The Oncoming Quiet

By the time some of the scenes in today's video were shot, fellow cast members from the street (and brothers to boot) Doug and Rob seemed to have more or less vanished from the familiar landscape of Blazerville. At least as far as being captured on super 8 film was concerned. No one is exactly sure when the pivotal moment occurred, but at some point in 1976 the brothers quietly made their exit from group activities and we all somehow understood that they just wouldn't be hanging around as much anymore.

By that same year (1976) Don and Evert had also decided to leave the old neighborhood behind and were seeking their fortunes elsewhere. (Out of the country completely for Don.) Soon, Blazer wannabees Paul and Hanklin would add their footsteps to the mass exodus by choosing to become less frequent gang regulars; so that, as the dust settled in early 1977, our once upon a time, action filled base of operations that had helped to define the Pepsi generation, was clearly beginning to dry up and wither away.

However, for our purposes today, the oncoming quiet is still mostly waiting patiently in the future beyond most of these filmed segments. Yes, there's a noticeable calm in the air now and then; a hint of obvious change approaching in the background; but for the most part, life was still pretty good down on the block in the mid to late 70s and we weren't quite ready to hand it all over to the likes of 'Big Al' and his pint-sized cohorts yet.



Song: Changes On The Street