Monday, January 21, 2013

Nostalgia



I've always had a thing for nostalgia. As memories fade we often remember the past as being somewhat better that it actually was. For me there is no nostalgia for my youth. Adolescence for me was a very uncomfortable time and I would never want to go back to it. Instead, nostalgia for me is thinking about times before I was born, like Paris in the 20s or New York in the 1950s. It would be interesting to have been around to experience those times.

If I had been around in New York in the 1950s for example, I'd definitely want to absorb the beat culture happening in Greenwich Village at the time. I'd go to poetry readings and drink whiskey in smoke filled jazz clubs. I'd converse with bohemians, intellectuals and seek the comfort and hospitality of liberal women. It seemed like such a grand era. It was cheap to live in the city back then too, and more money could be spent on things that are important, like alcohol and nightlife. But, there are serious things to consider, such as the open racial and gender discrimination of the day. Alas, it will never be, but it is fun to fantasize.

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