Daydream Believing

I don't know how the teen idol phase of adolescence passed in your house back in the day, but I think it was very typical at our house.  And by that I mean that we girls were crazy for Davy Jones and the Monkees.  I can remember very clearly watching the clock tick down to showtime on Monday nights anxiously awaiting the NBC peacock to appear (in black and white). 

My dad hated that we enjoyed The Monkees.  He was dismissive of their music (knowing facts I was blissfully unaware of) and generally peeved that we were ga-ga over the show and the four boys.  I don't mean that he was amusingly annoyed.  No--it was outright disgust.  We watched it and loved them anyhow. 

Teen idols come and go.  This past week, one went--Davy Jones died and the media world seemed to fall all over itself noting the occasion and sharing factoids new to me.  I did not know The Monkees were fashioned after the Beatles film A Hard Day's Night.  I knew that Davy Jones gained acclaim in  Oliver! but did not know that he appeared on the same Ed Sullivan Show as the Beatles to perform a number from that show.  (*as an aside, I've heard some other stories about the acts that appeared that night as well which is an interesting story all by itself since no one ever thinks about that part of the night.) 

Nostalgic teen idolatry moved me to stop for a minute to mourn his death.  I was stunned by the level of coverage.  Others apparently held Davy Jones' influence in similar esteem.  I'm sure it's largely because we're all "of a certain age" but I can't help but kind of chuckle to think that my dad is hearing the same and perhaps even forced to stand by as Davy is greeted into the heavenly fold.  I had shut The Monkees away in a little drawer in my memory banks in adult deference to my dad's huffing and puffing.  But now I am seeing a whole other side to the story and it keeps bringing me back to those years as a awkward naive pre teen.  It's a bit disconcerting.

I've mentioned The Occasional CEO blog before and he has a post the describes this feeling in a much more adroit manner.  The Unexpected Turn (Roller Coasters, Past and Future) more effectively describes this feeling of having one foot in the past and one foot in the present.  Family history research is an excellent means to experiencing constant unexpected turns.  I hope you took a few seconds to note Davy's passing and consider his place in your past.  It speaks to the present and to the future.