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As I was already working my way through B5 in my bedroom, I ordered the two seasons of Taxi our library has to watch in honor of Jeff Conway. This was a show my family watched together in real time back when it was new. The theme song still sounds like the whole family watching TV together to me. My modern eye notices how lacking in diversity it is, and the pervasive late '70's early '80's workplace sexual harassment. My modern eye notices that it's very much about chosen family. On a personal note, I am now wondering if early exposure to Simka and Reverend Jim Ignatowski effected some of my choice of friends at my first college. It's funny, as a kid in the '70's i took the silhouette men's jeans gave them for granted; as an adult, I was startled by how much that style shows off bottoms and baskets, something nine year old me didn't notice. The double vision is a little dizzying, as i have the sense memory of child me in my favorite chair watching the first time overlaying my own oh my god, look at his... yeah. Surreal. I'm also thinking one could write a thesis on Tony Banta as a representation of a Vietnam war vet vs. Reverend Jim Ignatowski as the spirit of the 1960's and how differently this would have been done if it was made now. I am also suspecting that taxi was the first time I heard drug slang like "black beauties" and other adult words like horny, though I can't swear to it.

Anyway, last night, I watched the Simka episode, which referenced Grease. Of course, Jeff Conway was and is still best known as Kinike and was still getting people yelling "Hickey from Kinike" at him up until his death. In the final scene, Latke mourns the death of his relationship while listening to "Summer Lovin'" from Grease. I'm sure the bright frothy singing was meant to contrast humorously with Latke's mood, but all I could think was how young the late Mr. Conway was when he was in Grease, and how young Mr. Kaufman (who played Latke) was when he died. A dead man listening to a dead man singing. Poignant in an entirely unintentional way.