Did You Ever Have to Finally Decide?

Granted, the kids of West Beverly, 90210 were five years ahead of me, but I did watch a good deal of the show. Not to say I was really a Brenda Walsh fan, but it was just coincidence that my interest in the show petered out after Shannon Doherty left the show.

...I'm trailing off subject. Perhaps second to the episode when the kids follow Emily Valentine's lead and they go through the wild goose chase to go to an underground rave and unknowingly Brandon is slipped an E tablet (I'm teetering off subject again...) is the episode where Dylan is torn between going for Kelly, or staying with Brenda. There's this scene where he's at the Peach Pit, hunched over the jukebox, playing the Lovin' Spoonful's song, "Did You Ever Have To Make Up Your Mind" over and over again. Finally, Nat goes over to him because he's sick and tired of hearing that song over and over again.

For some reason, that episode is just burned in my head and bubbles back up from within my vacuous ocean of television memories whenever I'm torn and undecided on a big matter, much like that rave episode always makes me think that one has to go to some gas station in BFE and ask to purchase an egg in order to get directions to the nearest rave.

Did You Ever Have To Make Up Your Mind
Lovin' Spoonful

Did you ever have to make up your mind
Pick up on one and leave the other behind
It's not often easy and not often kind
Did you ever have to make up your mind

Did you ever have to finally decide
Say yes to one and let the other one ride
There's so many changes and tears you must hide
Did you ever have to finally decide

Sometimes there's one with big blue eyes, cute as a bunny
With hair down to here, and plenty of money
And just when you think she's that one in the world
You heart gets stolen by some mousey little girl

And then you know you'd better make up your mind
Pick up on one and leave the other behind
It's not often easy and not often kind
Did you ever have to make up your mind

Sometimes you really dig a girl the moment you kiss her
And then you get distracted by her older sister
When in walks her father and takes you a line
And says, "You better go home, son, and make up your mind"

And then you bet you'd better finally decide
Say yes to one and let the other one ride
There's so many changes and tears you must hide
Did you ever have to finally decide

Now thinking back, it seems most of the episodes I remember best from that show is somehow associated with music. There are the two above episodes, as well as the episode where Brenda and Dylan break up and Brenda is listening to her "Losing My Religion" single and thinks of Dylan and goes berserk, the episode where the girls try to get tickets for the Color Me Badd show with them calling on one landline and two cell phones (which I found to be an AMAZING rich kid dream) and wind up storming the hotel they're staying in to be able to meet them, etc.

Short story long, I'm at one of those strange, indecisive parts in my life right now.