We first reminisced that our generation did the SAME THING -- just a different version of the same song. Maybe it's true the past reinvents itself every 40 years or so! If you don't believe me about the pants-protest thing, drag "Rebel Without A Cause" (James Dean, Natalie Wood, 1955) out of Blockbuster's video archives. You'll laugh, you'll cry...but you'll remember how much we wanted to be different from our parents. This generation does it better, though...because you can't possibly outgrow baggy pants. We should have thought of that!

Teenage boys in the 1950's wore their (tight) pants slung precariously low on their hips, topped with a narrow leather belt. We thought it was cool, sexy and we KNEW it drove our parents crazy! Can you imagine what a strict father thought when his daughter's date arrived at the door? Picture this: his jeans rode so low you could see his hipbones. "Dad" probably recalled the "raging-hormones" of his own youth -- and promptly grounded his daughter until she turned 30! Here's a tip, young ladies: you might want to have your fella show-up at the door with a "Steve Erkel" look!

I remember boys from the wealthiest families always wore the grungiest jeans. It was a "given"; we never wanted to look like our parents. Like the kids' "rapper-pants" of today...it was our form of self-expression. If YOU never protested establishment, culture and values in your form of dress when you were a kid, you must have been living out of the country...the solar system,...or the UNIVERSE! To look different in your youth is not immoral, evil or threatening -- it's normal! Viva la difference! Enjoy your kids, celebrate their unique look, and savor this timeless "pearl of wisdom": today's kids are probably going to be just like THEIR PARENTS (in 40 years), whether they meant to be or NOT! Remember, the past reinvents itself!