So why do you think nostalgia is so attractive to many of us?

[Ralphie ★]

My family sounds like Kirby’s and I am sure many others in that we love to remember the old days. But in many ways in these new days life is better, or at least easier.  I think a lot of it is just we enjoyed when the nuculear fambly was together. Things were simpler then too, so our brians could have some more peace. 

[Airehead]

Definitely the lost of multi generational dinners and gatherings. My siblings are flung far and wide. My mom’s siblings gathered with our families for dinner most Sunday’s When I was younger. Always at my grandmothers. 

[JerrySTL ★]

I think that we tend to remember the good and forget the bad. 

[Ralphie ★]

Just now, Airehead said:

Definitely the lost of multi generational dinners and gatherings. My siblings are flung far and wide. My mom’s siblings gathered with our families for dinner most Sunday’s When I was younger. Always at my grandmothers. 

Yeah, it was so different and nice when  we would see so many relatives in my parents home area. Most of them stayed around but my parents moved off to Ohio and pa so there were no relatives around. 

[Ralphie ★]

2 minutes ago, JerrySTL said:

I think that we tend to remember the good and forget the bad. 

Not a bad strategy.   That is my plan for old age, blissfully out of it  

 

 

[shootingstar]

23 minutes ago, Philander Seabury said:

Yeah, it was so different and nice when  we would see so many relatives in my parents home area. Most of them stayed around but my parents moved off to Ohio and pa so there were no relatives around. 

Some families really got severed....anyone who immigrated to North America during the time when airfare was expensive.  And from countries where there was war or just recovering from massive war in Old Country.  People never had enough money to fly or wanted to even visit a country that was politically unstable.

Some the nostalgic memories I have are more recent...what life was like before covid.  

[Razors Edge ★]

42 minutes ago, JerrySTL said:

I think that we tend to remember the good and forget the bad. 

And it is the only "past" we have.  The "present" is constantly in motion, and very little of it is exciting.  The "future" is just a wild azz guess, and some folks do get wrapped up in that with "dreaming" which can be productive or completely wasteful.

So, we end up with an ability to cherry pick the moments in our lives that we choose to! Good, bad, whatever.  It is nice to journey into our memories and find ones that we shared with loved ones.  Obviously, like dreaming, dwelling in the past has its own risks, but a moderate bit of remembering and dreaming is good for all of us.

[Longjohn ★]

After WW2 my dad and all his brothers got jobs at the local Westinghouse plant. Westinghouse shut down each year between Christmas and New Years. His brothers mostly had kids near my age and each day over the Holliday’s we would visit relatives. One uncle had a large basement that he would set up tables and we would all get together one day during the shutdown. It was so much fun.

My mom was an only child so I didn’t really have aunts and uncles on her side of the family but the family was very close. I couldn’t for the life of me figure out how I was related to all these people but we got together often. My mom’s aunts and uncles and cousins. They all had different last names and all I knew was they were my relatives and they loved me.

[ChrisL]

My older siblings often talk about the good old days, the parties and family time together.  I didn’t experience any of that, our dad died when I was young, my mom checked out emotionally after his death and my older siblings were all out of the house.  

My good days are now with my kids. We get together often, hang out, do fun trips together.  My SIL and sons GF have  joined in and have added to the family dynamic.  

[Ralphie ★]

I also love the old stuff like in American Pickers, old signs and shit.  Not really because they are associated with any fantastic memories, or maybe they are, since gas station signs are everywhere so a part of daily life.

[groupw]

Memories of childhood are often fondly viewed because you haven't received the weight of adulthood yet. I have very fond memories of time at my maternal grandparents. Only once did I ever see his temper and that was a Blazing Saddles moment when he smacked a horse that didn't want to wear its bridle! After I became an adult, I learned his temper was worse than we usually saw and he was in fact abusive to Grandma and my mom, aunts and uncle when they were young. He mellowed as he got older, I guess. My aunts and uncles were very close and my cousins felt like siblings even though we only saw each other a few times each year because we lived so far away. Family gatherings were great and they are now, but you now see them and events with the eyes of an adult and it's just different. 

[team scooter]

I get a warm and fuzzy when I hear music from my childhood. I'm listening to 'Saturday at the 70s' now.  I love driving through old fashioned Christmas Card towns, passing old country churches, old restored gas stations, etc, etc. Maybe it releases endorphins or something.  

