Thursday, April 15, 2004
I need excitement
I’m back from holiday. Did you miss me? I had a great time. Thanks for asking. The kids loved fishing in the rock pools and chasing seagulls on the beach. We stayed in a “timeshare resort”, which is basically a hotel that you go to for the same week every year. We bought someone else’s timeshare. It was full of families with kids, from tiny to teenager.
What is it about being surrounded by teenagers that makes you feel like one? I was looking around at the flower of South African youth, and wondering if I looked cool enough, cursing the spot that appeared on my chin. Hope my hair looks sharp. Maybe, as one of the most traumatic periods of your life, the teenager mind-set sears itself into your sub-conscious. I’m suffering from post-traumatic stress, induced by surreptitiously ogling 16-year olds from behind my shades. Looking around at the over-made up girls, and the studied casual attitude of the boys, I remember exactly how it feels to be fumbling your way through all the hormones. Beer helps, as I recall, but only up to a point. Then again, I’m not sure I’ve ever really got over it. I still get that “Emperor’s new clothes” feeling from time to time, usually in a business situation. Maybe I’m a bit too closely connected to my inner child.
What is it about being surrounded by teenagers that makes you feel like one? I was looking around at the flower of South African youth, and wondering if I looked cool enough, cursing the spot that appeared on my chin. Hope my hair looks sharp. Maybe, as one of the most traumatic periods of your life, the teenager mind-set sears itself into your sub-conscious. I’m suffering from post-traumatic stress, induced by surreptitiously ogling 16-year olds from behind my shades. Looking around at the over-made up girls, and the studied casual attitude of the boys, I remember exactly how it feels to be fumbling your way through all the hormones. Beer helps, as I recall, but only up to a point. Then again, I’m not sure I’ve ever really got over it. I still get that “Emperor’s new clothes” feeling from time to time, usually in a business situation. Maybe I’m a bit too closely connected to my inner child.
