No one wants to “get old.” But who wants to “be young?”
I am glad I grew up in a world with land lines. The beauty of being housebound when communicating by telephone, having to grip a solid ergonomically designed handle that cradled comfortably in your neck as you yakked away with your best friend while lounging on the bed. This was circa 1970 and a huge part of my “being young” which I would never trade. The clammy interface of a smart phone that places us “on-call” 24/7 is what the youth of today will rue when they hit the right side of 50. How sterile.
Growing up without Instagram, Pinterest, Twitter, Facebook, Reddit, etc. What a blessing. Not that there wasn’t pressure to be heard and seen among your peers, (which is basically what drives social media), but the small (and familiar) community of high school dictated the universe that counted, not the entire (and anonymous) digital world.
Airplanes with two-tier pricing. There was first class, where the seats were a little bigger and the meals a little better; and there was second class with decent leg room and decent meals. Food, beverage, and baggage were all included in the price of the ticket. To step foot in an airport today means that you have already navigated a multiplex pricing/seating/eating system of additional fees and perhaps torn your hair out in the process.
Movies with giant screens, velvet chairs, no commercials and a preview or two. This latest gimmick I read about to encourage the smart-phone generation to come to the movies makes me so happy I have left the left side of 29 behind:
Having tried 3-D films, earsplitting sound systems and even alcohol sales in pursuit of younger moviegoers, some theater chains are now installing undulating seats, scent machines and 270-degree screens.
For an $8 premium, a Regal theater here even sprays patrons with water and pumps scents (burning rubber, gun powder) into the auditorium. Can’t cope with two hours away from your smartphone? One theater company has found success with instant on-screen messaging — the texted comments pop up next to the action.being slathered in movie theatre perfume and being an unwitting audience to the text messages of strangers just sounds beyond uninviting. theme park experience when I want to see a movie.
Being slathered in perfume and unwittingly subjected to the text messages of strangers strikes me as a modern day scenario of Sartre’s vision of hell in the play No Exit.
So while I do not like the changes I perceive on the exterior of my body or the aches I feel in the interior of my body, I draw infinite pleasure in remembering the way it was.
The Write Side of 59 