08-19-2014, 02:02 PM
<small>[[continued from Concerning the meaning of dreams]]
</small>
Connor looked out the window as the Russian countryside rushed by. It didn’t seem like they were going nearly 300 miles per hour. He leaned his head back and closed his eyes, the lulling sway of the train, its mag-lev drive barely audible, relaxing him. He had his arm around Ayden and she slept against him. It wasn’t going to be too much longer. It only took 2 hours to get from Moscow to St. Petersberg. He was looking forward to the weekend for a number of reasons. He gave Ayden a squeeze and smiled. She’d said ‘yes’. His heart was content.
The Pushka Inn Hotel looked like a mansion from the pictures he’d looked at online. And it was centrally located in the once imperial capital of Peter the Great. The city was filled with places to explore, things to see and places to eat. He’d made reservations at a very nice Thai restaurant once he’d learned it was Ayden’s favorite.
And, of course, there was the Ice Palace sports arena. No, he wasn’t taking her to a sporting event. The Foo Fighters were on their Wheels of Time farewell tour. He couldn’t believe that after recording music and touring for his entire life, they were hanging it up. He couldn’t blame them, of course. Dave Grohl was in his mid-70s now and the only other original surviving member, Taylor Hawkins, was close behind him. They’d spent most of their life touring and recording one album after another. He felt old thinking about that. It was an end of an era.
Connor thought of his dad, remembered those long drives in his truck, listening to music and talking. And then when dad died, he’d continued to listen and to learn. Somehow, it just made him feel connected to his father- and his youth. But one by one, over the years, those bands and artists they had shared together had gone on to other things, broke up, or died. They were the last of that era. It made him nostalgic for all that had already gone.
He’d known they were winding things down as they had gotten up there in age. But they kept coming out with new stuff at least once a decade, and they still toured, though not as aggressively as they once had. Well, at least this was their first farewell tour. He smiled. He was just glad that he’d seen that they’d be in St. Petersberg this weekend. He might have missed it. The promotions also mentioned appearances by number of other bands as well. Red Hot Chili Peppers, Pearl Jam, Beastie Boys, Garbage, Jane’s Addiction, Soundgarden, Stone Temple Pilots, Veruca Salt, Weezer. He wondered if they had found cover bands for all of them or had found a brother or sister or son or daughter of the original artists to carry on the torch since most or all of the original members were gone.
Whatever was, it was going to be awesome and something that he had to see. For himself. For his dad. He thought of Hayden and wished he could’ve brought him, could have shared this with him. That would have been fun. He looked down at Ayden. At least she was going with him. Most of this music was way before her time. Some of it before his, really, if not for his dad, anyway. Well, that wasn’t strictly true. Many of them had reformed during his teenage years and early 20’s. So lots of people his age had listened to them along with the newer stuff. At least where he’d lived.
When he was in his early 20’s America had been in a 90’s redux. He wasn’t really sure why, exactly. It was the 2020’s after all. But American influence in the world was on the decline, especially with the CCD- it was called the ASU back then, he remembered- on the rise. There had been a lot of natural disasters that had devastated the country too. He remembered the strain it put everyone under, the near collapse of the economy and infrastructure while the two big parties continued to polarize the nation.
Where he had grown up, which had been comfortably populated, suddenly saw a huge influx of people. Things changed almost overnight until the four states of Colorado, Utah, Arizona and New Mexico became this new energy and financial powerhouse like California used to be. Their natural resources and lack of any major environmental threats made it relatively secure. But the environmental disasters coupled with a string of terrible presidencies and policies had already weakened the country enough, economically and politically, that they country wasn’t able to recover despite that. The US lost its once proud position as the world’s only superpower and the strongest economy.
If he had to guess, the 90’s nostalgia of the 20’s was an attempt to remember and maybe return to when America was at its peak. Unparalleled power and position in the world. No major military actions, and certainly not any sustained wars against terror. Unparalleled economic growth. No government debt. Rapid technological improvement. Social change. It seemed like everything was looking up. It was a Golden Gge. So many things from that era were resurrected, from music to fashion, from remakes of movies and TV to national heroes. He’d certainly enjoyed it, since it felt a way to connect with his dad.
Funny to think about that. It was a long time ago. He was only in his 20’s. Just married, newly a father. A lifetime ago. And now…now that era was coming to an end. Well, that was ok. He was starting a new life. His life hadn’t been perfect. He’d lost so much and would do almost anything to have them back. But life didn’t work that way. You had to accept what happened and move on. And he was doing that, here in Moscow with Ayden. It seemed almost fitting to be going to this farewell concert after having asked her to marry him. It felt like he was closing one chapter on his life and starting a new one. That was life. Sometimes hard, sometimes great, but always life. The chorus from “Times Like These” came to his mind. “It's times like these you learn to live again. It's times like these you give and give again. It's times like these you learn to love again. It's times like these, time and time again”
He felt Ayden shift contentedly and looked at her smiling. Yeah, it’s times like these. He closed his eyes and drifted off.
