I’m often nostalgic around this
time of year because June is a memorable month for me for many reasons. June
contains Mrs. Dude’s birthday, my brother’s birthday, my mother’s birthday and
Father’s Day. And that’s just the first two weeks. But there’s two other dates that
also always stand out in my memory: June 11 and 12.
Each of those two dates
changed my life in a similar but very different way. June 11th was
the day I graduated from college and June 12th was the day I
graduated from high school. Only someone with a partial photographic memory
(used most frequently to recall old completely random info) would remember those
specific dates so many years after they occurred. For while the dates may have
been insignificant relative to what happened on them, they stick in my mind as
placeholders.
June 12, 1994 is a far more
notorious date than just because I graduated from high school on that day. That
date will live in infamy as the date O.J. Simpson allegedly murdered his ex-wife. But that event is obviously only
part of what makes it memorable to me. It also marked my final time spent at
the Richfield Coliseum, (where my school’s commencement was held), which closed
a few months later. I’d spent countless great nights among my first 18 years at
the Coliseum attending concerts, sporting events, and even an NHL exhibition
game that had to be canceled midway through because the ice melted. My final trip to the Coliseum marked one end
of my childhood and a new beginning as I moved on to college a few months
later.
A month after graduation I went to a Grateful Dead concert, one of many I attended over the years. This particular outdoor show was marred by a huge rainstorm that dampened the crowd, both figuratively and literally. But there was one moment in the second set that has stuck with me through the years. When the band played Saint of Circumstance and got to these lyrics: “Sure don’t know what I’m going for, but I’m gonna go for it, for sure,” I knew college, and the future in general, was going to be a mystery and an adventure.
A month after graduation I went to a Grateful Dead concert, one of many I attended over the years. This particular outdoor show was marred by a huge rainstorm that dampened the crowd, both figuratively and literally. But there was one moment in the second set that has stuck with me through the years. When the band played Saint of Circumstance and got to these lyrics: “Sure don’t know what I’m going for, but I’m gonna go for it, for sure,” I knew college, and the future in general, was going to be a mystery and an adventure.
June 11, 1999 marked the culmination
of my formal education and the official first steps of the rest of my life. At
lunch after my graduation ceremony that afternoon, I told my family of my
intention to move to Los Angeles later that summer. I didn’t know exactly what
I would do when I arrived, but I figured I could wing it. I was young, smart
and eager to get started on whatever I’d be doing next.
Cut to almost 14 years later
and I’m still trying to figure out what I’m going for. Not that that’s necessarily
a bad thing. Every choice I’ve made since then has led me to today. Some decisions
have been great and some not so great. Obviously one great one was marrying
Mrs. Dude, who collaborated with me to produce both Junior Dudes.
This year on June 12th,
I was daydreaming in the car while cruising on another sunny L.A. day, and reflecting
on my high school graduation that occurred so long ago and so far away on that
date. Though my ride wasn’t long, I had a
lot of time to think about all I’ve done since then. And when I reached my
destination, I parked the car, and then ascended a staircase I’d climbed a
hundred times before and picked up my Little Dude from the last day of his
first year of school. His journey is just beginning.
 |
| Leaving Room 5 for the final time. . . |
