Pity Those Who Never Experienced the Early '90s

There was a day a few weeks ago when Angelica and I were driving around in her car and Bon Jovi's Livin' On a Prayer started playing on the radio.

"This is an old song," I say to her, surprised at its sudden presence on the radio station that had been playing the same tunes by Lady Gaga, Bruno Mars, Rihanna and Gym Glass Heroes on repeat for the past two hours.

"Who is this?" Angelica asks.

It's conversations like this that I have with younger friends that makes me feel like an old man. All I need is a tobacco pipe and a rocking chair and it's story time with grandpa. I do enjoy these moments though, I cannot lie. because I like talking about the past and what I had been able to experience before the technological era. The attitude, the music, the television shows before reality TV. I know I have some readers who are in their 30's who can relate. I'm not saying that younger people don't know anything about the mid 80's to the early 90's, only that they couldn't fully experience it as babies. It was just an awesome time of discovery.

"It's Bon Jovi," I tell her. "This song was the reason I asked my mom to buy the cassette for me when I was a kid." The album I was referring to was of course, Cross Road, which was released in 1994. Bon Jovi was in his prime, and the album was #1 all over the world.

She looks skeptical when I tell her it’s Bon Jovi. "It doesn't sound like an old song."

"How old were you in 1994?"

"Four."

I chuckle and give her that pretentious Gene Wilder look from the original Willy Wonka meme.

"I only know his new stuff, I guess," Angelica shrugs.

"Like what?"

"Have a Nice Day."

I snickered. Like it's her fault that she was born in 1990. It's not of course. Have a Nice Day is just a shitty song and signified the anticipated downfall of Bon Jovi, like other major rock bands of the 80's in this new era. Okay, maybe she doesn't even like rock. Maybe her head would explode if I brought up Def Leppard. I mentioned Guns N Roses once and she stared at me blankly.

Music is just really based on personal preference, and if you even make the effort to seek out old stuff because you're sick of the many talentless hacks record companies churn out today. But movies are different, especially if we're talking about ones from the 80's, the real classics many of us grew up watching. Ghostbusters. Adventures In Babysitting. The Goonies. Ferris Bueller's Day Off. Bill and Ted. Back to the Future I, II, and III (all of which Angelica has never seen). I don't judge people for having never seen them, I just want to hold them and show them the light.

Back in January while I was staying at her place right after her operation, Coming to America started playing on TV. Coming to America is one of those movies that I have to sit down and watch from start to finish, no matter what I had been preoccupied with. I was sitting there laughing and Angelica comes out of the bathroom to see what was so funny.

"What's it about?" she asks, after I tell her it's Coming to America. My attention was diverted from the movie at that point, and I tell her we need to have movie nights where I play her the best movies of the 1980's. She's down, which is good.

"We can start with romantic comedies," she suggests.

"Okay. Let me just get a general idea of what kind of romcoms you like. Besides Twilight."

"You've Got Mail. and Sleepless In Seattle." she says. "How about you?"

"When Harry Met Sally."

"I've never heard of that."

"You'll like it. It'll be the trifecta of Meg Ryan movies for you."