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Menthol Box: 2004 Commentary

    At the close of the summer of 2004 my wife I took a trip to Montclair New Jersey to visit her friend.  The first night we had an incredible mexican dinner with the best tasting margaritas that have ever crossed my lips.   I had to supply the silver patron tequila since in this particular town you have to bring your own alcohol to restaurants.  After dinner the ladies headed back home while myself and Gilbert (name changed to protect the innocent) headed to a bar called Jakes for some after dinner drinks.

    When we first arrived the bar was fairly empty.  After a couple of beers and a shot of sambucca the young crowd started filling in.  Montclair State is the local college, the same college that Carmela Soprano attended.  I learned of this fact later on from a rerun episode where the dean from Meadows college was hitting them up for a $50,000 donation.  Tony finally caved in and made the donation.  I am getting off track here.  After a bathroom break I noticed a band was setting up for the evening's entertainment.  I was a little apprehensive about the band.  You see here I am at 35 years of age sitting in a college town bar.  Thoughts raced my mind, would I know any of the songs that they are going to play or would I be able to relate to the type of music they would play.

    If you have ever gone to a nightclub to see a band you know they  never start playing before midnight.  So finally midnight rolls around and the band starts to play.  Wow, to my surprise I know this song it's Rush from the 2112 album.  Second song is a classic from Led Zepplin, which is followed up by an Alice in Chains song titled the Rooster.  To my surprise this goes on all night long.  I know every single song and the college crowd 16 years my junior loves it.  Chicago, Chili Peppers, Neil Young, Smiths, Metallica Usher, U2, Dr. Dre and the list goes on and on.

    It just goes to prove my point that there is a lack of quality talent being promoted today.  The college crowd isn't buying it and the bands from the past are standing the test of time.  Let's find some new artist that invoke the passion that bands from 10 to 20 years ago possessed.  And let's give a round of applause to bands like Mentol Box for giving the crowd young and old something worth listening to.    

Ice Ice Baby

My Life in Cars

Pictures shown are not the actual vehicle or color. 

My First Car

1979 Pontiac Bonneville

1974 Caprice Classic Convertible

1988 GMC S15 Long Bed Pickup

1993 Nissan Altima

2005 Toyota Avalon

1998 Acura CL

2000 Lexus GS300

2000 Chevy S10

2002 Lexus IS300

2003 Toyota Tundra

2005 Nissan Armada

2008 Mercedes Benz E320 Bluetec

2010 Toyota Prius

Roller Booger

Recently I took my kids to the roller skating rink.  Nothing has changed since my first experience almost 30 years ago.  There is no new technology or groundbreaking discoveries that have revolutionized the roller skating experience.  It has always been the same thing a bunch of angst teen of all ages going around in a circle with wheels on their feet.  Back in the day it was kids with big hairbrushes in their back pockets, who could skate backwards or forwards.  Every now and then they turn the lights out with the disco ball effect for some slow music.  The snack bar still serves the same crappy pizza and the arcade still has the same games.

That is the great thing about roller skating rinks.  It wasn't about anything more than being a teenager and the experience of going.  My first experience was when I was in 6th grade and I hooked up with an 8th grader.  She was a promiscuous girl who had been around the rink (and the block).  It brought me my first French Kiss.   I remember the lights being out and her asking me genitalia questions that I had no way knowing what to say.  So I went with over exaggeration, which seemed to work.

The roller rink is also a place that brought together kids from different schools and zipcodes.  Basically it was the Facebook/Craigslist of the 70s & 80s.

It also brought great 80 style movies focused around roller skating.  Like the cult hit Roller Boogie starring Linda Blair, same actress which threw up on the priest in the Excorsist.

Roller skating was a place that didn't need gimmicks and special effects to draw a crowd.  You didn't even have to be good at.  You just had to show up.  The real appeal to roller skating was bringing kids from all walks of life to a world that goes around and around and around, even if it is only for one night.