My favorite episode of Cowboy Bebop at present is Heavy Metal Queen. I can’t say this is for any particular reason other than it reminds me how cool my Father is. If I had any sort of embarrassing anime confessions, it would be that I’ve seen Bebop three times from start to finish and can’t say I appreciate it as some of my close friends do. A similar sentiment can be expressed about my feelings on Samurai Champloo. Space Dandy is much more within my comfort bubble. I make sure to frequently revisit Bebop and Champloo whenever I get a chance to try expanding my tastes. Never a waste of time in my book since I find them all lovely to put on whenever.
Heavy Metal Queen hits a sort of visual aesthetic of cool that I’m actually pretty familiar with. As a child my father was (up until recently) a truck driver. He’d travel all across America delivering furniture to model houses with his trucking friends. It became something of a summer ritual to travel cross country with them all. I’d even get work experience helping out earning a small allowance.
My Uncle Johnny owned and operated the trucking business from his workspace office at home. All the trucks were privately owned and operated so I’d watch as they customize the behemoths inside and out. Something about seeing a high octane truck race in space and seeing the distinct layout of the drivers seats brought back a warm home feel. I fear attempting to describe it would be pretentious… if not downright awkward.
The correlation might be on a level too personal to say something unique or interesting about the show. Stressors have been mounting in my personal life and I haven’t had all the comforting family interaction I would have liked in retrospective. While I can admire the heavy metal trucker aesthetic and how cool a dude Father is in retrospective; I’m glad he’s found a job that allows him to spend more time in his house down in Atlanta, Georgia. Being a rolling stone doesn’t leave much time to sit at home where the important things are.
I probably wouldn’t have ever gotten the chance to feel this way if just watched this episode at home. This time around, I enjoyed Cowboy Bebop with the comfort of my closest friends whom are basically family. You could say that right now I’m just noticing the distance that 1000 miles puts between father and son. My Father and his brothers would occasionally tell me stories about them growing up in the streets and all living together. Some of them feeling not all dissimilar what might be told in an episode of Bebop. In all honesty I’m just gracious he’s alive and kicking.
Thorough stroke of irony, I ended up deciding the same long term goal as my Father. He currently holds a bachelor’s in Psychology. Once we both get our masters are plan is to open up a father-son clinic. Looking forward to tackling both college and life with my Father down the road.
Feeling this is emotion two days before Father’s Day is a little more than ironic.
I came to appreciate an episode of Cowboy Bebop on my own terms and feel a little closer to my Dad as a result. Now everytime I throw on “Live In Baghdad” I’m reminded of him.
Point is, go hug your father.
Happy Father’s Day.