What we've lost since the Golden Era

[missjo]

What we've lost since the Golden Era

Bakelite, zeppelins, silk stockings, hats, zeppelins, men with proper haircuts, properly speaking radio presenters, zeppelins, nice looking cars, zeppelins, Shellack records, musicians who can actually play instruments and did I mention zeppelins?

 

[draws]

The dressed up gentlemen and ladies. Men were always dressed in suits at the ballgame and out for an evening regardless. Rarely was there a family gettogether where men and woman weren't dress up with the exception of family picnics and outings at the lake, state parks or national parks. Church day was always dressed up, especially the kids.

 

[Chainsaw]

Proper education, proper neighborhoods. And of course, cars with lot's of chrome.

 

[JimWagner]

I truly believe that most people think the "good old days" were good because they think they understand that time from afar and would have it "under control". As opposed to not knowing what bad thing is going to happen next today that they can't control.

But how would you really have felt on the eve of the great depression? Or waking up to the news on December 7, 1941? Or sitting in your living room watching Kennedy announcing that he was sending special forces advisors into Viet Nam?

ALL times are uncertain when you are living them.

As for pork chops, my wife cooked some very good ones just a couple of days ago Any I fry up chicken just like my grandmother and my father taught me.

And I do miss old fashion butchers.

 

[missjo]

I truly believe that most people think the "good old days" were good because they think they understand that time from afar and would have it "under control". As opposed to not knowing what bad thing is going to happen next today that they can't control.

But how would you really have felt on the eve of the great depression? Or waking up to the news on December 7, 1941? Or sitting in your living room watching Kennedy announcing that he was sending special forces advisors into Viet Nam?

ALL times are uncertain when you are living them.

As for pork chops, my wife cooked some very good ones just a couple of days ago Any I fry up chicken just like my grandmother and my father taught me.

And I do miss old fashion butchers.

I don't mind uncertainty, I am used to it just as people back then probably were.
Besides for many life was less uncertain, of course anything could change at any moment but back then you could have a job 'for life' and although your life may not have been fun, it would have been easier to predict how it would go then for many people today.
Daily life for many was the same every day and it would have been rare to escape it and climb up the social ladder.

I probably would have felt really excited and happy waking up to the news on December 7, 1941.
Because by then my country was already occupied for a while and we would have been hoping for something like that to finally get the US to join the war.

 

[Shangas]

This thread has become increasingly fascinating and insightful, the longer it grows.

I agree, I think that due to our now, relatively prosperous society, mankind might be less well-equipped to deal with hardships and suffering, as folks during the Depression and War did. If you care to look her up, Clara Cannuciari on YouTube (the 94-year-old host of the internet show "Depression Cooking"), stated in an interview that, compared to the Depression she lived through, people today are a group of whingers and whiners.

There are lots of things from the "Golden Era" which I'm obviously too young to remember or to have experienced, but one that I would have loved, would be to see and use an operating automat ("automatic restaurant", for those unfamiliar with the term). I see the black and white photos of them and think how nice and bright and cheerful such places must have been.

The main thing I believe that we've lost from the Golden Era, though, is style. These days, as Roald Dahl said: "everything happens so fast and nothing is wonderful anymore" (or words to that effect).

I'd love to see a return...a proper return...of men's classic style. Hats, suits, proper shoes...(lord knows, I need a pair of those!). Probably because I went to a private school (shaddup with the insults!) for 13 years, but I don't feel right in something that doesn't at least resemble a suit. I wouldn't be caught dead wearing a T-shirt and jeans unless someone changed me into them after I kicked it.

I think the..."formality" and the "stuffiness" of suits is kinda what makes people back away from them...but I reckon that they're stylish, elegant, classy and comfortable. People would disagree with this, but I don't. I had to wear a two-piece suit (a school uniform) and tie for eight hours a day, five days a week for 13 years at school, and it never bothered me. I found it perfectly comfortable.

Another thing I think we've lost from the Golden Era is people who know what they're doing. Hold off the tomatoes. By this, I mean going into a pen shop and having someone know their product. Going into a watch shop and finding a watchmaker who can actually FIX a watch and not just change a battery and reset the time. Going into a top-class restaurant and having staff who actually *know* what *x* type of tea is, and whether they have it (yes, that did happen to me). It's so refreshing these days, to find people who actually KNOW their jobs and how to help customers.

 

[Tomasso]

What we've lost since the Golden Era

Elbow room! :rage: U.S. population has more than doubled since 1940.




Don't even get me started on global (over)population, which has tripled :eusa_doh:

 

[Paisley]

The kind of social dancing that prevailed then - a venue for genteel m-f interaction - is now all but gone. The swing, lindy, etc., that survives does so because it fills a more specialized need. The point is the moves, the intricacies, the stuff that takes work - ie, dancing is itself an outlet for performance. Probably, some enthusiasts don't know what it is to dance without performing - they would find it dull, and the music bland and oversweetened.

As Emily Post told it in her 1940 edition of Etiquette, people at balls carried themselves well and behaved well because they were on display. At any particular time, most people would be watching, not dancing.

At private balls, a gentleman couldn't take a girl for a turn on the floor and say "thanks for the dance." He had to dance with her until she told him to stop. Ms. Post said, not in so many words, that a man could end up babysitting a girl for hours, or be a cad to her. So the guys weren't necessarily eager to dance with an unpopular girl or one they didn't know. Girls couldn't ask guys to dance at these functions. (I'm afraid I don't know what the protocol was at public dances.)

