Party on young people, party on!

A couple of weeks ago I traveled to Arizona to see my elderly parents in the geriatric and barren environment that is Quartzsite Arizona. This in not my first trip and not maybe not my last.

This town, located 70 miles south of Lake Havasu is an oasis of sorts, where retired people go to escape their families and forget they have any wisdom, children, or inhibitions at all. Quartzsite grows from a population of 800 in the summer, to 8000 in the winter with the influx of senior citizen rowdies bumping into each other with their trucks, vans and RVs at blistering speeds hovering around 30 mph, and partying into the wee hours of the evening, (9 or 10:00 pm) by entertaining themselves at events called gigs, in places called club houses. In these club house places they gather with their walkers, canes and oxygen, and the normally serious and shy elderly become free spirits, and lose their fear of criticism from the young. They come alive and let their hair down, (or something to that effect) and sing old songs to each other while playing instruments of some kind, for each other. The instrument's are usually a guitar, banjo, harmonica, violin or piano with the occasional wash tub, wash board, spoons, drums or most anything that makes noise accompanying. It doesn't matter to these people whether it's any good or not, everyone is welcome to participate, and everyone gets an applause. And it goes on for HOURS! This activity often reminds me of my simple days in elementry school. Could this be part of the circle of life? I wonder! They love it, they live for it, and I think it is wonderful they are happy. So I say party on young people, party on!