I know a few folks who have a bad case of fibromyalgia, and it doesn’t look fun. Recently, I’ve been suffering from a bad case of fibro-nostalgia. It’s certainly not as debilitating as chronic pain, but it sure can cause the mind to wander and the productivity to drop. I blame the latest flareup on my son.

Drew took me to see the new Top Gun movie on Father’s Day. It’s not a tear-jerker, but I found myself getting plenty choked up numerous times over the course of the film. Some of the feels were because I was, well, with my beloved son in whom I am well pleased. Some were because of the constant allusions back to the original movie. Maybe I subconsciously thought of that era as my heyday. Or maybe I’m just a sniveling wuss. 🙂

“Total Eclipse of the Heart” by Bonnie Tyler had been out for a couple years and was still popular back then. “Amanda” by Boston could be heard everywhere, along with “Say You, Say Me” by Lionel Richie. “Manic Monday” by the Bangles had just hit the radio, and I really liked that song because they included my name in it. 🙂 And, of course, “Highway to the Danger Zone” by Kenny Loggins made its debut in Top Gun. 

Other top artists back then included Bon Jovi, Janet Jackson, Whitney Houston, Robert Palmer, and a slew of others. I didn’t care too much for Boy George or Madonna, but I (mostly) enjoyed Rush, Journey, Phil Collins, and REO Speedwagon. The Doors had flashes of brilliance, but their corpus was generally too dark for my taste. After I met Jesus, I wanted to make some adjustments to my collection, anyway.

Kate Christensen was surely right: “Nostalgia is a powerful drug. Under its influence, ordinary songs take on dimensions and powers, like emotional superheroes.” That said, I’m still more interested in tomorrow. As Anne Shirley Cuthbert put it, “Tomorrow is a new day with no mistakes in it…yet.” 

Come to think of it. I could get pretty nostalgic about Anne of Green Gables, too. Bethany and her friends used to watch the Megan Follows version, which was adorable and extremely well done. (And—while it’s a completely different approach, not to mention earthy, dark, and raw—Anne with an E really should keep going, and the producers should finish what they started. We were all left hanging.)

Anyway, back to the present. The best days are ahead.