Nowadays in the Denver lindy scene, at least, there are all levels of dancers and they all find people to dance with. Not a few of them get married. Must be some m-f interaction goin' on.

As for the purpose of dancing back then, I'm sure it was different strokes for different folks. There had to be people dancing for its own sake to get it to the level it got to. My aunt and uncle and some of their friends (b. ca. 1930) were dancing fanatics well into middle age. Me, I'm happy to dance with people of all levels. But on this, you're right: I don't want any tune on a cello.

 

[Paisley]

What we've lost...

...beautiful buildings.
Then:

Now:

 

[Widebrim]

Oh thank you Glad I brought you joy, Silver Dollar.

Another thing which I think we've lost from the Golden Era is simple education.

By this, I mean that children are being taught to run before they can crawl. They're taught Information Technology, computers, the internet, how to use calculators, how to do document analysis in English...

...But the basics, like reading, writing and arithmatic...are things of the past. Kids can't write properly, and they sure as hell can't spell properly. When I was in school, which still wasn't that long ago (less than 10 years), we learnt reading, writing and arithmatic. And now?

Give a kid a pen and you get block-printing. What happened to learning cursive? And then, they can't spell, because no emphasis is placed on it. I find it so sad. When I chat to people online who are my age (in their teens and twenties), all I get is...:

"Oh I dont type properly because its not important".

Yeah? Good luck finding a job where proper command of written English is important.

There has certainly been a decline in writing skills in the United States, as well. At our school, though, all students from 1st to 5th receive spelling instruction every week. My 3rd graders (when I teach 3rd grade) use fountain pens while learning cursive.

 

[Widebrim]

Cool hats and clothes.

You've got that right!

 

[Mr Vim]

Well, I'm pleased my thread is the spark of such interesting conversation.
While writing the initial statement, I was more in mind of what Faraud said... cool hats and clothes.

But it is important to remember the negative as well as the postive. I hope no one feels that I am glorifying the old days while ignoring all the horrible events of the past.

Having said that, I apologize for not being on topic more as I did not have access to the internet for a few days.

I have spoken with my grandparents since starting this discussion and asking them what they miss they said there was a hope to their generation that seems to have diminished... not died (they emphasized this) just diminished.
And this idea reminded me of when I saw the movie Seabiscuit, as much a histroy lesson as a movie about a horse.

I recall that in the race between Seabiscuit and War Admiral, people in the audience, modern people, clapped when Seabiscuit took the lead again. They cheered when he one. I have never seen an audience react in such a way in any other movie. Yes some have reacted by laughing or clapping or cringing to a scene, but right then something more happened. I think that is what my grandparents were talking about.

Then again, I could be completely wrong.

Having said that, I miss the idea of big band jazz being THE music.

 

[Chet]

Of course, every period has good points and bad points. How will people seventy years from now view this period? Will it be considered a "golden era"? Will people be wearing baseball caps sideways wishing they could have seen Lady GaGa peform "live"? Will they long for the taste of a Hot Pocket or for a sip of Red Bull? Will people debate who was the better actor, Will Ferrell or Adam Sandler? How will they look back on the last accepted predjudice, Christian bashing? Sure the "golden era" had it's faults but it was ripe with many great things. I'll say this, the "greatest generation" did do one very bad thing. They spawned the worst generation, that is, the "baby boomers" (and I'm one lol )

 

[Mr Vim]

Ah, Chet, don't be so hard on yourself.

 

[Tomasso]

I'll say this, the "greatest generation" did do one very bad thing. They spawned the worst generation, that is, the "baby boomers"

Soooo trite....

 

[Chet]

Ah, Chet, don't be so hard on yourself.

Nah. I understand why you started this post. I'm just having a little fun.

 

[V.C. Brunswick]

There has certainly been a decline in writing skills in the United States, as well. At our school, though, all students from 1st to 5th receive spelling instruction every week. My 3rd graders (when I teach 3rd grade) use fountain pens while learning cursive.

A few years ago I read a story in the London Telegraph about an 11-year-old girl who turned in a class assignment written entirely in texting shorthand!. The article went on to explain that unfortunately texting is the only form of writing that many kids are familiar with.

I would have to agree the most with missjoeri's view that there was a much greater sense of permanence in the Golden Era, unlike today where it seems as if the rules are constantly changing -- often in midgame! And half the time you don't even get a chance to learn the old rules.

I don't care much for some of the good things we have today and I don't mind some of the bad things we had back then.
So comparing is easy.
I have no tv, don't need much medical care beyond what they had back then, I don't need most of the stuff we have today and wouldn't mind most of the bad stuff they had back then.

As to the good and bad of any era I have noticed one historic pattern and that is that it seems that social progress often comes at an unforseen and unintended cost to society. The effects of which are often not felt until a generation or two later.

 

[Nick D]

Bakelite, zeppelins, silk stockings, hats, zeppelins, men with proper haircuts, properly speaking radio presenters, zeppelins, nice looking cars, zeppelins, Shellack records, musicians who can actually play instruments and did I mention zeppelins?

There's been a bit of a return of the dirigible, using helium rather than hydrogen (obviously!) Maybe they'll become popular again.

 

[AtomicEraTom]

Alphanumeric Telephone Numbers. Suits, hats, cars with style and miles of Chrome. Being in the majority using pomade or brylcreem.

 

[Mr Vim]

Oh yeah, Alphanumeric phone numbers. Good call. Man that would be great... I wonder if we could still have that today? Probably not... (*sigh*) that's what I'm talking about. It's not only that we want what was back then (TO SOME EXTENT) but we also know we can't have it (well some of it)

Go Fedoras!