AN OCCASIONAL DOSE OF SANITY

     I can’t be the only one. I’ll bet you have been there too. Right? I suppose it’s an October/November thing. You see, in a world that has been hijacked by pandemics, wars, inflation, political bickering, homeless camps, and an increasingly divided nation……..I’ve had my fill of all that.

Fess up now. Aren’t there moments when you long for the old days and the old ways……those times that look so good in our hazy rear-view mirror? I realize, of course, that we can’t actually return to those earlier days. But I have learned of an interesting way to resurrect bits and pieces of that sentimental history. Best of all, we can savor those times and those places in small bites……..a few minutes or a few hours at a time.

Several years ago that surprising discovery was the subject of the following October Years post. In the course of my recent return to some of those earlier blogs it had made its way to the front of the line. 

       AN OCCASIONAL DOSE OF SANITY

I don’t remember exactly why, but at the time I needed a break……perhaps I was looking to get away from an all-too-crazy world……or maybe it was a “honey-do” chore that had turned sour.

Whatever the reason, that evening in the course of my online wandering I bumped into a YouTube video of Susan Boyle performing It’s a Wonderful World. I suppose I remembered having heard Louis Armstrong’s version of the song, and how much I enjoyed that. Whatever the reason, I decided to give Susan a listen. I played it once, then again. 

Before I was done I had spent half an hour glued to my computer, watching and listening to a dozen or more of Ms. Boyle’s videos. Needless to say, I liked what I was hearing. By the time I was done I had hatched a rather unorthodox idea. On a whim I downloaded three of my Susan Boyle favorites to share with my email friends and sent them off.

With that I set Susan aside and moved on to other things. But then, to my surprise, over the next few days I received several replies commenting on how much they enjoyed the lady’s videos. 

I suppose it was about then the seeds of this post were sown. I realize that for some of you what follows will be old hat……things you have been doing for years. For those folks I will be preaching to the choir. However, I’m guessing that some of you, who are computer-literate enough to be reading emails and October Years blogs, have yet to learn about the magic of YouTube. If that describes you, I hope you will read on.

Let me begin by admitting up front there is much about YouTube that I don’t know or understand. They say the vast majority of the site’s users are several generations younger than old geezers like me. Chances are those young folks watch videos and follow stories that are not necessarily intended for an elder audience. 

Yet, at the same time you can find YouTube material to suit the interests and tastes of just about any niche audience……even tech-illiterate October and November types who are dipping their toes in the YouTube water for the first time.

I will admit that after my Susan Boyle introduction I returned to YouTube looking for music, especially the ‘ancient’ sounds I remembered from the 50s and 60s. And those Golden Oldies are there in force……in both videos and vintage television footage. It was simply a matter of following my own personal taste……Ella, Don McLean, the Bee Gees, the Beatles, Johnny Cash to name a few. 

If music is your thing, filling in the search line will take you to your favorites. If your musical tastes are different than mine…….be it opera, symphony music, or a lively polka, you will find those there too. There is literally something for everyone.

Better yet YouTube has so much more than music, especially for us late-lifers. There is simply no subject you won’t find there. Be it cooking, meal prep, travel, investing, paranormal philosophy, or the screwy world of American politics……you will find dozens, even hundreds of videos, from minutes to hours long.

We know, of course, that ours is a sometimes harsh and confusing time. Chances are YouTube can help you make sense it all….. allowing you to hear several sides of most any topic. It can help us better understand today’s chaos……and be better equipped for the world we live it.

But that doesn’t mean we can’t also take time now and then to revisit what entertained or amused us in what we think of as the ‘ good old days.’ We live in an era where what passes for modern entertainment does not always entertain my generation……where so-called comedy often strikes us as seriously ‘unfunny.’ So why not let YouTube provide an occasional antidote?

For instance, I remember once upon a time liking George Carlin. It was fun to discover that his YouTube videos are as clever and incisive as ever. Johnny Carson and Dean Martin are there too, at their best. I know that not everyone finds Foster Brooks in good taste, but I enjoy his humor. Or how about Tim Conway playing dentist with Harvey Korman? Going further back, you will find videos of complete TV programs with Jack Benny and Milton Berle doing their thing. 

If you are a travel junkie like me, Rick Steves will take you to most any place in Europe in half-hour segments. And Jeanne Robertson, a name you may not know, offers a woman’s take on life in the ‘October’ lane. Just fill in her name on the search line to see what I mean.

Finally, you may not be surprised to learn that some of us old timers have never really grown up. I know one eighty-one year old who doesn’t care if folks know about the youthful tastes he has never outgrown.

You see, YouTube.com also has movies……lots of movies, including ones we aging youngsters remember from days gone by. For instance, early in our relationship I was a bit disappointed to learn that Roma’s favorite cowboy hero had been Hopalong Cassidy. Can you believe that? To make matters worse, she found it hard to accept my youthful allegiance to The Durango Kid. 

What was it that had us taking sides? You can decide for yourself by checking out the dozens of YouTube feature films starring Hoppy and the Kid. (Do I dare show the grandkids what Gramps used to watch?)

When it comes to 1940 & 50 films, the ones that really mattered to us back then, YouTube has us covered. Those were the days when everyone knew that George Reeves was Superman, and The Lone Ranger was bound to get the bad guys. There are dozens of full-length films to prove that. 

On a lighter note Shirley Temple and the Little Rascals are also there in force, along with the multi-episode serials that every movie house played, hoping to draw us back for the next installment. Believe it or not, we can literally relive a complete 1950 Saturday matinee seventy years later.

I know, of course, that perhaps I have been talking right over the heads of our younger readers. But that’s okay. Whether we’re talking about Hoppy, The Durango Kid, The Lone Ranger, or America’s Sweetheart, YouTube videos have the power to return some of us to another, we like to think, better time. 

We can’t live there, of course. But a brief visit from time to time feels rather therapeutic. And if your classic movie taste is more sophisticated than matinee westerns? (Could that be?) Well, you will probably find some of your own favorites there too.

Bottom line……if you’re not already on speaking terms with YouTube.com may I suggest you check it out. (It’s free.) Once there use the ‘Search Line’ at the top of the page to call up whatever strikes your fancy. Let your imagination be your guide, taking you down the path that appeals to you. I believe you will have a good time there.