American Graffiti
One of my all-time favorite movies is American Graffiti.
This is not going to be the subject of this month’s rant.
I made it the title mostly to get your attention.
I wanted to draw you to the fact that kids today have
nowhere to hang out unless you count the tattoo parlor
or maybe one of the wing joints in town. It does not
matter to me if the kids choose to hang together.
It does concern me that kids are sporting tattoos
that won’t wash off. However, that is another rant.
No love for the automobile may be a reason that kids
do not migrate towards hangouts like we did in my
teenage years. Now, I know that times are different.
I know that what my father liked and what his father
liked are two different things. I just do not have
a way to share my feelings about the way life used
to be and make the kids of today appreciate it.
My wife says I am starting to sound like my old man.
As much as I love him, I do not want to become him
in my old age. But where is the fun in staying home
on facebook, or playing some computer game against
someone in China, or playing Guitar Hero alone?
I just don’t get it.
Our American Graffiti hangout was a drive-thru in
Greensboro, North Carolina called the Boar and Castle.
You could not eat inside, but bar hops brought your
food to the car. The food was cheap, delicious,
and featured a sauce concocted by the owners called
‘Castle Sauce.”
Even though the Castle closed down in the eighties,
people still talk about it as if it were still located
on Market Street. I met my first wife there, but
that again is another story. I do not have enough
paper to tell that story, even if the lawyers would
give me permission. My main purpose is to make you
understand the camaraderie of the teenagers of my day.
Everyone cleaned up their cars, got dressed in
their finest casual clothes, and drove to the Castle.
The object was to be seen, to meet girls or boys,
and to date. There was a lit up side where everyone
ate and hung out. If you were lucky enough to meet
someone, you took her to the other side, which was
dark and romantic. This sounds mischievous or
somewhat evil, but really it was just good clean fun,
with some kissing or necking as we used to call it.
You knew all the car hops by name and they knew you
and your date’s name if you were going steady.
This is another old term that people do not use anymore,
but for us it was a sign that the person you
dated belonged with you and only you. Seems to me
that today everyone dates in groups, or at least
meets their date out somewhere. When I asked someone
about this they said, “It’s safer to meet this way.”
Safer from what? Is everyone afraid that their date
may be a killer? Have we become so callous as to
worry about who we are dating?
I am sure no one wants to go back to the good old days.
But, if the days when cokes were a nickel, gas was
thirty cents a gallon ,and a cute girl would meet you
over on the dark side of the Castle and smooch for a
while, or at least until her curfew could be resurrected
at least one person around here would be happier.
I guess I couldn’t construct enough word on this page to
bring back the idea of young people getting together for
fun instead of sharing tattoos. Of course I am from
another generation and maybe I need to get a tattoo
that says, “I Love Mom,” then maybe this would turn
out to be more fun than I thought. The wife says just
try it and she is out the door. Could someone please
send me the address of a good tattoo parlor?
Seth Bradley
Questions or comments? Feel free to email me at: seth.bradley43@gmail.com
