Back to the Booth, and Aging Out

34 and overcast. A possibility of showers today.

Yesterday we finally moved this huge cupboard to our booth. 

This was found in the old general store I wrote about recently; considering it had been in a very poor storage environment, it was in remarkably good condition, just needing a lot of cleaning and some Howard's Restor-A-Finish magic. Heavy? Yes indeed! But somehow us two old people got it loaded and into the mall.

We also brought in this cute small enamel top table, and a KitchenAid mixer. 

The mixer is not an antique or even vintage, but I bought it in an auction for a granddaughter who had already had one given to her! Since I still have my mother's,  I don't need this one.

Speaking of old people, do you sometimes feel like you are "aging out"? Right now I am listening to the news on the radio, and the reporters sound so...young, like my grandchildren's ages. Which of course, they could be since my grandchildren are all in their 20's and 30's except for one who is 16. 

It is not just the reporters' voices, of course. It is the topics, too. Hip-hop music? The problems of trans people, single people, athletes...all worthy subjects and I listen and learn, but often I am left feeling out of sync with the rest of the world.

Then there is the way people dress, wearing pajamas to town, clothing bought new with so many holes it looks doubtful it will survive the day, hair in every color of the rainbow, tattoos everywhere. The hair thing is something I too might have tried years ago had it been available, but the rest just leaves me feeling like an alien life force.

I know I am country, and old-fashioned. The shows that discuss Hollywood, Broadway, stars and rock musicians leave me cold. Some days I yearn for a radio show that just talks about things I am interested in. There was such a show in the 70s, out of Athens, Ohio, that was a call-in talk show about gardening, canning, frugal living, planting by the signs and so on. I loved it. 

And I just realized I dated myself again: radio shows. Do younger generations even know there is such a thing as radio?

I remember my parents feeling confused and even angry in the 60s and 70s as the world changed in what seemed like minutes from the staid Eisenhower era to hippies, protests, and flower power. So the way I am feeling today is nothing new. The world will teeter on its way whether I agree with it or not. At least I have my small haven of home, where nothing changes much but the calendar. And that, after all, is one thing we all have in common.

Copyright Susanna Holstein. All rights reserved. No Republication or Redistribution Allowed without attribution to Susanna Holstein.