Groovy Commuting, Words No Longer Used, The Godfather and College Football All in One Far Out Post

Pacino and Brando in The Godfather

I’m commuting into San Francisco again. Monday, Wednesday and Friday I have an early morning class so have to leave the house at seven AM to catch the commuter bus. It’s a mellow ride that beats regular commute hours by half an hour (or so). I get into the City and have a twenty-minute (or so) walk to school. I’m done before noon and home around 12:45 (in the afternoon — of course). Tuesdays and Thursdays I have an afternoon class so don’t leave the house until 11:30 AM (or so). After work comes the tricky part of my commute week as I leave just as the evening commute is heating up: 4:30 (or so). This is only day three so I can’t say too much about the overall commute. There’ll be bad days and a horrific experience or two but for the most part it’ll be fairly groovy.

I like that, “fairly groovy.” The word groovy is of a time more so than most slang. It’s very Sixties. It was pretty much gone by the mid if not the early seventies. “Right on” is very Sixties too but has had a longer shelf life and still pops up now and again. “Far out” was also totally a Sixties saying that was already being mocked by the seventies. Ya know what else was around in the sixties? Referring to your boy/girl friend (usually one you lived with) as your “old man” or “old lady.” Never hear it anymore. I wasn’t crazy about it but think it preferable to today’s “partner” which sounds so antiseptic. Also in the Sixties there were “hassles” or someone was “hassling” you. So it was a verb and a noun. Often it was the police — or pigs — who were doing the hassling. People had roommate “hassles” back then. This could “put you through changes.” No one gets “put through changes” anymore. More’s the pity. It seems like “bummer” has stuck around. People still get “bummed out” but I don’t believe they have “bum trips” anymore. Also people don’t watch either the “boob tube” or “idiot box” anymore. I blame the advent of the computer age.

Here’s a question: how much Sixties slang did I use “back in the day”? Not much. I was, especially growing up in Berkeley, very much attuned to the times. I protested against the war in Vietnam, I listened to rock, I smoked “grass” aka “weed” or “bush” and grew my hair long but I generally eschewed slang. I suppose I’ve always been fairly erudite. 

Speaking of words….People never have quarrels anymore. The British have rows but Americans just have arguments. No one gets cross anymore either. They do get angry or pissed. Some folks get mad though the British generally use mad for crazy. Speaking of piss, in England they take the piss but we don’t do that here in the states. Also in England you can tell someone to piss off but in the states you are pissed off. I don’t remember the last time I heard someone described as bashful, everyone is shy. Is it my imagination or are we cutting down on our vocabulary?

Without segue I’ll mention that last weekend I watched The Godfather (1972) Coppola and The Godfather Part II (1974) Coppola. I’ve no idea how many times I’ve watched these two films but I’d say it’s somewhere in the neighborhood of a lot. With each viewing I become increasingly impressed with Al Pacino’s turn as Michael Corleone. The transformation in the first movie from the boyish soldier back from the war bringing his girlfriend home to a wedding to the cold-blooded Mafia Don is one of the great performances in cinema. In the sequel he remains true to the character with only barely controlled rage to indicate that warm blood courses through his veins. The Godfather films are as close to perfectly made as you can get. Tick off the boxes, directing, editing, costumes, set design, acting, the score. I recently saw a discussion in which most participants said they preferred the sequel. Not me. (Although it is really splitting hairs to say you prefer one to the other.) I like the first more because of the aforementioned Michael transition and also for the presence of Vito (Marlon Brando) and Sonny (James Caan). That said the scenes ins Part II with Robert DeNiro as the young Vito in Little Italy are some of the best ever committed to celluloid. 

College football died after Michigan defeated Washington for the national championship on Monday (Go Blue!). Next season will be a travesty of what the sport once was. My own beloved University of California Golden Bears along with their arch rivals, Stanfurd will be in the Atlantic Coast Conference. From Cal’s Memorial Stadium you can look over the west rim of the stadium and see the Pacific Coast. Nonetheless…..Meanwhile the Pacific Coast Conference will be no more. Traditional rivalries have been going by the way side for years now and more will be ended. In lieu of many geographically logical conferences there will be huge mega conferences. All this at the behest of TV networks and in the name of the almighty dollar. Lastly there will now be a 12 team post season tournament to determine the national champions as greed gives way to common sense. Like professional sports, college football will now offer the opportunity to second place finishers to claim titles. To quote a song: don't it always seem to go that you don’t know what you’ve got ‘till it’s gone.