357. groovy

i was driving in the car recently with my son when someone on npr said, that’s groovy.
i got the heebee jeebees.
it is the one word from my generation that diminishes any language high road i can possibly try to take with my son’s generation.
it is far worse than “far out” or “peace man”.
and we can’t get rid of it fast enough in my book, including that dumb song by simon and garfunkel.
so i glanced over at my son to see if he heard it.
he was smirking but he always smirks at npr talk.

i asked, did you hear that?
he said, hear what? i never understand what they’re talking about on this station.
i said, good. good. keep it that way.

i had dodged a baby boomer bullet.
i could continue on with my lectures of the good old days—something i had mastered from my parents, as they from theirs.