Nostalgia

"Nostalgia isn't what it used to be"--Simone Signoret

Ever watch the TV show Mad Men?  That series reminds me of everything that was wrong with the early 1960s:  the littering, casual sexism and racism. (One character says, "I have nothing against Negroes, but I worry about my car.") Yet while watching it I still feel the pull of nostalgia for that time.  Go figure.

I grew up in a small town and one thing I miss is the grey hoarfrost on the front lawn in the early autumn.  I also miss the big vegetable garden we had in the back yard!  I grew up in southeastern New Brunswick, where nearby tides are among the highest in the world.  I remember how after spring tides in March big pieces of dirty ice would wash up on the tidal flats!

I don't feel much nostalgia for the past, though I miss Phil Donahue's talk show.  And I have a soft spot for the cheap local TV shows of the past, since everything is so slick these days.  And I remember when they delivered milk in bottles, and on an early winter morning the milkman would leave frozen bottles where the ice at the top would form a little hill!