July 31, 2015 (Friday)
Turner Classic Movies shows old movies. I saw one recently that was released in 1936, when I was only 4 years old. That was 79 years ago. It was a good show and I enjoyed watching it, but I could not help but notice the changes from that era to this one. The
50-pound block of ice delivered to the kitchen with giant tongs, the early refrigerator that still resembled the old “ice boxes,” a reference to “collar button,” and other stuff in the show that jogged my memory, reminding me that 79 years is a long time. The thought entered my head that the beautiful young dancing girls in one of the scenes are now 95 to 100 years of age, if still living. I noticed the things they said back then, like, “that’s mighty white of you,” “ya’ big lug,” “I’ve been in the jug,” “I don’t trust that shyster,” “my best Sunday-go-to-meeting hat,” “Decoration Day (now Memorial Day),” and one of the ladies greeting her cousin as “Cousin Helen.” These were samplings of life in the 1930’s that I noticed. There were more, but I would have to see the movie again and write them down in order to share them with you. I think once is enough to see a murder mystery from the Depression years.
Our language–especially our colloquialisms–has changed over the years.
But that’s not all that’s changed, as all of us know very well.
It should be becoming crystal clear to us all that social media is making a huge difference in our culture. 
The network news is fading from the scene, and the cable news on TV is old hat now as we can get our news directly on the iphone, smart phone, desktop pc, etc. We can even read the words straight from the person(s) involved in the news stories. If it’s opinions we want, there is a surplus on the world wide web. It’s all there, instant videos of events sometimes as they happen for the first time, and the “viral” kind that are repeated endlessly.
There are all sorts of insidious happenings within social media, resulting in recruitment
by terrorists, mass murders, riots, and you name it. Along with the good has come the
bad. And the kids are experts in finding what they want on that magic device they carry
with them everywhere every day.
So, yes, bring on the old movies and many of the old TV shows. Shower me with Andy and Barney, and give me a good dose of Opie.
I’ve finally grown old, and now I understand why so many before me have found old age to be a strange place in life. With apologies to Elizabeth Barrett Browning, who called old age “the last for which the first was made,” I sometimes think I liked “the first” better.