The cover of a special section inside today’s Butler Eagle salutes the aging rock ‘n’ rollers — those young at heart who still march to the beat of their youthful drums. It’s also the eve of Valentine’s Day. The juxtaposition of these elements inspires an unusual thought about true love.

Nearly 45 years ago in 1985, the hit television drama was “Miami Vice,” a series about superslick undercover vice detectives Crockett and Tubbs battling the illicit cocaine trade, which was, in real life, remaking that coastal Florida city into the entertainment capital of the world.

The TV series overloaded the senses, with art-deco architecture, iridescent clothing on suntanned skin, and avante garde guest actors and musicians — who frequently crossed over into uncharacteristic blended roles.

One example was the episode “Junk Love.” It featured musician Miles Davis acting. The TV Guide summary — remember TV Guide? — went something like this: “Jazz legend, Miles Davis stars as bordello owner Ivory Jones ... cooperating with ‘the local constabulary.’ The sire of a stable of high-priced fillies, Ivory has the 411 on dangerous dudes. Ivory shoots the breeze with Crockett and Tubbs (who) search the city for a psychopathic dealer with a thing for an old filly with a bad habit.”

Thirteen years later, a key cast member from “Miami Vice” visited Slippery Rock University. Oscar-nominated Edward James Olmos, who played the uber-intense Lt. Martin Castillo, gave a spellbinding account of his experiences during the 1992 Rodney King riots in Los Angeles.

In the midst of the violence and at a loss for words, Olmos said, he grabbed a broom and started sweeping. Dozens, then hundreds of volunteers grabbed brooms and joined him in a gesture of peace and reconstruction.

More than 200 people sat spellbound at SRU as the actor/activist gave his account.

Olmos finished that night’s talk with some practical advice, which is repeated here as a Valentine offering to a community that could use a little TLC.

Olmos said this:

“Before you go to bed at night, look out your front door. That house across the street — does everything look OK there? The house to the left of your house — is everything OK there? The house to your right — is it all good over there? OK, now look out your back door. Is the house behind yours OK? Because we have to look out for each other. Show a little love and care for your neighbors. Because when it’s all said and done, all we have is each other.”

It’s a bit ironic that “Miami Vice” would not have been a phenomenon had cocaine not supplanted marijuana as the narcotic of choice during the 1980s; that the police who beat Rodney King suspected he was high on PCP, or “angel dust” (toxicology tests were negative) in the 1990s; that PCP gave way to crack cocaine, which gave way to heroin, which now is giving way to fentanyl. And when Rodney King drowned in 2012, just two months after publishing his memoirs, there was marijuana and cocaine in his system.

The drug itself seems immaterial. There’s always another drug coming up to replace the current favorite, and they’re all harmful. The battle has no end.

Olmos is absolutely right: when it’s all said and done, all we have is each other. A very practical Valentine gift would be a simple gesture of kindness to those around us.

—TAH