When we were much younger my husband Mike and I used to joke that one day we might be in a nursing home “dancing” to songs from the Rolling Stones in our wheelchairs. We’d laugh hysterically at the very thought as ridiculous as it sounded. Last Sunday we found ourselves at a Rolling Stones concert for the third time. The Hackney Diamonds tour debuted in Houston and we were fortunate enough to have tickets to see the incredible group. Still, our adventure made us laugh as we made our way into the NRG Stadium weaving through a crowd of all ages that included many folks with canes, walkers and wheelchairs. The gray hair and inability to walk without an aid was not going to stop them from gathering to enjoy a night with the Stones.
Mick Jagger and Keith Richards may be in their eighties but they still know how to rock and put on a fabulous show. They put the lie to the idea that age automatically makes someone too old to keep working. Beginning the set with Start Me Up it quickly became apparent that Mick is as spry and charismatic as ever and the musicianship of Keith and Ronny and the rest of the ensemble is world class. While some of the younger folk in the audience danced the night away the older folks sang along with song after song remembering their youth and forgetting any aches and pains they may have had.
Mike and I felt as though we were back in high school when he was seventeen and I was sixteen and we first heard Satisfaction on the radio. I remember going to Gulfgate Mall with my friend Claudia and purchasing that record for around a dollar. I took it home and put it on repeat play on our RCA Victrola. My mother enjoyed it as much as I did and she and I danced in our living room while it played over and over again. Later I bought Paint It Black and once again listened to it probably a hundred times, never growing tired of it.
When I took a debate class at school someone came up with the idea of staging a persuasive competition between those who preferred the Beatles and those who leaned toward the Stones. I was totally in love with John Lennon and the Fab Four but I had to admit that when it came to the music I was equally enchanted with Mick and crew. I basically called the debate a tie but I remember the Rolling Stones side arguing that long after the Beatles were gone the Stones would still be rocking together and on Sunday night that prediction seemed to be true.
Our concert had all of the best songs including classics like Sympathy for the Devil and Gimme Shelter which may well be the best rock song of all time. I have often dreamed of joining the band on stage and singing with Mick. To a certain extent I did that last Sunday. While Mike recorded song after song on his phone I sang as though I was a member of the band. If you listen carefully to Mike’s recording you will hear me harmonizing with Mick in perfect key.
We bought our merch of course to add to our collection of Rolling Stones t-shirts and kept the guitar shaped fans distributed by AARP, the sponsor of the concert. That fact really made us laugh. There was nothing retiring about either the crowd or the guys in the band. When Mick got on his knees during on of the songs Mike and I were both impressed with how easily he got right back up without even using his hands. In fact they all performed for a solid two hours without seeming to even break into a sweat.
I know what it is like to be under the lights on a stage and even in my younger years I used to get quite warm and out of breath. Not so for the octogenarians who kept pace with the singing and dancing and playing of instruments as though they were still in their twenties. They got as many screams from the crowd as they had when they were young studs sporting long hair and smooth faces. Like fine wine they have aged to be even better.
The Rolling Stones inspired me to remember that the party of life is not over until it’s over. I may be older but I still have much to offer long as my mind keeps working. I’ll be meeting up with the guys on the treadmill and when I’m racing on my exercise bike. I’ll bring them along on my walks around the neighborhood. I’ll think of all the fun and pleasure that they have given me over the years and I will smile. I’ll remember that old high school debate and laugh that they are still rolling along after all these years.
All It Takes Is A Little Love 