The Big Day

"Wake up, Bobby, wake up!"   "Huh... What? Dad, I don't have to be at school till 8:30, and it's not even 7:00 yet."   "I know, Bobby but it'll be seven soon. Now hustle. Just pull on your pants. There's something mighty important happening and I need you to..."   "Are you and Mom talking about getting a divorce again?"   "No, Bobby, this is good news, and if it turns out to be what I think it is, it may be the best news we've heard in a very long time."   "You smell like alcohol, Dad. Mom will kill you if she finds out you're drinking first thing in the morning."   "Your Mom is drinking too, son. And it's not morning for us because we've been up all night just waiting for the clock to reach seven."   "But you've got to be at work at 9:00."   "There'll be no work for me today, Bobby. I called in sick and your Mom called in sick too. Sick with anticipation, that is. Now come along with me and let's gather around the old computer."   "Good morning, Bobby. Great morning!"   "Hi, Mom. Dad's acting all weird this morning. He said..."   "Don't drink that, Bobby, it's a screwdriver. You're orange juice is right here by the monitor."   "Click refresh, Janice, click refresh!"   "I just did, Bill. It's still the same old screen."   "No it's not, Janice. Look! They've changed the word 'tomorrow' to 'today'."   "Oh my God, this is really happening, isn't it?"   "I hope and pray it is... 6:58... I don't suppose I have enough time to make another drink, do I?"   "If you hustle, you should. Looks like they're going to make us wait right till 7:00."   "Mom, is that iTunes on the screen? What are you guys doing?"   "You'll just have to wait and see, young man. I don't want to spoil the surprise by telling you what we suspect, but if your Dad and I are correct, this is going to be a day that you'll never forget... You know, Bobby, why don't you just play hooky from school today?"   "I've got a math test in second period and this afternoon I..."   "Bill! Where are you? It's almost 7:00!" "Here I come! Move over, Bobby... All right, Janice, click the refresh... Here we go... Wahoo!"   "Yaaay! Oh Bill, it's finally here! I'll never forget this day!"   "That's... That's just the Beatles."   "Just the Beatles, Bobby? Just the Beatles? Just the greatest pop band the world has ever known?"   "Sorry, Dad. I like Lady Gaga. And Little Wayne."   "It's Lil Wayne, Bobby, not Little Wayne. And he's nasty. The Beatles didn't have to be nasty to be popular, did they Janice? And they certainly didn't feel some perverse need to cover themselves with tattoos from head to toe."   "No they didn't, Bill. The pure genius of their music, their sophisticated wit and youthful exuberance were their tickets to ride the long and winding road to their musical revolution." "Let it be with the Beatles humor, Mom. Why do you guys care about this anyway? You already have all their CDs." "We certainly do. Both the originals CDs and the remastered ones, as well as the mono box set."   "Don't forget the original vinyl records and the remastered vinyl records. But the thing is, Bobby, we've never been able to download them from iTunes before."   "But... you know how to rip them from a CD!"   "Hardly the same thing, Bobby, hardly the same thing. Those are just crude homemade MP3s while these are the officially licensed tracks. Now run along and get ready for school if you don't intend to play hooky. Your Dad and I have a busy day of downloading ahead of us."   "Okay, Mom, but when I get home, I want to talk about getting an increase in my allowance."