Chris Clegg
I would not want to turn back the clock to live the way I did decades ago. I am perfectly pleased with all my electronic gadgets, which make accessing information very easy, not to mention a plethora of TV shows to entertain me each night.
Ah, life is good!
Still, there is one thing the children and youth of today cannot experience the same as we oldtimers enjoyed as children and youth: the thrill of anticipation!
Two examples. If my memory serves me correctly, it was near this time of year when my three sisters and two brothers looked forward to receiving the annual Sears Christmas catalogue. It was appropriately called the Wish Book. There wasn’t a kid around who didn’t talk about the arrival of the holiday season’s biggest event. Santa’s visit not included, of course.
And full of wishes it was! There was something for everyone! Each of the brood in mom’s flock browsed through the pages each year selecting our wishes. The toy and chocolate sections were very well viewed, socks and shirts not so much. Christmas was not a time to be practical. We were lucky enough most of the time that our wishes came true, but we knew to wish within reason. Christmas is Christmas, but there were also realities.
The anticipation of the Wish Book’s arrival is something children of today cannot possibly experience. They can immediately access the same information on their electronic gadgets.
Years ago, at the very worst, our home was blessed with two TV stations. That’s right, two! Other than the Wish Book, there was very limited advertising on all the toys out there to wish for. And what we saw in the local stores.
There is no comparison, however, to the anticipation each day that the Wish Book might come. The anticipation of seeing zillions of toys, it seemed.
And if the Wish Book did not arrive! No matter! There was always another day and still plenty of time before Christmas to let Santa know what to bring.
The other example is very similar. Today’s children and youth cannot possibly know the thrill of going to the local record store (Yeah, I know, that is the 1970s and into the 1980s) to buy your latest favourite record, then literally running home to play it. Today, music, – everything! – is so immediate! The thrill of the wait is non-existent!
It was an absolute thrill to play that record for the first time! Perhaps a small reward for having the patience to wait until you arrived home!
There was even the odd time that a record arrived with a scratch on it. For the youth of today imagine a supremely annoying interruption during your favourite song, similar to a fingernail scratching on a blackboard or chalkboard. Oops! There I go revealing my age again! Gee, I have to get into the 2020s!
Kids today cannot appreciate how frustrating that was! Oh, well! Off to the store to attempt to get a refund and new record.
And returning home to receive the same thrill again!
It is said that good things come to those who wait. Bringing a new record home or waiting for the Christmas Wish Book will always be two memories I will never forget. It was all part of the magical time of being a child.