[Ralphie ★]

That Miata is so darn sexy!  A vintage look but thoroughly modern.  Excellent choice.,

 

[MoseySusan]

Nostalgia over simplifies. Life was as complicated back in the day as ever. 
mr. and I were laughing about how much we walked before the days of cell phones. There was no calling anyone for assistance. Missed the bus? Walk. Car broke down? Walk. Overslept? Walk. 

[Ralphie ★]

1 minute ago, roadsue said:

Nostalgia over simplifies. Life was as complicated back in the day as ever. 
mr. and I were laughing about how much we walked before the days of cell phones. There was no calling anyone for assistance. Missed the bus? Walk. Car broke down? Walk. Overslept? Walk. 

Maybe so, but the constant news cycle seems to have sped things up a little.

[MoseySusan]

Just now, Philander Seabury said:

Maybe so, but the constant news cycle seems to have sped things up a little.

An illusion. Stuff happens when it happens. Hearing about it throughout the day doesn’t mean it happens faster or repeatedly. 

[team scooter]

11 minutes ago, Philander Seabury said:

That Miata is so darn sexy!  A vintage look but thoroughly modern.  Excellent choice.,

 

This topic got me thinking... A large part of the reason I bought the car was to have an excuse to drive around looking for old towns, etc. Luckily it gets over 40 MPG.

[Longjohn ★]

17 minutes ago, team scooter said:

I get a warm and fuzzy when I hear music from my childhood. I'm listening to 'Saturday at the 70s' now.  I love driving through old fashioned Christmas Card towns, passing old country churches, old restored gas stations, etc, etc. Maybe it releases endorphins or something.  

What is the purpose of that old restored gas station?  We have the original Quaker Steak and Lube restaurant in our county. I remember when it was a Quaker State gas station. Yes I’m old.

[team scooter]

2 minutes ago, Longjohn said:

What is the purpose of that old restored gas station?  We have the original Quaker Steak and Lube restaurant in our county. I remember when it was a Quaker State gas station. Yes I’m old.

It's on the edge of town. It was vacant for many, many years and fell into disrepair. Before that it was a tire/repair shop that changed renters several times. Most of those businesses moved out towards the bypass and more traffic. The village could have torn it down and left an empty lot that they'd need to mow. Or paved it and made another unneeded parking area. They restored it instead. There's a 40s vintage truck and some other antique service station stuff inside like a museum. There's quite a few small towns around here that have restored their vintage service stations. Before I hibernate the Miata for the winter, I plan to buzz over to the next town and take a pic in front of their newly restored service station. It's an excuse to take Maggie for a ride.

[Dirtyhip]

We miss our youth.  Nostalgic things remind us of that youth.

Many of you met me when I was in my mid 30's.  Has it really been that long where we have chatted?  Holy smokes.

[Ralphie ★]

39 minutes ago, roadsue said:

An illusion. Stuff happens when it happens. Hearing about it throughout the day doesn’t mean it happens faster or repeatedly. 

Granted, the smart phone did sort of replace the transistor radio. 

[Square Wheels]

2 minutes ago, Dirtyhip said:

We miss our youth.

Sometimes.  I'm not convinced I would have done it better.  If given the chance, I would have been kinder, so for now I try to be nicer.

Also, while I've always had some money since Is started working at an early age, I have a lot more money now.  That makes life a lot easier.

I'd probably still fall for it and go back in time for another try.

[groupw]

43 minutes ago, roadsue said:

An illusion. Stuff happens when it happens. Hearing about it throughout the day doesn’t mean it happens faster or repeatedly. 

Here's where tech has sped things up. When I was an unsurance admin 30 years ago, email was new. If we sent an email, or left a voice mail, we were to allow them 24 hours to get the message and another 24 hours to respond. As email became more prevalent, they expected responsed by the next day. Now with cell phones being ubiquitous and more data electronic, if you aren't answering within minutes, there must be something wrong. 

With remote support, I no longer have the luxury of lining up a series of jobs in the same area and then going there. Now, unless things are totally down, they wonder why we can't remote in to help them at the drop of a hat. Good and bad with that. 

