Yacht Clubs and The Dip

I was struck by "change" at a party I attended recently. The setting was a Yacht Club, the hosts a couple in their mid- twenties celebrating their one-year wedding anniversary. Apart from the parents and assorted relatives, the other guests, also, were young. The crowd seemed to be performing a pantomime, for the shrieking noises of the band and the tumult of voices trying to rise above the racket of the music was undecipherable.

I thought back to my senior college prom in1937, dancing to the lilt of a Strauss waltz and the witty melodies of Cole Porter. A dance often ended with "the dip", where the man bends backward and draws his date into a graceful embrace. A "dip" today means a potato chip scooping up a glob of guacamole. But last Saturday the youngsters were having a marvelous time. In fact, they were more alive and animated than the girls were at my prom. I’m sure I could have found a 1930's version of the Yacht Club scene at many clubs the night of my prom, but that was not the norm as it is today. Few among us in the 1930's ever saw a Yacht Club, let alone a party in one, except in a Hollywood movie.

More later, Joe

P.S. If my yacht club reference has you wondering where I'm at, it's Salem, Massachusetts.

The Tyranny of Petty Things

In my day one wage earner could support a family; civility was the expectation; most people had a healthy touch of narcissism that made them want to look attractive. The bobby-soxer is now quaint but the girls in their plaid skirts, cardigan sweaters and saddle shoes were cute. Owning a securely financed home was the rule. T-shirts and sweatshirts were attire for the backyard. Schools taught well, educating the boys and girls who became the Greatest Generation. We never fully appreciate the good times, because for most of us the tyranny of petty things -- grocery shopping, going to the hardware store for a faucet washer, doing the laundry, mowing the lawn, taking the car in for the annual inspection, going to the bakery and the bank -- distract us. That’s why we have retrospect.

More Later,

Joe

Let the Good Times Roll

So, lets all clap for upward change in the current global mess. Don't worry. I was born more than a decade prior to the Great Depression, and spent my childhood in the nation's recovery from it. Times were different then, as different as they are now from what had been the status quo. Nevertheless, I lived the major part of my life through times that were good. Good times will return. They always do.

More Later,

Joe