Ten Years Gone

After breakfast this morning, while the kids played, Pgirl and I alternately read the newspaper and watched a movie on the Independent Film Channel. "Walking and Talking", stars Anne Heche and Catherine Keener as two women in NYC who are preparing for one of their weddings. The soundtrack featured a few songs from albums that I owned. The film came out in 1996 and it set me to thinking about that year - which was a big one for me. So I have put a CD on from that year (Joe Henry’s “Trampoline”) to set the mood. Feel free to appropriate this...

A Decade Ago

1. Where were you living? A two bedroom rental house in Lake Worth, Florida. I split the rent with my grad school roommate, Megan. Some kids broke into the house and robbed it a few weeks into our lease.
2. What type of work were you doing? Lots of stuff. I stopped working at Liberties Book Store in Boca Raton and began working at Borders Books and Music in Boynton Beach. I also built a set for “Bye, Bye Birdie” and got my first professional acting job in “Come Blow Your Horn”.
3. What kind of vehicle did you drive? 1993 Toyota pickup truck. It had no model name, though it eventually became the Tacoma. The official color was Forest Green, but my wife insists it was gray. Some friends of mine dubbed it “Truck”.
4. What were your hobbies? I began mountain biking at some parks in Broward county. There weren’t any mountains in South Florida, but there were some pretty cool trails.
5. Which movies stick out in your mind? “Independence Day” and “The Rock”. Both were really crappy movies that stole liberally from previous blockbusters. I saw “ID4” twice in the theater – the second time because our power went out in the house and we needed to sit in some air conditioning. Unfortunately, “The Rock” helped give Michael Bay a career.
6. What music did you listen to? I listened to Beck’s “Odelay” a lot. Syd Straw had a pretty good record out that year.
7. What was your favorite television program? The “X-Files” was really hitting its stride. “The Simpsons” ruled. I think “The Daily Show” debuted that year too.
8. Were you dating anyone? I spent most of the 1st half of the year with a woman who was my first serious adult relationship. It ended badly with her knowing it was over well before I did. I was pathetic during our last time out together. It wasn’t a date, but more of a group thing that involved a Sting/Natalie Merchant concert, a lot of beer and a lot of moping by me. After a short, but agonizing depression, I rocketed into my “Bastard Period” for several months.
9. What do you remember from the news? The Olympic bomber in Atlanta. Kentucky winning the NCAA tournament. Clinton getting re-elected.
10. What was a memorable experience you had? A four day period in November which started with me fooling around with an actress from my first play and ended up with me fooling around with one of the managers at Borders. Both dalliances ended amicably and I began to believe in my dating abilities once again.