gottaleap

Last Sunday a long-time friend and I caught up on the phone as he began his two-hour drive to see family. We talked about this and that, which led his brain to remember something suddenly and he burst out, “My god, David Byrne got old!” Stunned, I just took it in, wondering if Byrne was ill, trying to remember when I’d last seen him. I imagined a 106-year-old man drooling on his death bed. “When did we last see him?” I asked, feeling sad. “That concert in San Diego.” He reminded me. Ah yes. In Symphony Hall. I was new to the whole David Byrne thing, but I could identify with “Rei Momo”. There were cough drops and condoms in the lobby -not in the same bowl. That was a fun night.

“What do you mean, ‘He got old’?” I asked, still trying to understand. He explained that he’d just seen Byrne with a young woman, St. Vincent, on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, and that Byrne had white hair and just didn’t move like he used to. “And what’s more depressing,” he added, “is that she was BORN the year I graduated from HIGH SCHOOL! I had to laugh. “When did we get old?” He asked. “Speak for yourself!” I cleared that up right away.

When I was 30, I danced on stage with a guy who may have been about 19. He was very fine, and knew it I’m sure. We were in a musical, playing background in a 1940′s party scene. He looked at the young ingenue, then at me and said, “I bet you were hot like her when you were young.” I believe he meant it as a compliment. When you’re 19, 23 seems old. I smiled as we danced and said, “I sure was.” Fast forward a few years…I’m in a cafe in Paris with an American man that’s a few years older than I. It’s a perfect French afternoon, and we’re sipping perfect French cocktails. He looks at me with his perfect flirty eyes and says, “I bet you were hot when you were young.” [sfx: record scratching to a halt] I’ll skip the thoughts that ran through my head and just say that I looked at him, smiled, and said, “I still am.” Move ahead a couple more years to 2012, and I heard that line again, only substitute “hot” for “wild”. This time I just said, “I wasn’t so wild in my twenties, but I’m making up for it now.”

There are definitely awesome things that come with each leg of this life journey. Some things are taken for granted: smooth skin, hair…you fill in the blanks. But not everyone got to be the Homecoming King or Queen in high school. I like how I’m evolving. Recently my sister and I met with a friend from high school and we talked about the “good/bad-old-days”. We looked at our yearbook pics and laughed. We agreed that we prefer who we’ve become. So old-schmold.

Back to David Byrne. I think early-Byrne was hot and current-Byrne is definitely hot. But more than appearance, I’ve been impressed with his collaborations, his art, his living-of-life. That’s what is really attractive. He is living life, moving forward, always creating. That inspires me. He in no way strikes me as impaired, debilitated, or inactive, aka “old”.

I want to embrace life in context. (I’m not even sure if that sentence makes sense.) I want to see the beauty in the thing infront of me in the moment and appreciate it, welcome it. I don’t want to compare apples to oranges, or even apples to apples. Apparently there are close to 7,500 varieties. Where do you start? I’ll start by releasing my grip on antiquated ideas about age and beauty, freckles and talent, _______ and ________, _______ and ________. Instead I’d like to value myself and others, and be grateful for the amazing journey, dance, flight.

“…Same as it ever was, same as it ever was, same as it ever was…Time isn’t holding us, time doesn’t hold you back” – Song: Once In A Lifetime by David Byrne

Read Full Post »