Skater Punk Youth

Okay, so I wasn’t a skater punk, but my best friend when I was 14 was. He turned me on to the Cure and PIL, and later convinced me, rightly so, that Jane’s Addiction was cool, but we diverged when it came to the Red Hot Chili Peppers. He thought they were lame wannabes, and I thought they were original and cool. I lost track of him after I re-located. I’m sure he’s made a success of himself though and still smiles when he hears Jane’s Addiction’s “Been Caught Stealin'”

Yesterday, after I made my wake up playlist, I realized that my copies of Blood Sugar Sex Majik and Ritual de lo Habitual were long gone. They were on cassette and were either stolen by a room mate, or are riding around in my dad’s pick up truck several states away… so I went to the store to buy the cd’s, thinking I’d find used copies.

I did find a used copy of Ritual de lo Habitual, but Blood Sugar Sex Majik was not to be had in the used form. I had to break down and give the record companies some cash… again… in order to replace the album.

This morning, I put on Jane’s Addiction for my son who is sitting, quietly playing his video games and listening. Occasionally though.. I see his head bopping to the beat, or his toe tapping. He digs it, which is awesome because my son reminds me a lot of my skater punk friend, including sharing his name, though not intentionally so on my part.

It’s made my day that a little bit of my teenage years are interesting to my son… who is now the same age I was when I first heard Jane’s Addiction. It still blows my mind that the kid is taller than me by half an inch, so I’m glad that he’s still interested in his weird old mom in spite of the difference in height.