Over the Hill feelings: Happy birthday Robert Plant

Robert Plant, the musician most famous for his years fronting the band Led Zeppelin, turns 59 today. It always takes me a little aback when the iconic rock stars of my childhood start piling up the birthdays, especially since it's a medium most associated with youth and rebellion.

I've got the typical Led Zeppelin memories for a bloke my age. My brother had tickets to the DC show of the tour that got cancelled because drummer John "Bonzo" Bonham drank himself to death. I lived through those radio years when you couldn't spin the dial without encountering Stairway to Heaven several times a day.

The first thing that does and should always come to mind, however, is the music. The song that popped into my head when I read the news of Robert Plant's birthday was a catchy little tune with an appropriate title for the occasion: Over the Hills and Far Away. It evokes a certain yearning for the open road of life that appeals to me. We never know exactly where the path ahead will lead, but, if we let them, our dreams and imagination can help guide our steps and give that final destination a more pleasing shape.

I found a pretty well done video of the band performing the song on YouTube, so you can reminisce a little with me (click here). Here are the lyrics, in case you'd also like to sing along:

Over the Hills and Far Away
by Led Zeppelin

Hey lady, you got the love I need
Maybe more than enough
Oh darlin' darlin', darlin'
Walk a while with me
Oh, you've got so much, so much, so much

Many have I loved
Many times been bitten
Many times I've gazed
Along the open road

Many times I've lied
Many times I've listened
Many times I've wondered
How much there is to know

Many dreams come true
And some have silver linings
I live for my dreams
And a pocketful of gold

Mellow is the man
Who knows what he's been missing
Many many men
Can't see the open road

Many is a word
That only leaves you guessing
Guessing 'bout a thing
You really ought to know, oh...
Really ought to know, oh...
I really ought to know, oh...
you know I should...

Toying around with the past

I've rediscovered yet another old friend from my childhood. His face, or more appropriately faces, may be familiar to you:

Yes, the inimitable Mr. Potato Head! Our relationship dates back to the early days of my youth. My mother has kept some old kindergarten assignments of mine, including one where I wrote of this my favorite toy. So there's something about sticking facial features into an imitation spud that always captured my imagination.

The toy was first sold to consumers in 1952 by Hasbro, and initially didn't include a body. Kids were supposed to put the plastic bits into real vegetables. I'm not quite old enough to remember those days, but I'm sure that must have gotten quite messy so the artifical torso was tossed in by 1964.

Maybe it's an attachment to the art of disguise, or maybe it's a fondness for limitless physical transformation. Whatever the explanation, part of me has always been fond of this plastic monument to personal redefinition. You can get quite lost in choosing different combinations of eyes, nose, ears, mouth, hats and even feet to create tubermen that reflect a particular mood or fancy. My nephew Matthew got caught up in that very frenzy today as he shared in the excitement of another unboxed antiquity.

Metamorphosis is an act to be enjoyed by all ages, and adaptation is an important trait to embrace in this time of epochal change. Re-imagining ourselves and our world is a necessary step to take if we're to pass through the threshold upon which we're poised and emerge on the other side better off for the journey.