Rollins was always my least favorite Black Flag singer, even though I always really thought of it as Greg Ginn's band and vision with just a cast of supporting and revolving characters. Even by '81 punk rock hard started to get codified and lost some of its original 'Sturm und Drang' and I associate Rollins with that period. But, Like Bowie, Zappa, Manson, etc. I appreciate his observations on pop culture more than his musical contributions, though at times Rollins reminds me of Ethel Merman on the Tonight Show in the Carson years bellowing about his past glory and telling name-dropping showbiz stories. Ironically, Rollins has made a career out of going back to a previous way of life and thinking. His book "Get in the Van" about his years with Black Flag is a great piece of writing and captures that era perfectly. No one can question Rollin's intelligence.

You can't argue with his success either. Henry has a practically Calvinistic work ethic and is obviously a pragmatic capitalist who has amassed about 6 million dollars off his many projects and endeavors. Now we aren't talking Billy Joe Armstrong 'Green Day' money here, as he clocks in about 75 million. Billy has enough to keep himself in black hair dye and mascara for a very long time. Rollins is even quite a bit below that radical revolutionary Zack de la Rocha of Rage Against the Machine at 25 million. Not sure what he is raging against, but it certainly isn't big record label capitalism. Hell, even Marky Ramone is worth 12 million, and he isn't even a real Ramone, just the one who is still alive.

To return to the actual quote, I am a big believer in this. The only way to live life is forward. Wallowing around in the past takes one's attention away from the present, and that is where the juice is. The 'good old days' weren't all that good. Memory just has a way of sanding off all the rough edges. The best day of your life is always today, no matter how hard that day is.