Turning 65 Brings on a Twinge of Nostalgia

I don’t know if it’s the pandemic, the weather, the fact that I’ve reached the age of Medicare, a combination of all three or none of the above.  Regardless I find myself more nostalgic than at any point in my life.

Recently I’ve done segments on growing up in Seaside Heights and what snow days used to be like at the radio station.  What next?  A piece on how penny candy used to actually be a penny and nobody ever locked their doors at night?

I’m not one of those who thinks the good old days were necessarily all that great and I’ve said numerous times what they were more than anything else was simpler.  Could you possibly imagine living today without a cell/smart phone?  I’m not even talking about all the things you can do with it but more so basic communication.

Think about how difficult it used to be to get in touch with someone if they were not at home or work.  You might make several calls trying to track them down or even drive around looking for them.  It was not very convenient but it was all we knew.

Of course you always had pay phones which when you describe to someone young today usually brings a response like “oh how gross were those. How could you even put the phone next to your mouth or ear?" Looking back it was thoroughly disgusting but we rarely thought about that.

Ask a high school or college student about a fax machine and IF they even know what it is they likely view it has some form of prehistoric find.  When we got one at work for the first time it was a game-changer although my first thought was I’ll never be able to figure out how to use this which is the same attitude I had when they told me I could not use my electric typewriter any longer because of computers.  (As you can tell technology and me don’t go hand in hand).

As for the nostalgia kick maybe it’s just my mind playing tricks on me.  It could also be a combination of COVID fatigue and cabin fever.  However it’s likely because I’m 65 and not embracing it very well.  Yes I know all about how it’s better than the alternative and so on and so forth.

I just want to go back in time to say when I was 55.  That would make me feel better.