My birthday and Father’s Day falls in the same month and during that time this year, my family got me a present that moved me back in time: Tickets to see The Beach Boys in Tuscaloosa, Alabama on October 14.

My daughter, Reagan, accompanied me to Alabama for the concert (my wife doesn’t share the enjoyment of beach music as me and Reagan claiming to be a mountain person instead of a beach person) and throughout the concert that night my mind was taken back to a time far, far away and the realization that some things never change.

As alumni of Jena High School were beginning to gather in Jena for homecoming reunions that Thursday night, I was having my own reunion of sorts as the sounds of Surfin’ USA and California Girls was blaring from the sound system in the Tuscaloosa Amphitheatre.

The Beach Boys took the nation by storm back in the early 1960’s when they were still teenagers just out of high school. By the time I was in my senior year of high school, the group’s members were in their early 40’s and I thought they were old at the time.

I guess growing up with the four-part harmony gospel hymns was part of the reason I enjoyed listening to The Beach Boys back in high school. Brian Wilson developed a four-part harmony style with an extremely high falsetto part that resonated with me and millions of other fans. That’s one reason I liked them; of course, the other was their songs talked about girls, more girls, and even more girls, which was also pretty high on my list back in the day.

One memory I have is after high school graduation in 1987, my good friend Ronn Bell and I took a trip to Jacksonville, Florida for a “senior trip”. My sister and her family lived there at the time so we had free room and board and an endless Atlantic Ocean beach to find those tanned babes we heard The Beach Boys sing about.

We took my black Chevy Camaro and drove the 10 ½ hours with the T-tops off and The Beach Boys blasting at its highest volume all the way. Once there, we wasted no time in hitting the beach, in search of all those bikini clad girls that we just knew would be jumping into the car with us.

Our hotel matradee (my sister) suggested we visit St. Augustine Beach, just a few miles south of Jacksonville. We did only to find out St. Augustine is the oldest continuously-inhabited settle-ment established by Europeans in the continental United States. It’s home to the oldest wooden school house in the country, an old drugstore, and an authentic old jail. There should be little surprise to learn that St. Augustine’s beaches were filled with a lot of “old people” who darted the beaches in their chairs, wearing their hats, and reading books.

We walked up and down that beach trying to locate those “hot babes” our friends The Beach Boys told us about, only to find an endless supply of Geritol packing grannies covered from head to toe (not that we wanted to see them dressed any other way).

As I was sitting there soaking in the concert in Tuscaloosa, right there in the middle of the song “In My Room”, I had a flashback to that day in St. Augustine.

You see, it’s now 2021. It’s been 34 years since that graduation trip to Florida and for The Beach Boys, well, they are in their 80’s.

Their fan base that grew up with them are also in their 80’s and thus, that night I once again found myself 34 years later surrounded by a bunch of grannies trying their best not to get too excited with the music.

They used to listen to the music loud for the joy of it – now they had to have it loud to hear it.

They used to stand to their feet during the song “In My Room” with their lighters lit and waving back and forth but during that concert in Tuscaloosa, very few had the energy or knees to stand for that long. Instead of lighters they lifted their cell phones (and I believe I saw several flip-phones) from the comfort of their chairs.

Instead of revealing clothes they now wore afghans or sweaters and all those beautiful blonde and brunette locks were now gray or white.

I was becoming quite amused with the entire ordeal until it dawned on me that I am in that same crowd. Oh, I may not be 80 yet, but the hair on my head and beard is gray, my knees couldn’t bear the weight of standing for very long, and I was so thankful the music was loud so I could hear it.

The only difference between that night and 34 years ago was what happened when I left that concert.

You see, my buddy Ronn and I left that St. Augustine beach empty-handed. No females jumped into the Camaro and in fact, we didn’t even see a female that was within 50 years of our age.

But that night in Tuscaloosa, I had the privilege of escorting a young, hot babe to the vehicle. Well, to be honest, she was my daughter, but it still counts.

By the way, the concert was great. It only featured two of the original Beach Boys, Mike Love and Bruce Johnston, but it was “Fun, Fun, Fun.”