Rocking With Sir Paul and Friends

I wonder what John Lennon would think if he knew that his fellow Beatle, Paul McCartney, was still rocking and filling stadiums at the age of sixty-nine? Yes, Sir Paul McCartney turned 69 this Saturday! (I also wonder what John would think of Paul being knighted. Somehow, I don’t think he would impressed).
So many old rockers are still touring. Many of them, like Paul, could be home collecting old age pensions and living off the millions of dollars they have earned over their lifetime. Yet they continue to thrill audiences and perform at sell-out concerts all over the world. They strut their stuff in front of kids who were not even born when their bands were formed! What is about the Paul McCartneys, the Mick Jaggers or the Gene Simmons that makes people forget that rock is supposed to be for the young? Why do their songs resonate with generation after generation? When the Stones played in Regina in 2005, both their concerts sold out in 15 minutes! ACDC tickets sold out in Regina in the same amount of time in 2009. The Eagles, Kiss and Elton John all played to sold-out audiences in Saskatoon over the last couple years. Steven Tyler and Areosmith are just as popular now as they were twenty years ago.
How can men and women in their fifties and sixties seem cool to teen-agers and young adults? How is it that their thirty- year-old songs are still relevant to the children and yes, even the grand-children of their peers? I think the secret is that they so love doing what they do, they just haven't taken the time to grow old. I believe that the love they have for their music and for their industry is so strong that it is contagious - and every new generation wants to be a part of that magic. They have written and sang songs that are so unique and so inspiring that everyone wants to hear the songs in a live performance by the original singers. These men and women of rock and roll have shown the world that age really is just a number and that if you love your life, you'll live it to the fullest and you will keep doing what you love. So, as well as giving us music that will be forever enjoyed, these musicians have shown generations behind them how to grow old without growing old. So, Sir Paul, Elton, Steven and all the other old rockers, keep doing what you love because the world loves what you are doing! Old rockers who keep rocking . . . it’s a good thing!

The Spoiled One

Saturday was my sister’s birthday . . .my younger sister . . . the baby of the family . . . the “spoiled one”. As I look at her now with her own four children all grown and away from home, it is difficult to imagine where the years have gone. I remember when Mom and Dad brought her home. I was so excited and fell in love with her immediately. She was so tiny and perfect, all bundled up in a little blanket. I was happy to have a baby sister. Yes, I was infatuated with her . . . until she started crying and didn’t stop for two years. I still loved her and I still thought she was cute, but the all-night crying sessions which kept us all awake, sort of took the joy out of having a baby sister.

She cried so much because she had health problems and doctors were baffled and unable to find the cause of her sickness. Finally, at the age of four, they had a diagnosis for her: she had severe allergies. She was allergic to – well, almost everything. My younger brother and I felt sorry for her – until we realized that we would suffer the consequences of her illness. Mom and Dad broke the news to us that we would have to give away all our pets, because she was allergic to cats, dogs and yes, even our bunny rabbits. How we cried when they broke the news to us. We begged and pleaded with our parents to give our sister away and let us keep our beloved pets, but to no avail. We were stuck with a little sister in a house with no pets. Our farm yard was so empty without our cats and dogs roaming around and our little rabbit house sat empty.

Because she was the baby and because she was not healthy, Mom and Dad found it difficult to say no to her. It dawned on my brother and I that we could use this to our advantage. Over the years whenever we wanted something from Mom or Dad which required convincing, we would send our sister to ask. This especially worked with Dad, who normally was the strong disciplinarian. If we needed (or wanted) something from him, my brother and I would send in “the spoiled one”. Dad rarely was able to say no to her and so we learned to reap the benefits of that dynamic. In our eyes, it was a win-win situation! If she got into trouble for asking, she was on her own. If Dad said yes to her, we shared in the success. Yes, in many ways, it was good to have “the spoiled one” in our family. Even as adults, this tradition has continued. Recently, she was the one we “sent in” to convince our Mom that it was time to go into a care home.

As we celebrate the spoiled one’s birthday, I can’t believe how the years have flown. As I reflect on our childhood, I am amazed at how many times she was able to talk Mom and Dad into things the rest of us would never have been able to.

So, Happy Birthday, Spoiled One. I’m glad Mom and Dad decided to keep you instead of our pets after all (although I did really miss our dog Rex for a long time). Once you finally quit crying through the night, you turned out to be a wonderful sister. Giving up pets to have a sister . . . it's a good thing!