What ever happened to "The Good Old Days?" I don't know if I am feeling rather sentimental because I am currently reading Little Women or because I spent my Friday night with a bunch of 80 year old men and women. Either way, it really has made me sad for the next generation.
Last night I met some pretty incredible people who were discussing World War 2, Hitler, their mothers who were proper Victorian Ladies and what they would do on their Saturday nights. I couldn't stop listening and asking questions as the history major side of me was fascinated that these people were around during WWII. Not just across the pond hearing about it, but literally were in the thick of WWII and going to bomb shelters during the Bristol Blitz. It really fascinated me. The history they saw first hand was incredible, but what stuck out the most was how knowledgeable and full of culture they all were!
We spent the evening around a piano while quite the old man and fabulous piano player took requests and would play anything from memory. Then after a song was played, a story was told. One was about the great Liberace and how he met him while being at the American camps during the war. Liberace and the war led to discussions of politics and history. They talked about books, authors, presidents and prime ministers. One fellow said that his greatest regret in life was that he was not fluent in a different language; which all really touched me. The ladies were ever a lady and the men, ever so gentle.
Today, many young people are more concerned about how short their skirts are, how dumb they can act in class and disrupt the teachers, who has spent the most money on their clothes or i-pad,pod,phone. Saturday nights are not spent enriching the brain in discussion around a piano, but spent killing brain cells by drinking the night away into oblivion. Don't get me wrong, last night these lads and gals were drinking me under the table, but in a more respectable way than how it is done today.
There are so many amazing cultural things going on right now today in the 21st century. The great debates of global warming, the rise and fall of the economy, world peace, cinematography; but less and less young people are interested and taking advantage of these wonderful and necessary ideas. I really hope that can change. The good old days, really were quite splendid. Last night really was inspiring. I hope that as life goes on and technology becomes more advance we don't lose sight of the classics, of history, and the importance of knowledge.
Last night I met some pretty incredible people who were discussing World War 2, Hitler, their mothers who were proper Victorian Ladies and what they would do on their Saturday nights. I couldn't stop listening and asking questions as the history major side of me was fascinated that these people were around during WWII. Not just across the pond hearing about it, but literally were in the thick of WWII and going to bomb shelters during the Bristol Blitz. It really fascinated me. The history they saw first hand was incredible, but what stuck out the most was how knowledgeable and full of culture they all were!
We spent the evening around a piano while quite the old man and fabulous piano player took requests and would play anything from memory. Then after a song was played, a story was told. One was about the great Liberace and how he met him while being at the American camps during the war. Liberace and the war led to discussions of politics and history. They talked about books, authors, presidents and prime ministers. One fellow said that his greatest regret in life was that he was not fluent in a different language; which all really touched me. The ladies were ever a lady and the men, ever so gentle.
Today, many young people are more concerned about how short their skirts are, how dumb they can act in class and disrupt the teachers, who has spent the most money on their clothes or i-pad,pod,phone. Saturday nights are not spent enriching the brain in discussion around a piano, but spent killing brain cells by drinking the night away into oblivion. Don't get me wrong, last night these lads and gals were drinking me under the table, but in a more respectable way than how it is done today.
There are so many amazing cultural things going on right now today in the 21st century. The great debates of global warming, the rise and fall of the economy, world peace, cinematography; but less and less young people are interested and taking advantage of these wonderful and necessary ideas. I really hope that can change. The good old days, really were quite splendid. Last night really was inspiring. I hope that as life goes on and technology becomes more advance we don't lose sight of the classics, of history, and the importance of knowledge.
