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is it just me, or does the, "above 65 crowd", know how to party?
i don't know, but every where i go, i see this "crowd" living it up. walking down the sidewalks, gallery crawls, free concerts in old town, music theater, estate sales, and working out at the downtown Y, actually that's one of the reasons i frequent the downtown Y. i find that even with the shape i'm in, i manage to be in the top 50%, fitness wise. actually i just squeak into the top half, because i know there are a lot of old men that could wipe the floor with me at racquetball.
now it could be very possible that i'm just incredibly old-fashioned and i enjoy the same activities as these hipsters, but i'd like to think that it's something else. a love of activity. doing some math, i figure this generation was just prior to the "baby boomers." a generation not raised on televisions and transistor radios. they were a little too old to get into all the individualists ideas, experimentation, and social change of the sixties and seventies. this generation new how to seek and find entertainment through social interaction and other events, for themselves, instead of having it fed to them, in the many modes of media that developed after WWII.
i remember my grandpa telling me about how the towns in western kansas would organize and put on dances during the summer months. events that would draw people from different areas and create interaction. at one such dance he saw a young women that he wanted to dance with, they fell in love, and as they say the rest is history.
i know that i'm being extremely hypocritical here, for the fact that i'm sitting here blogging about this, but the social interaction that takes place on-line today, is sickening. now there are advantages about being so cyberly connected to everyone, but, i'd like to think that some of the best activities out there making our cities lively are because of the values and traditions of an older generations, that i hope we don't loose as the years progress.....
or maybe i should just stop wearing brute.
2 comments:
First off, don't ever stop wearing brute. Second, I think folks are still looking for direct social interaction with other people. I just don't think that planners and architects are facilitating it spatially. One example that sticks out in my mind is the Sheridan's Frozen Custard on 75th street (OP), a few blocks from our house. Sheridan's provides a great outdoor space for people to gather. The place is ALWAYS packed. Is it because their frozen custard is that good? I doubt it. It's because they've created a place where people can come hang out and run into people from the neighborhood. It's right on the street too, not tucked back in a parking lot somewhere. You can drive by and see who is there. Judging by the success of Sheridan's I'd say that the need for social interaction still and will always exist. However, the ability for developers, planners, and architects to facilitate this need may be fading fast.
the good ole days aren't the same as they used to be. it was that post-war, space-age optimism. you can't buy that now.
the old ladies on the bus are my favorite, always talking about a trip or social club or restaurant. this is extra entertaining when they have a chicago accent.
and i somewhat disagree with mr. kingsley. i think there are some planners and architects facilitating this social interaction. but designers with a suburban, automobile dominated vocabulary have little basis or incentive to do so. architecture that informs social interaction is still alive and well in the truly urban environment.
and for a truly unbeatable frozen custard experience, might i suggest g's frozen custard in topeka [1301 sw 6th]. try the brown bread.
this entry was especially charming. thank you eric.
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