Nostalgia is not like being there

By Michael Brooks

Staff Writer

Isn’t nostalgia just awful? Sure, it takes you back to when you were a kid, but it also reminds you of how old you are. It seems like everything today tries to capture a piece of my childhood.

I firmly believe the best music ever produced was in that time period from George to Garth. Well, Garth is back. George is still doing concerts despite his retirement.

How about movies? Not every 80’s movie has been remade. Ferris Bueller has no remake. But his day off, now, would just be sitting at home on a Saturday, enjoying a beer or 12. That is assuming he isn’t still in jail for all the felonies he committed in the original. But everything else has been remade. Transformers, Ninja Turtles, G.I Joe have all been remade. Some have been wonderful but others, like Ghostbusters, makes you want to gouge your eyes out with a rusty fork.

Nostalgia from social media? Have you seen Zack Morris is Trash? You need to watch it.

Every Christmas another nostalgic video game system catches the attention of the Christmas shopping mob. The NES Classic. The SNES Classic. And now the Playstation Classic.

Everything today seems to revolve around nostalgia but there is nothing like actually being there.

Remember the mid 80’s when you bugged your parents all year for a Nintendo, and then Christmas rolled around and you ran in and opened your presents and then ran off crying because it was only more horrible Atari games?

Remember that new television station named FOX? It was cool and edgy, and Sunday night required viewing was Married With Children, In Living Color, and of course, The Simpsons. (The Simpsons are their own nostalgia. Last Sunday they aired their 650th episode during their THIRTIETH season.)

Kids today didn’t get to experience suffering brain damage from wrecking their bicycle when they weren’t wearing a helmet and eating 10 feet of pavement. They don’t get the wonderful experience of inhaling second hand smoke as they walk through the mall.

Nostalgia rules the world today.

I had a point I was trying to make in this column but I forgot what it was. I am not sure if that is because of senility or because I ran into a parked car when I was about 10 years old while riding my bike and first did a Superman impression followed by a Super Dave Osborne impression.

Whichever one, I don’t know if all of this nostalgia is making me happy or sad.

P.S. As you watch your traditional Christmas movies of Christmas Vacation, A Christmas Story, The Grinch, Elf, and maybe Nightmare Before Christmas and Home Alone, don’t forget Die Hard. Not only is it the best Christmas movie ever made, it is another heavy dose of ‘80’s nostalgia.