kids these days

Back in the olden days when I was in high school, my friends and I spent our weekend nights driving around the Peninsula and walking on the beach or heading up to the golf course to sled in the winter and run through the sprinklers in the summer, parking by the airport to watch the planes come in- try doing that post 9/11- and stare at the strobe lights until we felt like we were going to puke, sitting in that lot across the bay to watch the sailboats and to talk about life and going to college and the other kids at school and parents, braving the public dock if we were feeling especially urban, trekking up to Wegmans to see who was hanging out, and stopping at Eat-n-Park on the way back down Peach to grab a Cookie Fudge Fantasy or six. Because we were uber dorks, sometimes we would hang out at Barnes and Nobles too. And while we were there we would talk to our English teacher who moonlighted there. And she would recommend things. And we would buy them. And read them. Uber clearly isn't strong enough of a word. Seriously, how did I ever have any friends?

We were all pretty much good kids. We didn't drink much, if at all and none of us smoked cigarettes. We played sports and joined clubs and got good grades. We knew everyone and were friends with almost each one of them. Except the skanks and the skinheads. They were such losers. Oh, and with few exceptions, the band people never wanted much to do with anyone who wasn't in the band so we were out there. We were scared of sex and drugs and alcohol and fast cars and loose women thanks to ninth and eleventh grade Health class.

I still can't imagine that my mother ever believed that we went to the supermarket to hang out on a Friday night. But we did. And so did other kids from school and we would see each other and say what's up and decide that there was nothing going except for aisle 6 so we may as well stay there. There is always something to eat, you don't have to tip anyone, and the patio furniture displays were ours for the taking.

But if Jake ever told me he was heading out on a Friday night to go to the grocery store I think I would keep him in the house and call him a dirty liar under my breath.