DAILY DIRT: Those were the days, my friends … we thought they’d never end

April 28, 2025 | By Steve Eighinger, Muddy River News Minister of Culture and Doctor of Love

Daily Dirt for Monday, April 27, 2025

Were those days of our youth really that long ago? Well, yes they were … Welcome to today’s three thoughts that make up Vol. 1,268 of The Daily Dirt.

1. If you’re a boomer, the truth of the matter is you are in the autumn, maybe even the early winter, of life.

That’s not meant to be some sort of sad commentary, or to ruin your Monday morning, it simply means you are in a position of life when remembrances can be exceptionally gratifying. Being a boomer myself, that’s exactly how I felt when a friend sent me the following thoughts he had found on some long-lost Facebook post awhile back.

I have edited the ensuing observation to a more manageable length, because I know boomers don’t like to wade through any unnecessary prose:

We were the echo of a golden era — an era that will never echo again.We are the legendary, slightly bruised, grass-stained generation… and we’re not coming back (because our backs hurt now).We’re the generation that walked to school. Both ways. In all weather. Uphill. And survived. We rushed through homework like it was a race, just to escape to the real fun — the street, a.k.a. our childhood office.We played outside until the streetlights came on, or until someone’s mom yelled loud enough for the whole neighborhood.We played hide-and-seek in the dark and somehow didn’t end up on a milk carton.

We collected sports cards like they were stocks — until our moms threw them out “by accident.”We turned empty Coke bottles into five-cent fortunes and bought candy like tiny Wall Street moguls.

We bought vinyl records and treated that record player like sacred tech. No scratches allowed.We kept photo albums with actual printed photos. Our TVs signed off at midnight with the national anthem.

We whispered jokes under the covers and pretended to be asleep.

We are the slightly dented, sarcastic, snack-fueled generation that’s slowly becoming memes.We’re not coming back, and honestly, we’d probably pull a muscle if we tried.But man, we nailed childhood. And we wouldn’t trade it for anything.No, we certainly would not. Those were the days, my friends. We thought they’d never end.

2. Did you know …

That when you combine an exclamation mark with a question mark (like this ?!), it is referred to as an interrobang.
That the space between your nostrils is called columella nasi.
That the tingling sensation you get when your foot’s asleep is known as paresthesia.
That the unreachable spot between your shoulder blades is your acnestis.
That the sheen or light you see when you close your eyes and press your hands on them is called phosphenes.

3. Here’s our updated list of the top 10 celebrity deaths so far in 2025:

1. Gene Hackman, two-time Oscar-winning actor for the movies “The French Connection” and “Unforgiven,” was found dead Feb. 26. He was 95.

2. Jerry Butler, the soul singer-songwriter and hit maker known as the Iceman, died Feb. 20 at the age of 85. Butler left the Impressions in 1960 and went solo, topping the Billboard charts with a series of hits such as “He Will Break Your Heart,” “Let It Be Me,” and “Only the Strong Survive.”

3. George Foreman, the boxing legend and grill entrepreneur, died March 21 at the age of 76.

4. Bob Uecker, the beloved baseball player, sports broadcaster and comedic actor died Jan. 16. He was 90.

5. Val Kilmer, the star of “Top Gun,” “Tombstone” and “Batman Forever,” died April 1 of pneumonia. He was 65.

6. Sam Moore, the Grammy-winning soul singer and one-half of the duo Sam and Dave, died Jan. 10. He was 89.

7. Roberta Flack, whose tender vocals made her one of R&B’s most beloved singers, died Feb. 24 at age 88.

8. Marianne Faithfull, the Grammy-nominated singer and actress known for hits like “As Tears Go By” and “Come and Stay With Me,” died Jan. 30. She was 78.

9. Peter Yarrow, the singer, songwriter, and political activist who was a major figure in the folk revival movement of the 1960s as one third of the music trio Peter, Paul and Mary, died Jan. 7 at age 86 after a four-year battle with bladder cancer.

10. Richard Chamberlain, the leading man who launched his career as the dashing title character of NBC’s “Dr. Kildare,” died from complications following a stroke on March 29 at 90, two days away from his 91st birthday.

Steve Thought O’ The Day — Jerry Butler might be my favorite soul singer — ever.