I was definitely “out” as far as trouble making was concerned. I had just moved from a semi-big town to a moderately small town setting. I had already received the kind forewarning by a few of the locals to steer clear from a particular clique of girls who weren’t twins by any stretch of the imagination, but they were dubbed, “the twin girls” for reasons unknown. Turns out, I’d learn why to avoid them. The girls were nothing but trouble.
I don’t know remember exactly how I made their acquaintance to be honest. I was a new kid in town, an avid skateboarder, loved heavy metal music with a passion like any other American kid my age. However, my tastes in seventies “classic” hard rock music made my parents cringe. This not only set me apart from my generation by a long shot, but also made me very misunderstood by my peers as well.
I did not expect to be face to face with more peer pressure and intimidation by “the twins”, who possibly misunderstood my fascination with a particular seventies rock group that, at one time, had a notorious image for wearing high heel platforms and war paint on their faces in their heyday.
Why the coincidence with the rock music, skateboarding and all that jazz went hand n’ hand went beyond my thirteen year old logic even after my parents (with all best intentions), tried to explain to me why that group’s excesses weren’t good.
I might have fit the “misfit” dress code, but I sure didn’t like to make waves. When it came to stealing sodas and cigarettes that’s when I set my foot down and didn’t take part in that kind of peer pressure from “the twin” girls. (Mind you, this was after I learned they didn’t pay for their items). Besides that, I disliked taking up smoking. I needed no potential health complications in that regard, either.
I learned my lesson through the Ben Franklin way the first time around when I was a young kid and knew that stealing was dishonest and just plain wrong. I also knew to even be caught hanging around with the twin girls wasn’t good, either. I was quick to discover why “the twins” were prohibited from entering the grocery store was because of their theft. Even the garage station attendant detained me once for nearly walking off with a soda in my hand without paying the ten cent deposit. He had set me wise that even in small towns, theft still happens like anywhere else.
But… I did listen to the devil’s music, and this was automatically responsible for misfit behavior, correct? No and no. And not me. When it came to that kind of peer pressure it was difficult not to get caught up in that, yet I had a good head on my shoulders to avoid it just the same. It didn’t have anything to do with the type of music teenagers listen to. In fact, it really had nothing to do by how they dressed, either.
Teenagers nowadays could blow their ear drums out cranking the volume to Slim Whitman’s yodeling on an MP3 player. Would his lyrics influence rebellious misfit behavior in them? Nope, and I will elaborate more on the subject of music in a different segment. To Be Continued…