Wednesday, December 6, 2006

Say You Can But You Don't Know

We’re having a toy drive at school, and the deal is that until we reach our goal of collecting 1700 toys, the student council will blast Mmm Bop during passing times.

Mmm Bop!

By Hanson, you know? It's a 90's pop classic. Or something.

So, for the past four school days, I’ve been listening to Mmm Bop for a total of 35 minutes per day. 35 minutes! That’s longer than a Wiggles episode.

I Mmm Bop in the bathroom. I Mmm Bop in the lunch line. I shout over Mmm Bop when some kid deigns to ask me a question after class. Yes, I come home singing Mmm Bop, if you want to know the truth. And, indeed, Mmm Bop runs itself through my head while I’m trying to fall asleep.

Mmm Bop came out in the summer of 1997 when I was an idealistic, unshowered, 19-year-old camp counselor. The song makes me remember those days of tromping around in my swimsuit and shorts from dawn till dusk. In fact, the teenaged memories flood back so completely that sometimes when the bell rings, I half-expect the whole wet-suit clad staff of Camp Foley to burst lip sync’ing through my classroom door.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Oh the Foley Days! So many tunes that ran through our heads then.... Miss them at times. Enjoy the memories even if the mmm bop! gets tiring!

Undomestic said...

When I was a summer camp counselor for the Chicago Youth Centers in 1993, the songs we heard everyday, and out of the mouths of the kids:
"Look at that Girl with the Daisy Dukes on"
"Let Me Lick You Up and Down"
And anything R Kelly
Glad they're not playing that through your hallways.

LH said...

teen daughter says she has heard of doing this at other schools.
how's the toy drive going? are they bringing in toys?
how many kids at the school? 1700 seems like a way high number.