The older I get, the more I love sitting by warm fires after sundown.  It’s very comforting.  Very inviting.  I love watching the flames flicker…

            Sometimes it causes me to drift back into time…

            Before Covid…

            Hell, before 9-11…

            It was one of those balmy, San Diego summer nights.  There was a popular two-story nightclub in the marina where all the expensive yachts were anchored, called the Salmon House. I can still recall strolling up the red carpet past all the pretty girls… past the tall, muscular doorman as the opening bars of “Shake your booty” by KC and the Sunshine Band began to play…        

            Once inside, my friends and I were treated to a full, packed house of 20-something women and men dancing on the dance floor as a silver disco ball spun overhead… “everybody… get on the floor… let’s dance…”

            I met eyes with a petite, curly haired Blonde, who was following her friends up the staircase and into the second level of the nightclub.  She looked amazing, dressed in black bell bottoms and a hippie shirt.  She smiled at me.  Captivated, I smiled back, and followed her up the steps… “don’t fight… the feeling… give yourself a chance…”

 Once at the second level, KC could no longer be heard.  Instead, there was a room dedicated to breakdancers and poppers who were showing off their skills to “I know you got soul” by Eric B and Rakim.   A breakdancer once myself, before a long tour in the US Army, I was tempted to join them… but when I turned to look at her, like a tractor beam, her lovely eyes compelled me to follow her into another room, so I did…

Once inside, I was treated to another 80’s dance gem, “Let’s Go” by Nocera.  Her high heels hit the wooden dance floor with the beat, then she turned, pointed her fingernail at me and danced the night away we did…

Interesting time it was.  It was the dawn of the Reality Television Era, which is the era I came of age in.  I’d put the years from 1994 to 2001.  To put it directly, it was the time of instant celebrity.  People became famous for various reasons, whether good or notorious, and sometimes people became famous just for being famous.

Why was that different…?

            Well, in my father’s time and in the rest of the world, people usually spent many years toiling away at their craft as an entertainer (writer, director, actor, producer, editor) or as a professional (doctor, lawyer, engineer, accountant) sometimes even for decades, before they ever became rich or famous.  A lot of people in my father’s time became rich simply by working at a simple job and saving and investing money in stocks, bonds, real estate, gold and silver.

            Have times changed?

            No.  Now you have artificial intelligence, cryptocurrency, robotics, cybersecurity, or software as a service to invest in or find careers in.  Plus, this era of podcasters and influencers has created many new stars.  Not only that, breakdancing was in the Olympics.

            That’s right!

            Watching B-Boy Victor on his way to earning a bronze medal for the USA was quite a sight.  It actually took me to a seedier, different time in my life, when you could say I was “undercover”, doing research about LA’s gangs for the screenplay “Outcast”… a screenplay that would pique the interest of several Academy Award winning actors, but cause me much grief and anguish.  It was at that time when I saw Junior – maybe the greatest breakdancer of any era – square off against Wake Up.  If I would have said “Ma, one day breakdancing is gonna be in the Olympics,” she would have laughed at me.

            Go figure.