Cru Jones Society

 

Some times you don’t appreciate things until after you suffer through Ulcerative Colitis. Some times you don’t appreciate things until they leave you for the douche bag in their biology class. But some times you don’t appreciate things because you’re young and ignorant or naïve.

I have compiled five things that used to annoy me and that I despised when I was younger.  But now that I am a little bit older, and a little (very little) bit wiser, I have come to the awareness that these things are great and that they enhanced whatever it is they are a part of.  So now, in no particular order, I give you 5 under appreciated things from my youth.

The Piano

I may have been partially influenced by television in my distaste for this instrument. Watching shows and cartoons where some spoiled little bastard would be upset about having to take piano lessons. Or it could be because my dad would play the thing while I was trying to watch said cartoons.

One had one of these contraptions in my home damn near my entire time there, and I pretty sure my dad was the only one who ever played it, unless you count when the cats would walk across the keys as playing. When I was younger I was really into rap, and in my mind the piano was only used to make classical music. I may have also been intimidated by the 88 keys. Whatever the case, I was usually annoyed and pissed whenever my dad would play it.

Now that I have grown, not only in size and age, but also in my appreciation of music I am kicking myself for not learning the piano when I had such easy access to one. I have come to recognize that the piano can make incredibly wonderful sounds. I also believe that those who have the ability to play the piano have an easier time learning other instruments, maybe not the hard blowing part of brass instruments, but the other parts associated with playing them.

So instead of appreciating the piano when I was young and learning to play it in order to become a giant, successful rock star waist deep in girls, blow, and money; I have chosen a different keyboard and all the glory that comes with writing for a no-profit comedy website. Just so you know the glory that comes with writing for a comedy web site is being ankle deep in girls, blow, and money.

The Music Videos During Beavis and Butthead

From music to music videos, are you sensing a theme? Well don’t. There are no more music related items on this list.

When Beavis and Butthead was first on the air I was in junior high, and like every one I watched their antics. But I was so much more intrigued by their escapades and hated so much when such escapades would be interrupted so they could make fun of music videos. They think Janet Jackson is hot and want to have all the sex with her, I get it. Now stop these shenanigans and get back to showing me what happens when they try to make beards by gluing hair to their faces.

A few years ago a Beavis and Butthead box set was released on DVD and it included the music videos and I was excited. Again this could be part of my accumulated love and appreciation of music. Or I finally realized the true comedy that can come from ripping on some pretentious artist’s self indulgent vision of their shitty song. Yes, I am talking to you, The Edge. Or to find that truly awful video that you know the band was so proud of ad rip it a new asshole. Part of the appreciation may come from the fact that I get more of the jokes now too. Whatever it is, I find myself watching the videos more than I watch the episodes.

Bagels and Cream Cheese

My cousin and my grandma would both eat these often. And they would offer them to me. But I could not eat them. It was a combination of the dough and the cream cheese. The dough was unlike the dough of anything else that I ate and it was chewier and I wasn’t a fan. The cream cheese just had a flavor that I wasn’t a fan of. I can’t figure out what it was exactly, it just didn’t taste good to my young palate.

Now I can’t get enough of either of these items. I will even eat bagels with other things like eggs, various meats, and the occasional vegetable. And I’ll use cream cheese in other cooking, the only example I can think of is to put on my quesadilla, but damn if that isn’t exquisite. I really am unsure of how I spent my childhood hating and avoiding these culinary staples. Though that may have been better for my waist line.

Peggy Bundy

I would watch Married With…Children every week, usually against my parents wishes. I found the sibling rivalry hilarious and Al’s patheti-sad made me laugh too, granted I didn’t get half the jokes. And let’s not forget the hotness of Kelly Bundy in those sluty outfits. The one thing that consistently annoyed me week after week was Peggy Bundy. I hated that character so much. She was always so mean to Al and her traits were very obnoxious. The way her leg bounced when she sat, her big giant hair, that walk she had, even her voice irritated me. This was the one character I wanted off the show more than other. I was so happy when they had the story line where she was searching for her dad and made brief to no appearances in the episodes.

During recent viewings of the show, it occurred to me just how important she actually is. She is the driving force that created Al Bundy. Without Peggy, Al would possibly be successful and actually enjoy his life. He would be Danny Tanner, Jason Seaver, Heathcliff Huxtable, in other words, he would be a boring trite father character. I realize now that those traits I once found so obnoxious were brilliant and subtle additions Kathy Sagal used to make Peggy such the driving force she was.

The Smell of Brewing Beer

Living in Golden, a mere 15 blocks from the Coors brewery, meant there were many times it was required to drive past it. Most notable down 32^nd. Driving this route put you literally right next to the brewery. This route also meant driving through what I used to consider one of the worst smells I had to sit through for 30 seconds. This was the smell of beer being made. I would always complain as we drove through it. Meanwhile my mom would praise the smell. I never understood that in my youth.

On my 21^st birthday I was living in Fort Collins and I went on a tour of the Budweiser brewery, mainly for free beer and to see how it compared to the Coors brewery (it doesn’t). As we entered the fermentation room my olfactory nerves were bombarded with a familiar smell. For the first time in my life I wasn’t repulsed by this aroma. I savored it with every breath I took. I think the change on this one has two factors. The first being I developed a love and a taste for beer, and this smelled like the purest form of the delicious substance. The second was that smelled reminded me of home. It reminded me of being a little kid and riding in the car with my parents. It’s a reminder of where I come from, who I was; of a time when my biggest concern was saving my allowance to buy a Marvel Comics action figure.

I wonder what kind of shit I don’t care for now that I will appreciate in another 20 years. Suspenders? Early dinners? Lawrence Welk? Only time will tell. Hopefully in twenty years you’ll be able to read that article on crujonessociety.com.

See ya at the bagel shop…

lee.s.hart@crujonessociety.com