Podiatis Salivitus Disease

Otherwise known as "Open Mouth, Insert Foot".

Two nights ago, I was talking with a kid at work. He's sixteen, nice kid, works hard...I decided to pick his brain a little on the terms teens are using these days to describe themselves.

I don't write YA but hey, you never know. Information always seems to come in handy.

So he's explaining the term EMO, the current definition of punk (I pointed out that this was exactly what it meant to be punk when I was in high school...he was in deep denial over that one, let me tell you.), and then he uses the term "hard core" and pauses to see if I have any CLUE what that might mean.

Ummm, let me see...I grew up in the age of the big hair bands when AC/DC and Motley Crue were slamming it out at concerts and everyone morphed into one big mosh pit. I saw the invention of grunge leak its way out of Seattle and settle onto our radios. I graduated the year Kurt Cobain took his life. Kids wore all black or ripped and tattered clothes and refused all forms of personal hygiene (that's sticking it to the establishment! I haven't bathed and you can't make me. Ha!).

I have a vague idea what hard core can mean.

I told him this and he gave me this tiny little smile and said, "Well, that was like a century ago. It means something different now."

Huh.

I'd like to finish this story in all its gory details but my lawyer says I really shouldn't.