Edited by Connor Kent, Aug 27 2014, 04:12 PM.
</small>
Connor looked out the window as the Russian countryside rushed by. It didn’t seem like they were going nearly 300 miles per hour. He leaned his head back and closed his eyes, the lulling sway of the train, its mag-lev drive barely audible, relaxing him. He had his arm around Ayden and she slept against him. It wasn’t going to be too much longer. It only took 2 hours to get from Moscow to St. Petersberg. He was looking forward to the weekend for a number of reasons. He gave Ayden a squeeze and smiled. She’d said ‘yes’. His heart was content.
The Pushka Inn Hotel looked like a mansion from the pictures he’d looked at online. And it was centrally located in the once imperial capital of Peter the Great. The city was filled with places to explore, things to see and places to eat. He’d made reservations at a very nice Thai restaurant once he’d learned it was Ayden’s favorite.
And, of course, there was the Ice Palace sports arena. No, he wasn’t taking her to a sporting event. The Foo Fighters were on their Wheels of Time farewell tour. He couldn’t believe that after recording music and touring for his entire life, they were hanging it up. He couldn’t blame them, of course. Dave Grohl was in his mid-70s now and the only other original surviving member, Taylor Hawkins, was close behind him. They’d spent most of their life touring and recording one album after another. He felt old thinking about that. It was an end of an era.
Connor thought of his dad, remembered those long drives in his truck, listening to music and talking. And then when dad died, he’d continued to listen and to learn. Somehow, it just made him feel connected to his father- and his youth. But one by one, over the years, those bands and artists they had shared together had gone on to other things, broke up, or died. They were the last of that era. It made him nostalgic for all that had already gone.
He’d known they were winding things down as they had gotten up there in age. But they kept coming out with new stuff at least once a decade, and they still toured, though not as aggressively as they once had. Well, at least this was their first farewell tour. He smiled. He was just glad that he’d seen that they’d be in St. Petersberg this weekend. He might have missed it. The promotions also mentioned appearances by number of other bands as well. Red Hot Chili Peppers, Pearl Jam, Beastie Boys, Garbage, Jane’s Addiction, Soundgarden, Stone Temple Pilots, Veruca Salt, Weezer. He wondered if they had found cover bands for all of them or had found a brother or sister or son or daughter of the original artists to carry on the torch since most or all of the original members were gone.
Whatever was, it was going to be awesome and something that he had to see. For himself. For his dad. He thought of Hayden and wished he could’ve brought him, could have shared this with him. That would have been fun. He looked down at Ayden. At least she was going with him. Most of this music was way before her time. Some of it before his, really, if not for his dad, anyway. Well, that wasn’t strictly true. Many of them had reformed during his teenage years and early 20’s. So lots of people his age had listened to them along with the newer stuff. At least where he’d lived.
When he was in his early 20’s America had been in a 90’s redux. He wasn’t really sure why, exactly. It was the 2020’s after all. But American influence in the world was on the decline, especially with the CCD- it was called the ASU back then, he remembered- on the rise. There had been a lot of natural disasters that had devastated the country too. He remembered the strain it put everyone under, the near collapse of the economy and infrastructure while the two big parties continued to polarize the nation.
Where he had grown up, which had been comfortably populated, suddenly saw a huge influx of people. Things changed almost overnight until the four states of Colorado, Utah, Arizona and New Mexico became this new energy and financial powerhouse like California used to be. Their natural resources and lack of any major environmental threats made it relatively secure. But the environmental disasters coupled with a string of terrible presidencies and policies had already weakened the country enough, economically and politically, that they country wasn’t able to recover despite that. The US lost its once proud position as the world’s only superpower and the strongest economy.
If he had to guess, the 90’s nostalgia of the 20’s was an attempt to remember and maybe return to when America was at its peak. Unparalleled power and position in the world. No major military actions, and certainly not any sustained wars against terror. Unparalleled economic growth. No government debt. Rapid technological improvement. Social change. It seemed like everything was looking up. It was a Golden Gge. So many things from that era were resurrected, from music to fashion, from remakes of movies and TV to national heroes. He’d certainly enjoyed it, since it felt a way to connect with his dad.
Funny to think about that. It was a long time ago. He was only in his 20’s. Just married, newly a father. A lifetime ago. And now…now that era was coming to an end. Well, that was ok. He was starting a new life. His life hadn’t been perfect. He’d lost so much and would do almost anything to have them back. But life didn’t work that way. You had to accept what happened and move on. And he was doing that, here in Moscow with Ayden. It seemed almost fitting to be going to this farewell concert after having asked her to marry him. It felt like he was closing one chapter on his life and starting a new one. That was life. Sometimes hard, sometimes great, but always life. The chorus from “Times Like These” came to his mind. “It's times like these you learn to live again. It's times like these you give and give again. It's times like these you learn to love again. It's times like these, time and time again”
He felt Ayden shift contentedly and looked at her smiling. Yeah, it’s times like these. He closed his eyes and drifted off.
Edited by Connor Kent, Aug 27 2014, 04:12 PM.