Good Old Days

I was listening to a few older gentlemen at work reminisce about the good old days of Omaha. The old drive-ins, the bread store that was run by Italians (real Italians), Charlie Manson. Say what?

I work for a youth services organization and apparently Charles Manson was sent here in 1957 but he was screened out during an initial psychological evaluation and was never admitted to the program. Good call on that one...

The conversation made me wonder what I'm going to miss when I'm 65. What from today, or from my childhood, won't exist forty years from now. Are people going to think I'm an old fart when I tell them that when I was little we didn't have cable TV, the internet, cell phones, MP3s? Or are those things not even going to exist anymore? The world is already freaking me out in a, "Big Brother Is Watching You," kind of way. I can't even imagine how much worse it's going to get. My dream is to one day open a restaurant that does not have TVs propped up in every corner. Can you imagine what a novelty that will be in another decade? It seems like ever since 9/11 every restaurant in America (except for the really, really fancy ones) has installed TVs. No one wants to be less than six yards away from breaking news. The last McDonald's I went into had a huge flat screen TV on one wall and everyone in the dining area was pointed at it. How sad is that? I long for a time gone by where going out to eat, even going to McDonald's, was an event cherished by American families.

I also long to return to a time and place where it would be chic for me to vacuum the house in a cocktail dress and apron, holding a martini in one hand. I seriously want that. I want to put on my wedding dress and this really cute vintage apron I have and get someone come to my house and photograph me vacuuming in it while drinking a seriously dirty, salty martini. How campy and fun would that be? But that's neither here nor there.

Now that I'm married and potentially going to be introducing more humans into this world, I want life to return to the simple times of drive-ins, real Italians and pre-cult Charlie Manson.