I encounter these moments every so often where I realize that I’m no longer in my early 20s.
Last night we were watching more Scrubs season 4 and in the background heard thumping bass tracks from somewhere. I first thought that Elli had turned up her Hannah Montana CD, but soon realized that this thump was not coming from inside the house but from somewhere in our neighborhood.
It was only 9:30. Not a big deal… “gee-willikers! those crazy kids, I sure can’t par-tee like them anymore”… and we finished watching and headed to bed to read.
11:00 rolls around. Still thumping bass tracks from somewhere.
11:30. I really want to sleep, but still hear MORE BASS THUMPING! I went upstairs and out to the deck. The noise was coming from two rows of houses away. I could see lights. Hear lyrics set to said bass lines. I could even hear CONVERSATIONS from party goers.
“Can you BELIEVE what she just did?!… I KNOW!!!!!”
And as I was looking over across our backyard to the house, I wondered why no one was calling the cops on this sound ordinance infraction.
And for a brief moment, I actually thought about calling the police MYSELF.
?!
When did I become THAT GUY?!
When did I stop tolerating noise?
When did I start thinking that I should be the one to call the police to break up parties?!
And at that moment I realized I was old. I was the guy on the other side of the generation gap.
Now you know this about me, I love kids and students and devote my life to them for a living. I want to see them enjoy life and have fun. They love having parties and should have them every weekend if they so desire…
But please, would it be so bad if they finished their party before MIDNIGHT?
Filed under: fun, life | Tagged: feeling old, growing up, loud parties, realizing you're older than you used to be, waking the neighbors
Just wait… you’ll call!
I remember being a “kid” and staying up until 4am. Now I wake up at 4am to go earn a living.
I remember being a rebellious college student. Now I train them for a living and can’t believe the stories that the tell (even though I have better ones).
I remember driving home with the radio blasting at all hours of the night. Now I cringe at a car driving down the street because it might wake up the baby.
But to top it off, I remember throwing bottles just to watch them break… Then last month I flipped out a kid who did the same. Had him shaking in his croc’s as I stormed across the street with fire in my eyes and made him pick up every last sliver of glass before “my dog or son get that in their feet!”
I’ve given up the quest for the fountain of youth and am settling into being the “old man” very nicely… but I’ve still got a nasty slider and some zip on my fastball!
Old Man Huff – formerly known as Danny Boy Huff
http://www.baseballstrengthblog.com
repeat after me: ‘if it’s too loud…’
I’ve had that moment too. Doesn’t that hurt? I’m still in denial. I’m not old…
Thanks for the laugh…..old man!
Oh dude…just be thankful you don’t live in the city! I had to go next door to request the fireworks to stop…after midnight on a Saturday. And usually we want to call the cops when it is more a shouting match than a party.
I still gots some young blood flowing through my veins. I guess that’s how I was able to tell my brain to release the right chemicals to send them to my heart so it would beat in time to the bass-thumping and rhythmically lull myself to sleep by 11:34 pm.
“OH NO!! When did I become my DAD?!?!”
Just wait a few years…you’ll be deaf and won’t care.
Haha! Those events have been happening more and more and MORE lately!
Hahaha! Only this time the price wasn’t from alcohol it was simply from being up and standing and outside and awake till 2am and then getting up for normal activity on a Saturday morning!
I went to see my buddy’s band for their CD release party. I was so excited because I was going back out to a bar on LSU’s campus we used to go see live bands play all the time!
They didn’t go ON until 11:30. I don’t know how I stayed to the bitter end but I did and boy I paid for it the next day
Even more depressing, my wife is saying more and more frequently: “Boy, you sure did sound like your Dad saying that!” Hahaha!