Play Amanda's When I was... it was a very good year... game?

[AmandaYVR]

I was listening to this song today. I also said goodbye to someone I very much adore today (not because of any falling out, but because of geography, yet again.) Goodbyes make me sad. And it got me to thinking, what was your best year/age?

Choose A, B, C, or D, (or some other age, if you like) and then write your own little 'why'. (You don't have to be as poetic as Frank, but do try and write something.)

Ex: When I was 35, it was a very good year, ... When I was 35.

It Was A Very Good Year
by Frank Sinatra

When I was seventeen
It was a very good year
It was a very good year for small town girls
And soft summer nights
We'd hide from the lights
On the village green
When I was seventeen

When I was twenty-one
It was a very good year
It was a very good year for city girls
Who lived up the stair
With all that perfumed hair
And it came undone
When I was twenty-one

When I was thirty-five
It was a very good year
It was a very good year for blue-blooded girls
Of independent means
We'd ride in limousines
Their chauffeurs would drive
When I was thirty-five

But now the days are short
I'm in the autumn of the year
And now I think of my life as vintage wine
From fine old kegs
From the brim to the dregs
And it poured sweet and clear
It was a very good year
It was a massive good year

17

21

35

35+

[Lliam]

Holy cow, Amanda. Only you could suck me into this.

When was 16 I finally had a driver's license and my own car. That summer, a couple friends and I went to the beach every day and surfed. We had no cares or responsibilities. On one of those days, were were lying on the sand listening to a transistor radio and one friend said, "This is the best summer we will ever have." He may have been right.

When I was 17 I was a local rock star. I was popular at school and even kids from other schools knew me. I had girl friends, experimented with drugs, and partied like there was no tomorrow. I drove all over California and had the most amazing adventures.

When I was 26 I fell into an amazing job that I was unprepared for but which turned into a career. Over time, it turned me into a man. It also made me financially secure (within limits, because I'm far from wealthy).

When I was 37 I met a woman who changed my life. She was my ideal in every way. She is the one who showed me that sex could be transcendent, beyond the imaginings of mere mortals. We lived together for over a year but, tragically, we were not meant to be life-long partners.

When I was 42 I married my wonderful wife.

When I was 46, we moved to a different part of the state.

When I was 48, we bought the house that we still live in and love. We began attending a (nondenominational, non-Christian) Unitarian Universalist fellowship and I met some of the best people I have ever known. I served on the Board of Trustees and Chaired an environmental committee that I helped to start up. I also became Board President of a new, local, environmental nonprofit and got to know scores more people in our small town.

When I was 56, after 30 years at my job, I semi-retired. I began educating myself more and more on world history, U. S. politics and global affairs.

When I was 62 I fully retired. I had gradually returned to music 10 years or so earlier and had put together a good rock band. We rehearsed once a week and played a few gigs.

I can't say that I'm young and bitchen anymore. (How did that happen?) But I'm still pretty cool. I've had a great life and am still having fun. There's still a lot ahead.

[AmandaYVR]

Pshaw, Lliam. It pours out of you like water. I merely provide the rock bed. With a few twists and curves to help with a direction...

This was exactly what I was looking for.

(Stand by Me, anyone?)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TW-tcUYwQnc
I'm such a sucker for a film monologue. Who says words alone can't convey everything there is to say...

[Lliam]

It's amazing how writers can evoke such powerful thoughts and emotions in so perfectly.

What I meant by "Only you could suck me into this" was, you come up with questions and phrase them in a way that makes people think deeply, self-reflect, and reveal things about themselves that even they hadn't thought about.

[Jjpayne]

So 21, it's when you are young and have full freedom to experience life. You are an adult but still young and full of energy. You want to get a tattoo you get one, want to jump out of a plane or jump off a cliff you do that, want to get drunk in Cancun Mexico you make it happen. It's a season of a lot of regrets but unforgettable experiences.