[maddmaxx ★]

18 minutes ago, team scooter said:

It's on the edge of town. It was vacant for many, many years and fell into disrepair. Before that it was a tire/repair shop that changed renters several times. Most of those businesses moved out towards the bypass and more traffic. The village could have torn it down and left an empty lot that they'd need to mow. Or paved it and made another unneeded parking area. They restored it instead. There's a 40s vintage truck and some other antique service station stuff inside like a museum. There's quite a few small towns around here that have restored their vintage service stations. Before I hibernate the Miata for the winter, I plan to buzz over to the next town and take a pic in front of their newly restored service station. It's an excuse to take Maggie for a ride.

Just so you know scooter, Tamiya just released a model of your car or as close as you're going to get this year.  It's a great kit.  They also make the original roadster kit.

[team scooter]

6 minutes ago, maddmaxx said:

Just so you know scooter, Tamiya just released a model of your car or as close as you're going to get this year.  It's a great kit.  They also make the original roadster kit.

SWEET! 

Love the Carbon Fiber looking bits too. 

[maddmaxx ★]

4 minutes ago, team scooter said:

SWEET! 

Love the Carbon Fiber looking bits too. 

Decals are great.

[Kirby]

I think it's natural to be nostalgic for times or places that you enjoyed, or that meant something to you.  I recall in college regularly seeing alumni come back on football weekends and want to visit their old dorm rooms.  My family wasn't large, but we always got along well ,so it's natural to think back fondly on those times.  In uncertain or stressful times, remembering your base, whether it's family, friends, a special place, can help you remember your strength.  Or it's just a fun diversion.  Yesterday was my grandmother's birthday (she would have been 123 ) and I was remembering this apple cake she'd make (sort of like a heavier coffee cake than an angel food).  My bedroom in the Catskills was right above the kitchen and there was a vent between the floors, and I'd regularly wake up to the scent of that cake.   I'm sorry we never got the recipe.

[Further]

11 hours ago, roadsue said:

An illusion. Stuff happens when it happens. Hearing about it throughout the day doesn’t mean it happens faster or repeatedly. 

The reactions are much faster today

and pretty much everything is a reaction to something

[Further]

More and more often I remember the times I was an asshole

If I could do it over I would hope to be kinder

[Bikeguy]

15 hours ago, JerrySTL said:

I think that we tend to remember the good and forget the bad. 

This plus...

I think we all HATE change.  After things change, we get comfortable again.   

That plus the perception of time changes as you get older.   The older we get, time seems to go faster, and changes seem to occur faster.  I believe it's because now 1 year is 1/65 (1.5%) of my life.  When I was 10, 1 year is 1/10 (10.0%) of my life.    I remember summer vacation from school, seemed like it took forever to end.   Now I can't believe that October is almost over, where did the summer go?  

13 hours ago, roadsue said:

An illusion. Stuff happens when it happens. Hearing about it throughout the day doesn’t mean it happens faster or repeatedly. 

In the 60s and 70s, stuff happened all around the world.  I suggest unless it was real bad, that news never was heard by most of us.  And the younger you are, even if the stuff did make the news, the more likely you don't know or understand what some of this stuff means.  So it didn't appear to impact your life.   Now in less than 1 hour, you can get news from anywhere in the world, and we do realize how it possibly can affect our life.  

So with all of that...  when you look back to an earlier point in you life, in most cases it sure looks like it was 'better' years ago.   I'm sure our parents are/were remembering, it was 'better' when they were younger too.  40 years from now, someone will be reminiscing about the 20's about how things were 'better' back then too.    

[maddmaxx ★]

If you've lived through 2020 it's not unreasonable that you might want to go back to sometime else.  

[MoseySusan]

8 hours ago, Bikeguy said:

the more likely you don't know or understand what some of this stuff means.  So it didn't appear to impact your life. 

This remains true for younger people. Access to more information does not automatically become heightened sense of meaning. The issue my sophomores “understand” is climate change, but they don’t connect their own use of plastics, technology, fast fashion, or cars to the issue. They don’t understand anything of the news. 

[maddmaxx ★]

2 hours ago, roadsue said:

This remains true for younger people. Access to more information does not automatically become heightened sense of meaning. The issue my sophomores “understand” is climate change, but they don’t connect their own use of plastics, technology, fast fashion, or cars to the issue. They don’t understand anything of the news. 

The damning of the MSM has a bit to do with their not understanding the news.  For many of them the book of faces is "news".  The real news is a lie.