The Good Ole Days

CBS Morning did a story today about “the good ole days” and people who try to be nostalgic by holding on to them, whether that be by driving an old car, decorating your house in vintage 50′s decor, or learning to swing dance.  They showcased AOL’s recent survery of things we wish would make a comeback…gas attendants, drive-in movies, gelatin salad, chromed metal, vent windows on cars, train travel, lard in pastries, Nehi Soda, vinyl records, cursive writing, phone booths, even Gary Larson’s The Far Side cartoon made the list.

One thing that stuck out in my mind was the mention of indie bookstores.  Sure, everyone loves the old used bookstore that used to be downtown on the corner across from the courthouse.  Maybe you bought comics there for five cents when you were a kid or stopped in after school and got ole Mr. Jenkins next door at the pharmacy to make you a sodie pop at the counter while you went into the bookstore to peruse the new Dick and Jane.  Well, guess what?

You grew up.  Mr. Jenkins died.  His family sold the store to a law office.  You had kids of your own, and instead of going to the bookstore you took them to Barnes and Noble across town to buy bargain books while you sip an overpriced burnt coffee because you don’t know any better.  Due to lack of business and more people at home buying on Amazon.com, that bookstore had to close its doors.  So, why do you miss it?  You and your community didn’t support it over the years, and you probably wouldn’t support it now either.

Thanks to email we no longer write letters.

Thanks to texting we no longer use vowels.  I miss vowels.  I still use them.  I’m so old fashioned.

Thanks to things like Vitamin Water we no longer have Nehi.

Thanks to things like our need for speed and expensive flashy things, we no longer have old cars and cheap gas.  We no longer need attendants.  We pump our own gas and pay at the pump.  At the rate we are going, we won’t even have to pump our own gas anymore soon.  A robot or something will do it for us.

Thanks to cell phones and Ipods, we don’t even talk to one another anymore.  We text each other from the next room!

These days it’s all about the economy and companies going under.  Well, here’s a list of other things that are also going under, things you can also add to your nostalgic list if you want because they’ll soon be extinct too.

35mm film (It’s all about digital these days.)

Gas (They already have hydrogen cars!)

Coffee makers (Good-bye Mr. Coffee….I’ll just pay 10 dollars for a cup at the mall kiosk.)

Land lines (Nothing but cell phones these days.)

Home Computers (Who needs them?  We’ve got the internet right on the cell phone.  I saw a laptop at Target that was less than a foot wide just yesterday.)

DVD Players (VHS is already gone.  Blu-ray is stepping in.)

CDs (We download everything now.  8 Tracks and Cassettes are fossils.)

English. (We already have to press one to speak it.)

People. (I can never get one on the phone these days.  It’s all automated.)