Today is the 35th anniversary of the lunar landing. Like so many things in life, this event reminded me of The Wonder Years.
The Wonder Years' first season concludes with the start of the summer of 1969. That season finale begins with Kevin finding out that his best friend will be away all summer. Then Kevin is bewildered and tormented by Winnie Cooper's confusing behavior. She alternates between kissing him unexpectedly in his driveway and then ignoring him that night at her family's famous annual barbecue. Kevin's emotions come to a boiling point after Winnie announces that she and her mom are going away to Maine for the summer -- without Mr. Cooper. Then, after 5 burgers, 3 hotdogs and one verbal outburst, Kevin finally realizes that the Coopers' marriage is falling apart in the wake of Brian Cooper's death in Vietnam. It is really a poignant episode.
The most memorable part of the show is the final reflection from the grown-up Kevin. As Simon and Garfunkel's "Scarborough Fair" plays, the narrator says, "That summer kids everywhere swam, water skiied and sailed while Winnie Cooper struggled to keep her head above water in a family torn apart by anger and grief. I pretty much stayed close to home. I mowed Mr. Erman's lawn. I went fishing with my dad. I watched a man walk on the moon. I considered myself pretty lucky."
So, I suppose this entry is pretty irrelevant, but today's anniversary of the lunar landing just reminded me of that final line of the show. Plus, I figured nobody minds a trip into The Wonder Years vaults. And yes, that is a direct quote. In preparation for this post, I tracked my copy of this episode.
