Every once in a while, something from your childhood sneaks back into your life and reminds you that the past is never really as far away as we think it is.
For me, a lot of those memories are tied to the 1970s, West Broadway in Enid, banana seat bikes, old friends, neighborhood adventures, and the kind of freedom kids had back then. We rode bikes, explored creeks, built things, made up games, got into a little harmless trouble, and created memories we had no idea would still matter decades later.
One of the things I’ve been thinking about a lot is how certain objects can unlock entire chapters of your life. A banana seat bike is not just a bike. An old recording is not just audio. A childhood street is not just a street. Those things become little time machines.
When I think back on those days, I remember the feel of riding through the neighborhood, the look of old stores, the smell of certain places, and the faces of friends I hadn’t seen in years. Some memories are fuzzy, but others are so clear they almost feel like yesterday.
That’s really where The Banana Seat Squad came from. It started as nostalgia, but it became something bigger. It’s about friendship, childhood, imagination, and that short window of life when the world felt wide open. Five boys riding around Enid in the summer of the 1970s may not sound like much, but to us, it was everything.
As I’ve worked on the story, I’ve found myself reconnecting with pieces of my own past. Old friends. Old places. Old ideas. Even old recordings. Some of it makes me laugh. Some of it catches me off guard. And some of it reminds me how lucky we were to grow up when we did.
The funny thing is, technology is now helping bring some of those memories back to life. Old recordings can be digitized. Stories can be written down. Songs can be created from ideas that have been sitting in your head for years. The memories may be old, but the tools we have today give them new life.
That’s the part I love most. The past does not have to stay boxed up in the attic. You can pull it out, dust it off, and turn it into something new.
Maybe that’s why I keep going back to those childhood memories. Not because I want to live in the past, but because there are still stories there worth telling. There are still lessons there. There is still joy there.
And sometimes, all it takes is a banana seat bike, an old neighborhood, or a long-lost memory to remind you who you were — and maybe even who you still are.
Listen to the podcast to hear about some of the things I have reconnected with including:
OTSASCO Flying O Banana Seat Bike
Kalamazoo KG-2A Red Electric Guitar
Quit Smoking PSA
1960s Baby Ruth TV Commercial
Grentech Coyote II Skateboards
Vinyl Albums
Cassette Tapes From The 70s
Wild Wild West Metal Lunch Box
Recording Midnight Dreamin With AI
Finding My Childhood House in Burns Flat, OK
Tracking down the Vitex Bush or Chaste Tree
Finding Mike Stearman and Eric Wright Online
DVD’s of The Warriors and Phantasm
Scotty Dog Magnets
Bruce Bradley’s Super 8 Film From 1977
Touring Stayton and Brendan’s Childhood Houses
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