Task on HBO brought back memories
The soundtrack of my life growing up in Delco is scored by Dan Deacon
Task on HBO is my favorite show of the season. I may be biased but the rumors are true. I grew up in Delco and it’s where the location of Task is set in. Delco is short for Delaware County sitting outside of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
I mention where I’m from all the time on Wear Many Hats. When people in NYC wear their Eagles merch, I communicate with a ‘Go Birds’ outburst that you can’t contain from your inner bro to support your favorite Philly sports teams. Red October? If it’s not about the stock market, it’s about the Phillies.
The FBI agents are drinking Wawa coffee, the FBI’s daughter works at Rita’s Water Ice. Too on the nose? These two brands are a Philly staple and it’s a treat to stop by every time I go back. I grew up next to the first Wawa ever and after karate lessons of fighting with my demons, my family and I would go to Rita’s and order a cherry water ice with a Super Pretzel like we had no issues.
Speaking of Water, I do not have the Delco accent. So I say water how water is supposed to sound…I think. I don’t sound like I’m choking on glass. Even though I have smoked countless of Marlboro Red’s before going to class or Black and Milds, and Clovers, but dodged a bullet for not getting into dip. The Delco accent is rooted in pride and blue collar work. I would have adopted the accent if my parents were born and raised in Delco but nope, just ye good ole immigrants.
Brad Ingelsby, the writer of Task, is from Berwyn PA. I used to drive there with friends but there’s nothing there. It’s next to Radnor, a town where my friend played Soccer and Villanova, where I went to religion school aka Sunday School, aka I never went to class except flirt with the habibi’s.
Brad is the writer of HBO’s Mare of Easttown, a prerequisite to Task. Kate Winslet crushes it. This is your homework to do before watching Task.
I won’t share any spoilers. Speaking of spoilers, people from my hometown would deck out their lemons with spoilers. The Delco special. These are the type of suburbanites who would call themselves from Philly when traveling to places they can’t pronounce.
The cast in Task is phenomenal. Quirky and Delco coded. Mark Ruffalo is what a Delco FBI agent would be, drinking his Wawa coffee. Tom Pelphrey plays someone spot on from my hometown of working in waste management. I remember a time when a ton of houses were being robbed and there were break in’s were being reported but not for drugs, just in general.
Channel 5 put out a documentary about the drug infested streets of Kensington, Philly. I used to live with a heroin addict and catch heron addicts in their car shoot up across the street. I’m sure these Kensington streets are an inspiration in Task but inspiration is not a positive word I would have chose but somehow I’m drawn to these unfortunate stories.
I’ve said too much.
The stand out moments in Task include every scene blessed by Dan Deacon, a musician from Baltimore, Maryland. I’m very fortunate to see Dan Deacon Live in Baltimore. Dan Deacon put on Whartscape and it was one of the best festivals I’ve ever been to in my life. People try to be cool but this is my claim to fame of attending. Absolute gem. Dan enhances Task with providing accompaniment and soundtrack. If this is the first time you are learning about him, check out his album America.
Dan Centrone, a music video director I grew up with in Delco, posted on Instagram stories of sharing the novel, Born To Be Wild if you’re enjoying Task.
I love Delco. It has shaped me to who I am today. Which I contain countless of flaws.
As a teenager, I inherited a 1991, forest green, Eagles green, Mercury Villager that my parents passed down to me after I got my drivers license the 2nd time. It was only to use for going to school and back. I drove to parties in it and partied in it. I learned how to drive by my mother in the Chester parking lot after Friday Prayers. The break pads were always worn down like beat up horse hooves. I named the van, she/her pronouns, Daphne.
My first job was being a barista at the Philadelphia International Airport called Jazz & Java. My friends were a lot older than me but they invited me to their house parties. I would drink my first beer and would never forget that it was a Sierra Nevada where I instantly threw up right after. How could people drink this? Lovely to know that my friends saw that I could hang.
The coffee shop I worked at got bought out by Peet’s Coffee and fired everyone. We stayed in contact while I was living in Philly. The party continues.
I started smoking pot in my teen years and learned how to play the guitar. For one of my birthdays, my dad sent me to George’s Music for guitar lessons in Springfield and I worked at the Journey’s shoes at the Springfield Mall. I desperately wanted to work at Hot Topic since I spent all my money on skin tight tee’s and Tripp Jeans. I wore girl jeans from Goodwill, picked up skateboarding, and tag. No spray paint, just markers. Got arrested and put in a holding cell till my dad came and picked me up.
I recently came back to Philly for my dad’s birthday and told my parents how much I hate it here. I sound like a good regretful angsty son but how can I not lose myself. I still wear black clothes, looser fit though, no more skin tight jeans because gotta protect the balls. I wear Nike short shorts though to look like I know what I’m doing in fitness. New business idea Finesse Fitness.
I ran into old friends of mine in Center City and told them that I miss them. I went to see my friend’s photos at a house in Fishtown. It was nice to see them but there was still something missing. People move back from LA to Philly or NYC to Philly all the time. A lot of my friends have. They either do it to be closer to family or they couldn’t make out the life that they wanted in those two cities. There’s something of not fulfilling your life in these two cities as transplants and building a community there which makes it more of a failure in my opinion.
Back in Delco, I drove past Charlie’s Hamburgers and wanted to get a burger and milkshake after playing tennis at my high school courts but remembered that my new doctor warn me that my cholesterol has been elevated. I drove by a memory of Hollywood Video that used to be a Blockbuster where I used to look at boobs in the adult section but it has since been an AutoZone that I have never set foot in.
I have so many ideas for this town but at the same time, I don’t care and want to move on. It’s already changed so much. All the old school signs are taken down and have been installed by stale new ones designed by the owners themselves. The neighborhood kids I grew up with have kids but aren’t married. Smoke 5 different vapes and blunts. Everyone has a truck that is wrapped with their contracting business. Not going to lie, I want one. I’m basically a contractor.
I used to buy pot in Chester, PA and sell to my friends in high school. It was short lived but I understood how sales worked. I smoked all the time but that got me through my teen years of anxiety and depression until I smoked myself to psychosis. I went to Delaware County Community College and received an Associate’s Degree in Business Administration and was high all the time. Recently, our friend said to us that whoever went to community college first then transferred were geniuses. Needed that on the record. My favorite class was Criminal Justice where my professor was an ex-FBI agent who made jokes about how I would always show up late and high from the parking lot. I grew up watching Comedy Central Presents stand up shows before going to school so I appreciated his humor, even though he put me on blast.
Delco and Philly only appreciated me when I moved to NYC. Nothing to look down on because the times were fun. Foundations, growth. The only thing I can do is to appreciate the past and move forward. I visit my family often and my friends sometimes. I have a friend who moved to Delco and joked that I should move back. I can’t because if I do, I would consider myself a failure.