Don't trust no-one above 30! - The generation of '68

Don’t trust anyone above 30! – The generation of ’68

“If I could offer you only one tip for the future, sunscreen would be it… Enjoy the power and beauty of your youth; oh never mind; you will not understand the power and beauty of your youth until they have faded. But trust me, in 20 years you’ll look back at photos of yourself and recall in a way you can’t grasp now how much possibility lay before you and how fabulous you really looked….You’re not as fat as you imagine.”

You’re in a captive space. There is nowhere out. For the next 10 hours you’re going to drive down this road and he will sit beside you and nothing and nobody is going to stop him from playing his music. Have you ever been in a situation like this? Do you know what I’m talking about? I had brought my music, really great music I wanted to share with the rest of the family – only that nobody wanted to share that experience with me. There was no contest. We were going to listen to Kila, The Script, Mundy, BellX1, TG Lurgan, MGMT, Ham Sandwich, and: Baz Luhrmann.

A captive space - from Seyfried's famous '68 book 'Wo soll das alles enden?'

A captive space – from Seyfried’s famous ’68 book ‘Wo soll das alles enden?’

“Don’t worry about the future; or worry, but know that worrying is as
effective as trying to solve an algebra equation by chewing
bubblegum. The real troubles in your life are apt to be things that
never crossed your worried mind; the kind that blindside you at 4pm
on some idle Tuesday.”

Now, years later, I think: those were the days. This is the music. I would still be singing Dylan songs were it not for those long, captive hours when I was condemned to listen to all this really really hot music.

Pádraig, the man of the music, is breathing today on what they call a T-piece, just oxygen support, no pumps nor pressure, all by himself. Which is really good news. The consultant didn’t show up today and one of the junior doctors advised us they would keep flushing his lungs to remove whatever ‘stuff’ they could flush out, until tomorrow morning. They will then reassess the situation and decide whether he will need another operation.

Three of his old (!) friends arrived today, all less than half my age; they said they are beginning to feel old. How I feel for them. Two have been with Pádraig half way around the world. They staid with him almost around the clock in Hyannis; visited him in Ireland; and are now back with him in Germany. I wonder whether he ever realized how privileged he is having such good friends.

Where will this all end?

Where will this all end?

“Understand that friends come and go,but for the precious few you should hold on. Work hard to bridge the gaps in geography and lifestyle because the older you get, the more you need the people you knew when you were young.”

“Be careful whose advice you buy, but, be patient with those who
supply it. … But trust me on the sunscreen…”

PS: Just came across this clip from John Q. A down-on-his luck father, whose insurance won’t cover his son’s heart transplant, takes the hospital’s emergency room hostage until the doctors agree to perform the operation. – A bit on the extreme side, but Denzel W. definitely has a point.

Today’s German Music Tip
Silbermond, Ich bereue nichts (2009). ‘Symphonie’ was one of Pádraig’s songs in the summer of 2004. 
What’s hot
Sunscreen
What’s cold
Advice
The German word/phrase/verse of the day
Wo soll das alles enden?