NO-STALGIA

I am an inherently nostalgic remembrancing sentimentalist. I cannot help this; I was born this way. Even as diapered pundit, I pined for yesterday's content, even if it was only some really good baked macaroni-and-cheese or my outgrown plaid tennis shoes. I have issues with loss, although for no reasons I can particularly figure. Perhaps it is some kind of satisfaction issue, the idea that past can be so easily idealized and the future so filled with dreams. Poor old The Present. It always gets shafted. No one appreciates it, no one lives in it, no one takes full advantage of it, or even recognizes it before it becomes The Past. I try to be more mindful of this, although it takes some very directed effort on my part. It is just so much easier to wade in the richness of days gone by.

But, because I have a pretty good memory and I often like to fight with myself for fun, I can also bash nostalgia on its silvery head too. It's just too easy to become Abe Simpson. So, in the spirit of honoring The Present, here is a list of Things I Do Not Miss From My Past:

-- Blatant, in-your-face racial and gender discrimination. Not that it has all gone away, not by a long shot, BUT, oh my you youngsters out there just would not believe how things were. ALL women and ALL minorities were treated like less thans. In college, I did a presentation analyzing how women were portrayed in television commercials of the 50s and 60s, and that was one scary view. The flip of this was the 70s/80s concept of the Superwoman, the "having it all" girl who could "bring home the bacon, put it in a pan, fry it up, and never never never let you forget you're a man." Yeah, great -- work your ass off for STILL less money than said man, cook dinner, clean up, take care of the kids, and then be all sexy. Yippee. Maybe someday everyone can just be human. That would be cool.

-- Daily political assassinations. Or so it seemed.

-- The constant reported misery of war. Oh. Wait.

-- No cell phones. Cell phones are a really good idea. Safety and such you know.

-- Incredibly inane sitcoms. Oh. Wait.

-- No Roe v. Wade. Argue the right to privacy or the validity of the judgment or the advancements in care for preemies or whatever, it comes down to this: if you do not have control over your body and what happens to it, you are less of a human.

-- Zero safety equipment in cars other than crappy lap belts. Even the bumpers were useless. Pretty chrome, though.

-- Teachers could hit kids in school. Not just the nuns, either.

-- Disco.

-- Really thick glasses.

-- The draft.

-- Sanitary napkin belts and Kotex the size of a mattress.

-- Flypaper.

-- Hearing nostalgic stories about the Depression and The War.

There's more, but I should be Presenting on this sunny day, so I will leave you with that. Building Perspective Along The Way, And Frying It Up In A Blog.

"Enjoli" commercial, 1970s