A Middle Age Prague Punk
Middle Age Punk Issue 007
LIFE IN PRAGUE
I’ve been living as an Ex-Pat in Prague for a little over a month now with my sweet wife and our weirdo dog and we’re starting to assimilate to our new life in a new country, much to our enjoyment.
It seemed like a crazy dream come true and while I never doubted our resolve to follow through with our plans the days where I “can’t fucking believe it” are still numerous. I’ll be out, running errands and it’ll just hit like a ton of bricks because I’ll see the famous Charles Bridge off in the distance or walk by the beautiful astronomical clock and realize this is home now and this is part of my life.
Shit is crazy.
The things I’ve been learning about Prague and the differences between here and America are vast and I’ll likely share them in a future newsletter but one of the things that I’ve taken to like a fish to water is the public transit here.
I fucking love it.
It renders the need for a car obsolete. That’s right, no car. That means no car payments, no car insurance, no fucking parallel parking, no oil changes. The trains, or trams, or buses run constantly like clockwork and we’re a 3 minute walk from all three options, which will take us anywhere we want. I’ll never be able to give this up. It’s just so damn easy to get anywhere for any reason and the even better part: no fucking traffic. I feel like I’ve died and gone to carless heaven.
PUNK ROCK WRITING
Earlier this year I decided I was going to start writing. I’ve long wanted to write something but could never figure out what I wanted to write about. I knew I didn’t want to write fiction or anything like that. I’d done that before in my comic book days and while my writing was very functional, or utilitarian, serving the purpose of connecting dots to tell a story, writing characters and plotting shit out and making sure it all worked was exceedingly difficult for me.
However, synchronistically, I read two books this year, back to back, that finally gave me the idea I needed and the gumption to actually start writing without anymore fear of how it would be perceived.
These books were “I'm Not Holding Your Coat: My Bruises-and-All Memoir of Punk Rock Rebellion” by Nancy Barile and “Glory Guitars: Memoir of a 90s Teenage Punk Rock Grrrl” by Gogo Germaine.
Both of these books are stories of youthful, punk rock exuberance, told from the experience and perspective of middle age life. Nancy’s book chronicles her crucial role in forming a close-knit and creatively explosive hardcore punk scene in 1980’s Philidelphia, and Gogo’s book is a memoir of her time as a teenage punk grrrl during the 90s’ in Fort Collins, Colorado, which was only an hour or so drive from my teenage stomping grounds at the same time and eerily echos similar experiences I had as a teenage punk.
Both of these books are fearless, inspirational, fiercely individually unique, and heartfelt, giving me the gall to share my stories, from my perspective, in my own voice, which turns out is kind of like the “Punk Rock Ralphie” of “A Christmas Story” (easily one of my favorite movies and one that has probably informed my sense of humor as much as The Simpsons) as my friend Robert told me, or as my wife says, “the Punk Rock Patrick McManus,” which I find entirely awesome.
NEW STORY
Speaking of, my newest story “Bootleg T-Shirts and Sticky Floors” is up now, chronicling a time where me and a punch of fellow punk rocking teenagers in 1990’s Colorado descended to the bowels of Denver to take in a punk concert and mock a prominent local news reporter.
WHAT I’VE BEEN LISTENING TO
The Venomous Pinks - Vita Mors
Vosh - Vessel
Taxi Girls - Coming Up Rose EP
No Plan - No Plan EP
White Collar - Demo 2023 EP
LYRICS OF THE WEEK
And once you asked me well what's my biggest fear
That things would always remain so unclear
That one day I'd wake up all alone
With a big family and emptiness deep in my bones
That I would be so blinded, turn a deaf ear
And that my fake laugh would suddenly sound sincere
- First Aid Kit “King of the World”