This will never get old

"Young, all we ever think about is fun

All we ever want to be is twenty one
Hey, doesn't everyone want to sit on top of the world
R. Kelly on the radio, screaming out 
this will never get old..."

All we need is Batman.

At night, here on the 11th floor, Andrew and I sometimes feel like we're in Gotham City.

Out one window, the view is almost mysterious. Beyond the natural history museum and dinosaurs, there's a distant planetarium; then an endless stretch of dark Lake Michigan water. Looking north, the sky is filled with silhouettes, skyscrapers, and architectural chaos.

Here, high above the city, the floors are often strewn with workout clothes. Empty Gatorade bottles, wine bottles. Half eaten pizzas and pizza boxes. Half-wet towels tossed on beds. Skimpy clothes in the dryer that I don't recognize. Well-tuned guitars.

Sometimes, the lights never go out. The X-Box never gets turned off. Windows never close and the door is rarely locked.

I-phones are never, ever turned off. And the texters never stop texting. Because the nights are also long in Lincoln Park, Wicker Park and Pilsen. In Tallahassee and Gainesville.

Breakfast is often made at noon - then again at midnight. Or is that the opposite? I find friends and cousins on the couch as I sneak into the kitchen in the morning to make coffee. It's kind of a millennial mad scientist experiment on how to turn a lakefront condo into a dorm room.

But it's one I'm going to miss.

I've come to believe that what seems like sloppiness and recklessness; forgetfulness and foolishness - is really something altogether different. It's that these millennials seem to have a barrier the world hasn't broken yet. It gives them a kind of innocent sanity that we adults have lost as we've focused on the more mundane. It's a neurotic kind of courage to consume, experience and experiment.

They want to taste new IPA's and hear new music. To run the stairs, ride the train, brave the wind. Wear tee shirts even when it's cold. Buy everything at Trader Joe's and eat Jimmy John's for lunch. Share stories about spin classes and cross fit and UFC fights. Kiss. Hook up.

These Gotham days remind me that there are more important things in life then the ordered and mundane. That life can be bigger - and richer - if you submit to the experience. But if you've lost your sanity to cars and parking tickets and bureaucrats, forget it.

If you haven't, then be happy.  I'm so jealous. You're probably sitting high on your pile of pillows and blankets and dirty clothes on your bed, texting and laughing.

And you'll come to understand, later, that where you're sitting is on top of the world.

So, despite that initial OMG feeling I get waking up, seeing empty wine bottles and couch surfers, I'm really - really - going to miss this.

I remember the innocence of a different Gotham City long ago. There were Batman figurines and toys on almost every carpet in every room. I miss that, too.

That's why for me, in Gotham, this will never get old. Ever.

Above Lyrics from: Underage: Songwriters: Josh Osborne / Kelsea Nicole Ballerini / Scott B Stepakoff
Underage lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd., Audiam, Inc