Charlotte Latvala: Saying ‘yes’ to new experiences (within reason)

I’m not the sort of person who picks a theme, a word, or a mantra to follow each year.

But if I did, this year’s word would be “yes.”

Well, “yes within reason.” (I’m not ready to say yes to an expensive European river cruise, as much as I’d like to. And I will never say yes to anything truly terrifying, like skydiving, Halloween scare houses, or trying to obtain Taylor Swift tickets for anyone’s kid.)

As one gets older, a few things become clear. The most important one being: Hey dummy, you’ve got more time behind you than ahead of you. And if you keep putting off things you want to do (because you have lots of bills, you’re tired, or “traffic is bad, and who knows what parking will be like, and sometimes the GPS is wrong”) you will never do them.

Anyway. Last weekend I said “yes.”

Which is how I found myself in the audience at a performance by an old punk rocker turned spoken word artist, an hour and a half away from home.

That would be Henry Rollins, formerly of L.A.’s Black Flag, later of the Rollins Band, acting gigs, and more recently, radio host and podcast producer.

Fact: I am a fan of many different types of music, including late 1970s/early 1980s punk and new wave. The Clash, X, the Jam, and others formed the soundtrack of my late teens/early twenties. Black Flag? A little too hardcore, a little too violent to be on my radar. But I was certainly aware of them.

Henry Rollins has emerged as a sort of 21st century renaissance man, and I’d read about what a remarkable stage presence he has. I was curious.

However…the show was on a Sunday night. The Sunday night of a packed weekend, ahead of an equally busy week. I didn’t really have the time. I barely had the money.

“Yes,” whispered the pesky voice in my head.

When I mentioned the event to my 20-year-old daughter, she read Rollins’ Wikipedia page, said “He seems cool,” and willingly tagged along.

The performance was unlike anything either of us had seen before. Rollins walked onstage precisely on time at 7:30 p.m., talked at a breakneck pace for exactly two and a half hours without taking a drink of water (or seemingly, a deep breath), and kept the audience engaged the whole time. No props, no teleprompter, no flashy lights or set.

His topics ranged from a hilarious retelling of the Rollins Band opening for Ozzy Osbourne, to disturbing vignettes about his alcoholic mother, to his bizarre experience with a young Finnish stalker. The night was a master class in storytelling.

As a bonus, it was an evening with my college kid — always extra added value. But I would have gone alone. I would have said “yes.”

And I’m going to keep saying yes. As long as no one asks me to find Taylor Swift tickets.

Charlotte is a columnist for The Times. You can reach her at charlottelatvala@gmail.com.

This article originally appeared on Beaver County Times: Charlotte Latvala: Saying ‘yes’ to new experiences (within reason)