A dream of how it might have been -

"At Seventeen"
digital collage by Mick Mather

I was thinking of the lyrics to Janis Ian's big hit, "At Seventeen", as I was finishing this one. The working title, "Dreaming of You at Twenty-Four", wasn't quite right - although the numbers aren't very far part anymore from where I sit - arbitrarily then, I decided on the younger. Then there's the teenage angst described in the song which transcends the generations in it's sentiment from the young girl's perspective. Beyond that? The perception that another is prettier, more popular, favored and, therefor, of a higher social status is just that, a perception. I knew, and still know, plenty of the so-called "beautiful people" who suffered just as much over the same issues and for the same reasons. The rating system can be cruel at every level I suppose. In the end, though, who doesn't appreciate the classic lines of that sleek, shiny, new racing car?