Just a Skinny Little Kid Hanging Out the Window

 The recent death of former singer/rapper Aaron Carter at a way too young age of 34 hit me in a way I did not expect. In retrospect, it caused me to travel back in time in my mind to a much more pure and innocent time when I was doing the best I could as a father.

For a little background information ... I grew up in the 60s and 70s and was infatuated with pop and rock music. As a young boy, I used to listen to WLS radio in the southwestern suburbs of Chicago. By the time I got to high school, I was able to go with my friends to see my first rock concert: Jethro Tull, with UFO as the opening band. It's funny thinking back that this concert was actually held at a high school in Joliet, IL. However, it was the first of many, many live performances that I watched as I grew into adulthood and beyond. As live music was such a foundation in my life, I wanted my kids to hopefully have the same love and appreciation for it as I did, Therefore, as soon as my youngest daughter was able to attend concerts, her dad made road trips to see her favorites. Mind you -- my daughter was born in 1992, so she grew up during the boy band era. She liked all the typical singers during that era: The Backstreet Boys, NSYNC, Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera ...

My daughter seemed to be originally obsessed with Nick Carter of the Backstreet Boys, so of course, it was essential that I took her to see the Backstreet Boys in concert. As we drove from central Illinois to Indianapolis, I noticed that my car didn't seem to be running properly. We were about halfway to Indy. One of my tires was really low on air. Not knowing what to do, I decided to get the tire filled with air and take my chances, knowing that if I made it to Indy that I likely would have to deal with a flat tire afterward. We got to the concert and had a great time. We were parked in a parking garage at the venue, and while everyone else was lining up to drive out, I was getting the donut out of my trunk and changing my flat tire.

Having changed the flat, I noticed that the donut was low on air and I would have to get it filled. It was, of course, late in the evening and pretty dark. I finally found a gas station in a shady part of town, got air in the tire, and hit the road back toward Illinois. My daughter, being young, had no idea how troublesome this all was and how scared I was looking for that gas station. Thank goodness for youth!

Back at school, she was signing her name on her school papers as Heather Carter. When Nick Carter's younger brother, Aaron, became popular, she seemed to switch her love and admiration to the younger brother. Of course, that necessitated going to an Aaron Carter concert. I scored some primo tickets for one, and we were only sitting a few rows back of the stage. Toward the end of the concert, Aaron Carter was coming toward our area to slap hands with some of the fans. I was holding my daughter up with one arm while trying to keep steady with my other hand so that I could take a picture. Aaron reached out his hand and Heather reached out hers and missed touching his hand by the slimmest of margins.

After the concert, we went to the back of the concert hall to hopefully see him leaving the building. We (and many screaming young girls, I might add) saw him as he was being driven away. The funny picture that is remarkably clear in my memory is of Aaron Carter leaning out the tour bus window, waving to his fans. He had his shirt off, which drove the girls into a frenzy. Meanwhile, I was chuckling to myself. These girls were getting all hot and bothered over this skinny little kid! He looked just like my skinny little son, but older. It just seemed absurd. God forbid what would happen once puberty hit him big time?

Over time, the Aaron Carter story played out poorly. Family issues. Money issues. Drug issues. Mental health issues. This skinny little kid, who seemed to have it all at an early age, led, in many ways a very sad life. I was not surprised when I heard that he had passed away. I began thinking of his age: 34 years old. When I was 34, my daughter Heather was born. Those first 34 years seem so long ago (and, of course, they are!) and almost like they were part of another lifetime. As anyone with kids knows, your life is never the same once you have children. It boggles my mind and makes me sad to think that just at a time when I had an exciting new life beginning, Aaron Carter died after struggling so much during those 34 years. He missed the chance to have many years of a wonderful, fulfilling life, which is truly sad.

While many news reports that I saw after Aaron Carter died featured pictures of him that were more recent and not always kind, I will always remember that skinny little kid hanging out a tour bus window waving to his legion of young, female fans, likely feeling like he was on top of the world and dreaming of a long, successful life. R.I.P.

Thanks for reading. 😀