REMEMBER WHEN?

There I was, eighty-seven years old, with a decade of October Years blogging behind me, and twenty-five books listed on my Amazon Author’s Page. All that……and it felt like I had run out of things to say. Why else would I be repeating myself?

So why do you suppose I stumbled onto this new possibility……this slightly offbeat way of revisiting a time and place that felt a lot like home…..even though I had not been there for a very long time?

Let’s see if I can explain my logic. I am guessing many of us have learned that late-life has a tendency to shrink our world. The relationships and personal contacts that were part of a work-a-day, socially-active environment are harder to maintain. Perhaps they have even left the scene altogether.

Truth to tell, over the years….especially since ‘She’ left me here alone….I have sensed my world retracting. I have become more home-bound. My days tend to be solitary, and I have necessarily grown more self-sufficient. The few in-depth conversations I have are apt to be in the form of phone calls or emails. Fortunately that works for me.

Still, even then there are times when my suspect social skills are tested, especially in the course of rambling dialogues with my most special, long-disance ‘phone friend.’ Sometimes I wonder how long we can keep tilling the same well-worn conversational  ground? 

If you are among those who have reached the lofty peaks of late-life……no matter what highs and lows your life journey has included…..chances are your circle of friends has contracted. I know how that feels. I have been there.

At that point the question becomes…….is there a way to break that frustrating mold? 

Well yes, it seemed there was. At least a way that helped me……a way that I and my long-distance ‘phone friend’ can look forward to……a way that seems to add a few minutes of spice to our conversations, and might help others add a dose of ‘spice’ to their own days. 

You see, it seems that a lot of the things I like to remember, and even relive, are long-ago moments ......ones that I can still recall vividly……though not always accurately. Best of all, I came across a way to revisit some of those mythical times without getting bogged down in the sentimental details.

It did not require reinventing the wheel. In fact, I hope the following exercise can provide you with a hint of comforting relief in what is too often a frustrating time of life. Let’s see if I can explain.

I graduated from high school in 1955. (Wow….that was a long time ago.) My friend followed a year later in 1956. With that minimal detail I began my project with a quick trip to Google-land, which took me to what I was looking for…… “The top popular songs of 1955 and 1956.”

Armed with that information I was just one YouTube click way from a treasure trove of seventy year-old memories. It is amazing, isn’t it…..how a few musical chords, unheard for decades, can immediately resurrect recollections of a youthful world that was filled with so many first-time events. 

Pretend for moment that you too are a 1955 or 1956 grad, and let these prompts take you back to those times I remember. (Hint....after playing the YouTube clip just click on the 'Return" arrow at the top, left-hand corner of the screen. That will bring you back to this page.)

With that in mind let's consider 1955. (Click here.)   Or 1956 (Click here.) 

Do you remember noon dances in the school gym with a special ‘someone’? (Wonder whatever happened to him or her?) Or were you one of the 'timid' ones, looking on from the sidelines? 

As a teller of Geriatric Adolescent relational stories (Click here) I have explored both sides of that dilemma in the course of my stories. No matter what your age, odds are you will never outgrow those good feelings.

And there you have it. Whether or not my timelines work for you, or your music tastes are more sophisticated than mine, rest assured that a YouTube click can take you to most any theme from any era......just use the 'Search' box at the top of the page. 

However, I must not leave the scene without acknowledging those of you who feel themselves too old, too mature, for such childish notions. After all, you are adults. You have moved beyond that sort of silliness.

I hope you realize I don't mean to sound judgmental when I suggest that you are also old enough to benefit from an occasional return to those earlier times, the ones that made you the person you have become. In my mind that is where you will find the 'geriatric' form of adolescence I like to write about.

Why not expand your horizons? Give it a try.