I'm 19 years old. Again.

Despite being a professed numbers nerd, I bombed at most things math related in grade school. This doesn't mean I gamble or play the lottery. Numbers or a series of numbers can trip off something in me, snap me to attention. In this recent case, moments of frequency, that makes me think-- Okay, how does this relate to my life.

Hell, let's blame all this on the hours in my life I burned away playing Dungeons & Dragons, rolling those multi-sided dice, hoping that my third level Cleric spell takes off enough Hit Points on the opposing beast so the campaign can proceed. RIP Gary Gygax.

The number is 1991.
This week, an old friend of mine posted on +Facebook something that tripped the numbers thing. 
It was 1991 and he was skateboarding on a vert ramp in an old barn- Buster's Ramp as it was affectionately known by the crew I biked with back then. This led me to comment on the photo, then before you know it got me thinking about this dude I rode another barn ramp in '91 and where is he now...? Good memories, and I was able to connect with that guy I worked with in '91 and rode Sterling Ruby's mini ramp.

This morning's mileage on my new car.
Not so new anymore, the mileage is at 19918. 

What's my age again?
In 1991 I was 19. 

1991 Glen Rock, PA, a small basketball court on private property. The owners were nice enough to let us build ramps there. 

1991 felt like a transition year to me. 
Too old to hang with kids from high school, too young to drink legally at the bar. That sums up my 18-20 yr bracket. I burned through relationships solely out of my lack of understanding the female population. My hair was long (at least my bangs were) and my patience was short. I'm glad things have swung the other way for me. 

1991 I could vote.
I was a young American making car payments, attending tech school during the day, cooking about 25hrs/wk at the local family restaurant in the evenings. I was cramming in as much time street riding my BMX bike in town and at the skatepark in Landsdowne, MD, and spending Saturday nights getting mentally engrossed in the music and lights at Big City/Fenix in York, PA. I was out of high school for a year and in a serious relationship with a gal with whom I worked with at the local restaurant. I was starting to snowboard more and my musical tastes were going deeper into college radio and Industrial music, less into metal. I do believe I blew almost every dollar I earned on the above-mentioned activities. 

Music back then was and still is today, a huge part of my life. It's been the soundtrack for those bike sessions, Big City/Fenix, driving around with friends, and break-ups with old GFs. One song can bring back a flood of memories for me. 

In no particular order, some albums that were in heavy rotation for me in 1991.
Depeche Mode- Violator; A Broken Frame
U2- Rattle and Hum
Morrissey- Kill Uncle
The Cure- Disintegration
13 Engines- A Blur To Me Now
Neds Atomic Dustbin- God Fodder
Nitzer Ebb- As Is; Ebbhead
Sisters of Mercy- Vision Thing
Front 242- Tyranny (For You)
My Life With The Thrill Kill Kult- Confessions of a Knife
Fugazi- Repeater
Nirvana- Nevermind
Nine Inch Nails- Pretty Hate Machine
Anything Box- Peace
De La Soul- 3 Feet High and Rising
Van Halen- For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge
Queensryche- Operation Mindcrime
Metallica- Metallica 
Dangerous Toys- Hellacious Acres
Anthrax- Attack of the Killer B's
Scorpions- Crazy World
Ministry- The Mind Is a Terrible Thing To Taste
Peter Murphy- Deep
David J- Songs For Another Season
Lords of Acid- Lust
Erasure- Chorus

What were you listening to in 1991?


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