My five minutes of Pop Culture fame

I have a regret.

Oh, it’s nothing earth-shattering. It’s really kind of silly. If only I had thought about things more when I was a kid in high school or even college, then maybe I would look cooler today in my youngest son’s eyes. Here’s what I mean. My son and his friends are big into vintage clothing and he came home recently with an Ocean Pacific t-shirt and an old Paul Simon concert t-shirt.

When I laughed and told him that I used to have OP gear (a pink polo shirt and tan corduroy shorts come to mind) and used to have a few of my own concert t-shirts, I miraculously rocketed up in my son’s eyes. Think Star Trek Capt. Kirk putting the Starship Enterprise into Warp Drive and the stars flashing across the screen. That was me. I was speeding happily through space.

Uncharted waters

I went from boring “khaki shorts and white socks Dad” to fun and hip dad with his fingertips on the pulse of pop culture and fashion. We talked a bit about 70s and 80s music groups and I mentioned Live Aid, the benefit concerts for famine relief in Ethiopia in 1985 in London and Philadelphia and how a friend and I almost went to the Philadelphia concert. I launched myself even higher!

My rocket shifted into an even higher gear. For a brief second, I was literally floating on air. I was in heady waters. That is, until I ended up saying something stupid, trying to compare music groups from my youth to today and just like that, warp drive shut down, the rocket started making metallic ka-put noises and I spiraled back to Earth. Oh, I tried to reengage, I tried to pull up on the proverbial joystick and bring back Cool Dad, but the ship went down in a fiery mess.

Great while it lasted

Oh, I was disappointed, but I couldn’t get over the feeling the rest of the day. I somehow managed to break all kinds of father-son rules of existence and stepped where no man has stepped before. I felt like Neil Armstrong. I got to take “one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.”

Yes, it was a wonderful feeling.

Anytime I’m together now with my son, I find myself talking about pop culture trends of the past. I’ve scored a few points with him. I even managed to get a laugh or two, but it would have been much better if I had kept that old Boston or Van Halen T-shirt I had as a teenager. Now that would have cemented me permanently as Cool Dad.

Oh, a guy can dream!

The 1980s:

The 1980s	Column A	Column B	Column C
Favorite Musicians	Michael Jackson	Madonna	Phil Collins
Favorite Activities	Skating Rink	Movie Theater	Cruising
Favorite Shows	Cosby Show	Cheers	MASH
Favorite Movies	Top Gun	ET	Raiders of the Lost Ark

The 1990s:

The 1990s	Column A	Column B	Column C
Favorite Musicians	Mariah Carey	Whitney Houston	Prince
Favorite Activities	Hang out at the Mall	Movie Theater	Nintendo
Favorite Shows	Seinfeld	Roseanne	ER
Favorite Movies	Avatar	The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King	The Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chestion King

The 2000s:

The 2000s	Column A	Column B	Column C
Favorite Musicians	Eminem	Britney Spears	Madonna
Favorite Activities	Silly bands	Gaming	Facebook & Myspace
Favorite Shows	Survivor	Who Wants to Be A Millionaire?	Sopranos
Favorite Movies	Titanic	Jurassic Park	The Lion King

The 2010s:

The 2010s	Column A	Column B	Column C
Favorite Musicians	Dr. Dre	Taylor Swift	Adele
Favorite Activities	Smartphones	Tablets	Social Media
Favorite Shows	Breaking Bad	The Big Bang Theory	Mad Men
Favorite Movies	Avengers	Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens	Black Panther

Today:

Today	Column A	Column B	Column C
Favorite Musicians	Taylor Swift	Beyonce	Post Malone
Favorite Activities	Smartphones	Fashion	Memes
Favorite Shows	Bridgerton	Ted Lasso	Yellowstone
Favorite Movies	Avatar: The Way of Water	Spider-Man: No Way Home	Top Gun: Maverick