100 Years of Ramones....

[captainsblog]

That's rather pushing it.

The inspiration for it is, it's the End of a Century:

Watch on YouTube

One hundred years ago today, one-half of my DNA entered the biosphere, on the Y side of the equation.  It was not my better half.

Like me, my father was the third of three children (that we know of). Like me, he was christened Raymond- a name not much in favor in baby name books for most of my lifetime. Like me, he married, and supported a family.  That's as much as I'll admit to without a court order.

There's a run of much nicer birthday milestones coming around me in 2016. Four months and a few weeks from now, my sister will turn 70. Two months after that, Eleanor will cross the threescore threshold. And at the end of October, my mother's birth will inspire a far fonder centennial recollection.

But 100 years is nothing to ignore. So I didn't. I spent a small but meaningful part of my day dealing with a small but meaningful financial issue involving Emily and Cameron. When they needed me to react and respond, I did so- thinking primarily of them. Had I come to my father with such a request when I was 24, the answer would have been "no"- or the strings attached to a "yes" would've been just as no-like.

Those genes may or may not be recessive, but my nurture has taught me to reject them.

As for the musical connection: needless to say, the Ramones never sang for my father Raymond. But I did see them live, once- on a college-era New Year's Eve show at a Long Island beachfront club.  The Original Four were part of my late 70s/into the 80s soundtrack with the song above, "I Wanna Be Sedated," and other light classics.  The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inducted them in 2002; the last of the four shown above passed away about a year and a half ago.

And so, to my father, still providing Maggot Chow to a Suffolk County cemetery since 1986, I say simply: Gabba Gabba Heypy Birthday:-)