Travelling backwards

For hours I’ve been racking my brain to come up with any annual fair, festival, or conference that would cause me heartbreak if it would be cancelled forever, but I cannot come up with any. Not that I have never been to one of those because I certainly did. But the ones that I’ve been to, I still deeply regret attending, so much so that a mere suggestion of going to such events can send my brain into instant panic. I’m sure those experiences incurred some considerable damage in my fragile disposition. Of course I am only joking.

The truth is I hate crowds, and I hate noises. But what I hate the most is: having to pay to be in the middle of it.

On the other hand, there were some establishments I wish still exist.  Like that wonderful tearoom in town which served delightful scones and special teas I could go there every day if I can. There was also a trendy brasserie next to the plant center I often visited in the past that offered divine coffee with all those delicious trimmings. They are closed now, gone; never to be back again. The only reason I could think of why it had happened is: people no matter what they say are not yet ready for changes. They rather embraced inferior whatever in exchange for familiarity. The quote: “People fear what they don’t understand and hate what they can’t conquer.” Comes to mind but I’m not sure if it’s appropriate in this case. All I know is those places I mentioned… they had one thing in common; they were ahead of their time. And being fashion- forward in a small town is a risky thing to do.

Shampoos, deodorants, soaps… there were some that I would like to see again but unfortunately they are now phased-out. Jurassic style mobile phones, I love them too. They are user-friendly and fit in the pockets. But high-tech is the new norm these days, the more complex the gadgets the better and they are not even pocket-friendly. 

Oh, and River Phoenix , I love for him to be alive today. Boy, that guy had real talent. Not the I-look-good- who-cares-about-talent-as-long-as-I-can-read-and memorized-the-script sort of talents (tempted, but I will not mention names in order not to offend some sensitive fans out there) we see more and more these days.  River Phoenix had depth and can convey range of emotions without being in your face. Think about My own private Idaho, Dog fight and Running on empty. But I guess he was not happy with himself (and probably with people around him) because he’s dead now. Just another Hollywood accident. Which reminds me of a very talented young woman who died very recently (no, not Peaches G.) Amy Winehouse. Back to black is a masterpiece if you ask me. But who am I to judge? Like I said, I know nothing about music and whatever I’m saying is subject to a debate but please, not now and not here. Maybe some other time.

Another thing I wish didn’t go out of fashion is vinyl. I remember seeing a compact disc for the first time it was so small and shiny it scared the hell out of me. So much so that I didn’t touch it for two years. After that, I had no choice anymore.

The first single I bought from my baby-sitting money was ‘Through the years’ by Kenny Rogers. The only song in my repertoire that is not connected to any memories aside from that was my first of the only two vinyl I personally owned. I don’t have them anymore now.

But the thing I would mostly want to be back in fashion is the jukebox. Lord that would be a blast. There used to be one in every restaurant in my town. Me and my contemporaries spent every single penny of our pocket money playing that thing. It was so wonderful to watch the mechanical arm of the jukebox unfold and reach out, hovering above the collection, going slowly back and forth. I imagined its slight hesitation as if thinking, then the arm will suddenly drop down and finally select one single to play, and then it will raise itself up again holding the chosen item and will drop it carefully on the turn table. After a while, you will hear your favourite song playing in the air.

Those were the days…