DJ MAMY
There is a 69 year-old Grandmother who has become a hit DJ in clubs across Europe and has now performed in front of 3,000 fans in the States. I can’t vouch for Granny’s skills, but apparently she has amassed quite a following – something tells me however that the appeal is due to her age and not so much her talent on the decks. Ruth Flowers, also known as 'Mamy Rock,' began her music career five years ago at a birthday disco for her grandson. According to her, she enjoys mixing techno with the likes of rock n’ roll ala The Rolling Stones.
Now don’t get me wrong, maybe Granny is a natural when it comes to mixing and spinning a record, but it somehow feels a bit condescending that people are so amazed she can do such a thing. Okay fine, it is not often one finds someone her age at the clubs; at my age – which shall remain an eternal mystery – I can barely tolerate sound above a certain decibel, let alone the thumping bass of club music and crowds of young sweaty drug taking youths. Just writing about it gives me a headache and makes me want to make a nice cup of tea – I’ve had a hard few months, give me a break. So I have to hand it to DJ Mamy for staying up past ten, throwing on her track suit and hitting the clubs. Not to mention the amount of mousse she uses to obtain her look; I mean that alone would take me a few years of my life to master.
But there is something that has always bothered me about the way the elderly are treated when it comes to things like this. Suddenly it becomes so ‘cute’ or astonishing when an elderly person does something out of the ‘norm’ (whatever the ‘norm’ means) or let's say, has a witty sense of humor. People get that amazed tone in their voice when they come across an elderly individual that refuses to sit on their sofa and contemplate what coffin suits them best. And trust me, I’m guilty of it as well. A friend of mine has a grandmother that in her nineties was taking bus trips everywhere with her friends, living on her own, and even would take to peeing behind trees on her forest walks. At the time when I had joined her on one of these walks and saw her hike up her dress behind a tree, I thought, holy hell, look at Grandma go (I did for a second wonder if she remembered we had left the house). But then I thought, why the heck not? Obviously when nature calls it calls and she clearly has a rebellious energetic spirit, and probably had it all her life. So why shouldn’t she keep that in tact into her old age.
For me, however once I hit 60, I'm thinking fatigue is going to weigh in a bit. At this point, peeing behind a tree just sounds cold and inconvenient. But as sure as I stand here, I know that I will be the granny that hurls out a joke or four letter word when it suits me cause that’s just me, no matter what age I am [especially if you think you can cut in line in front of me at the post office]. If you’re around me when I’m ancient, please don’t tell me you think that’s cute. Vulgar. Fine. I can accept that.
Here’s the thing, the elderly have won the game. They made it around the board more than any of us; they (hopefully) learned the lessons, gained the knowledge and amassed more experience than those of us that are still climbing the ranks. And yet, we treat the elderly like they are infirm (okay fine, some are), incapable, and ready for pasture.
So DJ Mamy, rock on with your bad self. And not because I think it’s cute, because why the hell shouldn’t you be keeping busy at 69 years young. It’s far better than sitting in some old age home gumming biscuits....then again, a comfy chair and a good biscuit does not sound so bad right about now. Yo, King, get your mother some cookies pronto!