Rant #1,616: Sweet Sixteen

Well, today is another day on the face of the planet, another day to get up, go to work, and ponder the universe we live in.

Donald Trump continues to triumph, the Knicks continue to stink, baseball is a little more than a month away, and we had rain yesterday that is supposed to stretch over to today.

We have also reached post No. 1,616 here at the Ranting and Raving Blog.

That is not significant in itself, but Rant No. 1,616 includes the number 16, and includes it double.

The next time we will be in a similar situation is when we reach post No. 1,717, somewhere down the line.

I was just thinking about how the number 16 is important in my life, and I came to the conclusion that it isn't important at all, no, not at all.

But I do remember, very barely, when the number 16 was important to someone in my life, just not me.

I have been trying to remember my sister's Sweet Sixteen party, held in 1975 when she turned 16, of course, but for the life of me, I can't remember much about that party.

I was the big brother, a freshman in college when we had that party, she was still in high school, of course, and I remember that it was a really big thing in her life to have this party, much like it was a big thing in my life to have my bar mitzvah when I was 13.

I do remember that my parents gave her a choice in the matter: either she would have a bat mitzvah--the female equivalent of a bar mitzvah--or she would have a Sweet Sixteen, but not both.

She opted for the Sweet Sixteen.

I remember we all had to get dressed up for her Sweet Sixteen party, and that it was held at some Hawaiian restaurant in Suffolk County, not that far away from where we lived in Nassau County.

The theme was a Hawaiian luau, and she invited all of her friends--including her boyfriend at the time--and there were a lot of relatives there, too.

Our grandparents were there, and my grandparents on my father's side had to have a Kosher meal given to them, as they were Orthodox and wouldn't eat anything that wasn't Kosher.

I remember one of the Hawaiian performers there singing to my sister--I think my sister's boyfriend at the time got a little uptight that this singer was singing "so close" to my sister, now that I am thinking about it--and that is my final remembrance of the day.

Funny, I can remember my bar mitzvah like the back of my hand, all these nearly 46 years later, but I can't remember that much about my sister's Sweet 16 party.

I am sure it was a lot of fun, but I just don't remember much about it.

In fact, as Rant No. 1,616 approached, it was the first time I thought about that day in years.

I am sure there are plenty of photos of that day, but I don't know where they are. I am sure my sister and mother know where those photos are, but since I am writing this just past 4:30 a.m. in the morning, I don't want to bother them about it right now.

So, coming back to the present time, we have reached Rant No. 1,616, and while I can't believe that this blog has been going on for so long, look how much the world has changed since my sister's Sweet 16 in 1975.

We have the Internet, which, of course, we didn't have 41 years ago, and that has changed everything. It has been the real game changer.

We were so low-tech in 1975 compared to now, but we didn't know it, and we managed to survive without a computer in our homes, and without a phone in our pockets.

Heck, I was happy that we had just gotten cable TV back then, something that really, really amazed me.

More than 40 years later, we are immersed in every high-tech gadget out there, things we could have only dreamed about in 1975.

Personally, I was still bright eyed and bushy tailed back then, I still had hair, and I was in the final stages of my teenage years.

I can't believe that I was ever that young, but I was.

So Rant No. 1,616 did bring back some memories for me, however scant they were.

It is good to never forget things that take you off the regular beaten path that you walk on, and when we had my sister's Sweet 16 was certainly one of those days.

I just wish I could remember more about it, or even find some photos ... .