[AmandaYVR]

That's really good. 🌺

[Jjpayne]

Thank you :)

[SydneySentinel]

When I was seventeen
It was a very good year
Slow dances at senior prom
You Look Wonderful Tonight
Graduation caps and farewells
Red velvet curtains close
When I was seventeen


When I was twenty-one
It was a year of misery
Desecration
Cheap tobacco on a moonlit balcony
Contemplating blood liberation
A new heartbeat discovered
When I was twenty-one


When I was thirty-one
It was a very good year
New beginnings
Love promises
Nine years of flowing curls
Spirit of my mother
When I was thirty-one



But now the days are short
I'm in the autumn of the year
And now I think of my life as flowing waters
Taking shape of new journeys
From the riverbed to the ocean
And it flows sweet and clear
Though sometimes murky
It is very good year

[AmandaYVR]

That was sooo good, Syd. I actually don't know what to say, besides that I don't think there is anyone on gag who would have/could have written that besides you. I think of you as an emerald.
My favourite line was "Red velvet curtains close". That was gorgeous.
Thank you for sharing. I loved reading it. Truly.

[SydneySentinel]

@AmandaYVR Your questions encourage people to let things flow. And it's about damn time for me to let some of those things go.
An emerald. I love that. You are thoughtful in ways that I haven't encountered before. ❤❤

[yoshi_wanna_ask]

21. I was dating a guy who respected me, I was finishing a uni course & involved in a lot of different groups. It was a very good year.

[Boppy]

When I was seventeen
It was a very good year
It was a very good year for sleepless boys
Running out in the cold
See the world unfold
Starstruck by the dreams
When I was seventeen

When I was twenty-one
It was a very good year
It was a very good year for windswept boys
Riding the sounds of the world
Making the meanings unfurl
And they weighed such a ton
When I was twenty-one

[AmandaYVR]

Well done, Boppy. I don't understand it all and it makes me want to know the meanings behind the words but that is alright. Not everything in life should be literal or explained. It's beautiful and lyrical. I hope you keep writing.

[Boppy]

Thanks~ I enjoyed following the rhyme scheme. I'm also naturally somber, which fits the tone of this song quite nicely. I can explain in more detail, if you want, but they are experiences that seemed to repeat often when I was in those ages (high school, college). They may not make any more sense if I explain them...

[NYCstreetPhotog]

38, last year, I walked 1360 miles for love, had an amazing adventure, photographed my adventure, moved to NYC, got the girl, my dreams were all coming into fruition. Good times.

[AmandaYVR]

You got the girl? Congrats. I thought your story ended with it not working out, but you found a new life for yourself in NY. You must tell Part II sometime.

[NYCstreetPhotog]

Part 2 of the story is the worst part of my life, also age 38, lost the girl, struggled to make ends meet, short amount of time homeless, dreams crumbling around me. Only after much improvement and dedication am I finally getting things back in order now, age 39.

[AmandaYVR]

I knew it was a mountain, not a molehill.

[Kezzz]

When I was 21
It was a good year
Things were getting done
Family would gimme a hear
I'd get a say in important things
Felt like god gave me wings

[AmandaYVR]

A poet! Good for you.

[Kezzz]

Oh you like that?
I just made that up. Thought I'd give it a try☺️

[bolverk]

There are few if any songs to day that evoke feelings like this song, for me its 35+ even though I have less family and friends every year.

[ask4any]

Have you been drinking today Amanda? Your being very nostalgic.

[AmandaYVR]

I did make myself a cocktail but these thoughts all came before. I'm very sentimental, and not good with loss and saying goodbye. Tears me up.

[ask4any]

I'm with you on that one!! Have you listened to All I Ask yet?

[ask4any]

Kills me Everytime!!

[DanOh2018]

Umm, I can't really recall the last time I had a year go mostly well LoL

[AmandaYVR]

I agree with you. I actually don't see it that way. (Funny I wrote the q then, eh.)

[COMMODOREII]

I just graduated from high school and the world seem like a big place to conquer. 😊

[Anpu23]

My current year is probably my best year do far.