When we were kids, we used to lie on our backs and look at the clouds. We tried to see shapes and faces. It was great entertainment. And it didn’t cost us a dime.
I wonder if kids still do that. Probably not. There’s no electronic component in cloud gazing.
Of course, I myself no longer do any cloud gazing from a supine position. For one thing, I now know that millions of chiggers live in every square inch of grass. For another, I couldn’t get up without lots of help and perhaps a crane rental.
I still look for patterns and shapes and faces, though. For example, I can see Boris Karloff’s face in the wallpaper in our powder room.
It is very definitely Boris Karloff; he has his eyes shut but there’s no mistaking that face, even if there aren’t bolts protruding from his neck.
Here’s the problem. I have tried to point out his face in the wallpaper to several visitors, but no one seems to remember who Boris Karloff is. Or was.
O tempora, o mores. I learned that in high school Latin and it seems more and more relevant as I shuffle deeper into senior citizenship. Basically it translates as ‘what the heck is the world coming to!’
I mean, really! Isn’t Karloff’s monster truly a character for the ages?
My mother shares similar what-the-heck experiences with me, such as a young friend of hers claiming never to have heard of the song “White Cliffs of Dover.” Good grief, even the Righteous Brothers covered that old war-time standard.
Please don’t tell me you can’t identify the Righteous Brothers.
This is a disturbing societal trend, this lack of knowledge of any popular culture prior to one’s own time. I’d say it is a revoltin’ development, but no one remembers “The Life of Riley,” either.
The other day some of my friends and I were talking about old television shows and “What’s My Line” came up. We could all remember the panelists’ names, although we were foggy regarding the identity of the host.
It occurred to me that in another generation or two there won’t be a single person left alive who can identify Red Skelton or Hopalong Cassidy or Howdy Doody, much less the panelists on “What’s My Line.”
No one under 40 hears the “William Tell Overture” and thinks of the Lone Ranger. I’m not saying that that, in itself, is a great tragedy, but for many children in the 1950s, that galloping melody was our first introduction to classical music.
I’d like to believe that the Millennium Generation is bereft of pop culture history because their heads are so overstuffed with political world history and Italian verbs and algebra equations that there isn’t enough room left for knowing that people once cared who shot J. R. or that McDonald’s hasn’t always meant fatty fast food.
Yeah, sure.
But wouldn’t it be a sad world if no one remembered pop culture touchstones like Ed Sullivan and pink princess phones, suicide steering wheel knobs and the Lawrence Welk Show, Polaroid cameras and Walter Cronkite signing off with “and that’s the way it is”?
A sad world indeed, Kemo Sabe.
Senior Outlook
Carolyn Trout: Age creates 'Lone Ranger' pop culture
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Carolyn Mclaren, columnist: Budget cuts still an issue for AAA
Every once in awhile when I am in my car going to or from a meeting, I turn on the radio and while scanning the stations sometimes I catch a program by a man named Dave Ramsey.
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Allison Riddle, columnist: Watch for fraud when repairing tornado damage
Survivors are being cautioned about scam artists coming out of the woodwork after the May 22 tornado. The Federal Emergency Management Agency says it’s important to be vigilant in protecting your property and money by looking out for those that want to take advantage of a dire situation.
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Stephanie Denham, columnist: Weather changes like crazy, but volunteers are steadfast
It’s July already? How time has flown this year and the things we have experienced have been from one end of the scale to the other. We have seen cold weather, blizzards, rain and flooding, strong winds, hail and tornados. Now that July is here, we can look forward to temps of 100 degrees or above.
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Dr. Derek Miller, columnist: Knee replacement surgery no longer 'one size fits all'
Walking is one of the most effortless tasks we perform each day. But for many, the simple chore of putting one foot in front of the other is a source of pain and discomfort.
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Carol J. Long, columnist: Facing reality of aging parents
My generation, known as the baby boomers, are now faced with the reality of our parents physically or mentally unable to care for themselves.
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Carolyn Trout, columnist: Kitchen disasters with or without cookbooks
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Janice Jones, columnist: Enjoy your summer
July. What’s not to love? Sunshine, barbecues,, beaches, fresh fruits, swimming, family and vacations. Needless to say July is my favorite month of the year. I have waited all year for it.
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Teresa Rife, columnist: Caregivers should care for selves, too
Many of us will become caregivers at some point and time in our lives. The caregivers must often provide care under complex circumstances, often balancing the concerns of their own immediate families, their careers, and their responsibility for elderly care giving.
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