black Eyed Peas band, then trying to convince their children it was "cool" at one time. And wait until that teenager of tomorrow asks, "What's a CD?"