Nostalgic for the Eighties and St. Elmos Fire? Well Then, You Must Read On....
While watching the tail end of St. Elmos Fire on HBO this summer (2011), I felt this old familiar feeling of nostalgia. Oh what a life it was! Oh, Please bring back the Eighties, Dear Lord. It's the youth in me (and you too, I bet) that relates to the emotions, the turmoils and the drama inherent in college life and portrayed in the movie St. Elmos Fire (Circa 1985).
Try to reminisce with me. Turn on your stereo and play the soundtrack from St. Elmo's Fire. Now, settle into your favorite chair; then, Breathe in... Breathe out....ooohhhhhhhhm...whew............
Next, Tune your mind, body, and spirit to the St. Elmo's theme. Do you find yourself back in the dorms, the Frat House or at your favorite bar in Georgetown?
If you're a Terp (or Twerp as we once joked), you probably recall taking off to Georgetown on hot summer nights. That drive down Rhode Island Avenue remains etched in any UMD Terp's brain. "Escape, escape" is the all to familiar voice that dominates during Spring Break, after mid-terms and finals. Next thing you know, you're at the Crazy Horse waiting for "a cute Navy Boat" (used to be our code word for guys from the Naval Academy or just plain Navy) to ask you to a dance just when "Burning Down the House...or Spin me like a Record" came blasting through the speakers. You dance, drink, and fantasize the night away. But, unlike Alec, you don't get locked up for drunk driving. You do, however, act out like Demi Moore and have affairs and jealous fits like your counterparts in this "slice of life" story.
I can't explain why St. Elmos Fire is one of my favorite films. The music is awesome, for sure. I know I wouldn't get as much of a kick out of it today as I did, back in 1985. (Sorry, Mr. Orwell, it wasn't your year.) I think what drew me to the film was its realistic portrayal of the struggles of college life that you, I, and today's undergrads can identify with and embrace with a bittersweet emotion. To die for? Not really. I, for one, am glad that I've gotten past those years of my life that were ruled by the drama and emotion that one would expect to find only in Shakespeare's plays. Just my two cents. Do you have an opinion? Go ahead, be bold and do share.
Despite the fact that most adults (middle aged folks--aaaargh) would prefer to be spared of the drama that reigned over their lives during their college years, I think it's safe to say that these very adults may still cherish a long, elapsed moment in that favorite chair--that takes them back to the days at St. Elmos bar in Georgetown.
Dancing to the soundtrack of St. Elmos Fire and then being driven home by your drunk boyfriend and locking yourself in your room after being fired from your job and coming to terms with the passing of your cat and getting over it all when the word hits home that the funeral costs for the cat are no more than $250.00.
Lean further back in your chair and pull the lever up to rest your feet so that they dangle at an angle and are a few degrees higher than your head, which is lowered and on a downward sloping path. The tune from St. Elmos Fire continues to play. In your mind's eye, you say goodbye to St. Elmo knowing that you can beckon him back the next time you crank up the stereo and play that old, familiar theme.
But for now, it's "Hello to Monday mornings that land you at your agency's doorstep and not in the line at the Crazy Horse or the Bayou. Wake up and say your prayers to St. Joseph--the Patron Saint of Workers and bid St. Elmo a sweet, goodbye kiss.
I hope you'll comment on your opinion of St. Elmos Fire. Was it your favorite film, when you were in your early twenties?
Next showing on DirectTV, Channel 537 (eLove) on 14 July 2011. Check your programming guide for details.
See also,
)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Elmo's_fire
