Monday, November 20, 2006

Temple of the Dog

So, where DID grunge come from, huh? You have Nirvana, sure, and then there is Pearl Jam and Soundgarden. Temple of the Dog, miraculously, featured guys from both of those last two bands, in Hunger. I am a very grungy guy, even most of my flannel shirts date back to the early nineties. This past weekends' tunes were quite boppy and cheerful, time to get dark and moody again.
ARAMCO is the company that runs most of the oil production for the Saudis. Most of the employees are foreigners, such as American engineers and their families. When we taught at a prep school we met millions of these kids who grew up in Saudi, but were no different from other American suburban kids. The Saudis put foreigners into little cities, which are fenced in compounds. There, presumably, women drive and go without headscarves etc, but at the age of 16, their kids must leave. Therefore many end up in US prep schools. So, dreaming last night, I was living in a Saudi ARAMCO compound, I was a high schooler skipping classes with another deadbeat and therefore found myself on top of a 100 story skyscraper with no ladder. It was pretty scary, high up there over the dessert. I did not mind waking up to the kitten jumping on belly, twice.

3 comments:

GenX at 40 said...

My sister-in-law took one look at me when we were at the Dixie Chicks and said "look at you, all grunge." What the hell is wrong with a checked heavy shirt and a ball cap? I thought I looked like a retired crazy New Brunswicker myself.

Anonymous said...

Friends of mine taught at one such school in Kuwait and got to a section on chores and the kids had no idea what a chore was, having never done one themselves.

Anonymous said...

Alan, the world is a better place when men can be men and wear their old flannel shirts with pride and watch football all weekend and listen to noisy music.
cm-you know, teaching other people's children and living with them too has its limits.