Status: slowly updating
Rush Hour
XXIV: living day by day is more than i can say about my life
"Yes, I know, it's not Sicily but I'm working on that, I promise", Adam said as he drove. "Oh, crap. I'm sick of that song, let me see... this one... no... The Get Up Kids? I haven't listened to them in ages! Let me see if I got something from the first al..."
"No, Adam. I'm not driving. Stop it." I said, taking his mp3 player away from him. "I know what you're trying to do."
It seems Adam was going to complain but he looked at his family through the rear mirror. The car resembled a sardine can, to be honest, but it was a short trip anyway. "Okay, okay. At least see if I've got their first album... Four Minute Mile."
"Let me see... Yes. It's here. Now focus on driving. I'm too young to die." I replied, chuckling.
Adam's grandmother laughed.
"Adam, please be careful. Remember io sono ancora nel fiore degli anni! Dead people cannot enjoy gelato, keep that in mind, per l'amor di Dio!" she added, half-joking, half-serious.
"Don't worry, mamma. There's nothing to fear. Remember I taught him how to drive!" Phil said, proudly.
"That's exactly why I'm afraid!" she replied, laughing.
"By the way, why Burbank? Why did you choose that name? What's its meaning?" Adam suddenly asked.
"Please don't..." Adam's mother started saying.
"Haven't I told you? Well, when I was a handsome and young man... I still am... but I was younger then... I was a college student living in Los Angeles. There was this show I wanted to attend... I think it was in Pasadena. It was my first month living there but I was young and ya know, when you're young you feel you can do anything. So I convinced my roomie to join me. He grew up in New Jersey so he didn't know much about California either. There was no GPS back then so we bought a crappy map at a convenience store. Long story short, we didn't end up in Pasadena... We ended up in Burbank, half an hour from there. I hated the city but I loved the name. We reluctantly asked for help. This guy was giving us directions as quickly as mamma praying the rosary so we didn't understand shit. We had to tell him to speak slowly so we could have enough time to make notes and even drawings. He gave up and drew a little map instead, along with some crappily handwritten short instructions I didn't really understand... but Bill could understand them (he used to work at a drugstore, so he had some experience with that) and we safely made it to the show. We missed the opening band, but oh well."
"So... I was named after a crappy city with a rad name?"
"Yes." Adam's mother said, between sweet and nostalgic. "And he wanted it to be your first name. I didn't really like the name, to be honest, so we compromised and made it your middle name. It finally grew on me. How couldn't it? I mean, he got lots of super cute onesies with 'Burbank' embroidered on them, he also got keychains, a sweatshirt... Yes, the one you received when you turned sixteen. He bought it along with the onesies when I was still pregnant."
"And now that cute and tiny baby is a not-so-tiny cute young man who's taking us to his graduation! I'm so proud!" Adam's grandmother said, almost squealing.
"Let me be honest here. I didn't think you'd actually graduate. Not after seeing you on MTV, Fuse, CNN, all over." Phil added, between surprised and relieved.
"And throw away three and a half years of super expensive tuition? No way. I didn't sell my car to end up dropping out. I just asked for a chance to finish my semester online. I'd send assignments backstage sometimes... Ask John. He helped me sometimes. I remember that time he called Michelle to ask her to explain a certain topic to us. I was super embarrassed but he couldn't lie to her. I mean, there was only one of us studying law and it wasn't him. Surprisingly, she didn't kill me. She explained everything the best she could and she said she was proud of me."
"Yes, I remember that." Adam's mom said, laughing. "Nathan told me about it."
"Talking about Nathan, we need to go to your place. He's there, waiting for us. I don't say 'getting ready' because you're the one who always spends like three hours getting ready", I added.
"Wait", Adam said, quickly turning right and parking in front of a Starbucks. "Do you want anything? Nathan wants a caramel macchiato."
"No, Adam. I'm not driving. Stop it." I said, taking his mp3 player away from him. "I know what you're trying to do."
It seems Adam was going to complain but he looked at his family through the rear mirror. The car resembled a sardine can, to be honest, but it was a short trip anyway. "Okay, okay. At least see if I've got their first album... Four Minute Mile."
"Let me see... Yes. It's here. Now focus on driving. I'm too young to die." I replied, chuckling.
Adam's grandmother laughed.
"Adam, please be careful. Remember io sono ancora nel fiore degli anni! Dead people cannot enjoy gelato, keep that in mind, per l'amor di Dio!" she added, half-joking, half-serious.
"Don't worry, mamma. There's nothing to fear. Remember I taught him how to drive!" Phil said, proudly.
"That's exactly why I'm afraid!" she replied, laughing.
"By the way, why Burbank? Why did you choose that name? What's its meaning?" Adam suddenly asked.
"Please don't..." Adam's mother started saying.
"Haven't I told you? Well, when I was a handsome and young man... I still am... but I was younger then... I was a college student living in Los Angeles. There was this show I wanted to attend... I think it was in Pasadena. It was my first month living there but I was young and ya know, when you're young you feel you can do anything. So I convinced my roomie to join me. He grew up in New Jersey so he didn't know much about California either. There was no GPS back then so we bought a crappy map at a convenience store. Long story short, we didn't end up in Pasadena... We ended up in Burbank, half an hour from there. I hated the city but I loved the name. We reluctantly asked for help. This guy was giving us directions as quickly as mamma praying the rosary so we didn't understand shit. We had to tell him to speak slowly so we could have enough time to make notes and even drawings. He gave up and drew a little map instead, along with some crappily handwritten short instructions I didn't really understand... but Bill could understand them (he used to work at a drugstore, so he had some experience with that) and we safely made it to the show. We missed the opening band, but oh well."
"So... I was named after a crappy city with a rad name?"
"Yes." Adam's mother said, between sweet and nostalgic. "And he wanted it to be your first name. I didn't really like the name, to be honest, so we compromised and made it your middle name. It finally grew on me. How couldn't it? I mean, he got lots of super cute onesies with 'Burbank' embroidered on them, he also got keychains, a sweatshirt... Yes, the one you received when you turned sixteen. He bought it along with the onesies when I was still pregnant."
"And now that cute and tiny baby is a not-so-tiny cute young man who's taking us to his graduation! I'm so proud!" Adam's grandmother said, almost squealing.
"Let me be honest here. I didn't think you'd actually graduate. Not after seeing you on MTV, Fuse, CNN, all over." Phil added, between surprised and relieved.
"And throw away three and a half years of super expensive tuition? No way. I didn't sell my car to end up dropping out. I just asked for a chance to finish my semester online. I'd send assignments backstage sometimes... Ask John. He helped me sometimes. I remember that time he called Michelle to ask her to explain a certain topic to us. I was super embarrassed but he couldn't lie to her. I mean, there was only one of us studying law and it wasn't him. Surprisingly, she didn't kill me. She explained everything the best she could and she said she was proud of me."
"Yes, I remember that." Adam's mom said, laughing. "Nathan told me about it."
"Talking about Nathan, we need to go to your place. He's there, waiting for us. I don't say 'getting ready' because you're the one who always spends like three hours getting ready", I added.
"Wait", Adam said, quickly turning right and parking in front of a Starbucks. "Do you want anything? Nathan wants a caramel macchiato."