You Know You're Getting Older When Nostalgia Rears Its Ugly Head

Everyone hates being told "Back in MY day we did it like this." Or "When I was your age, the music had some depth to it, it had real meaning behind it..not the boomp boomp crap you listen to today!". We all dread the day when we start saying annoying things like these to those younger than us. I had no idea that I would start thinking those thoughts at the young age of 26!

I have personally always enjoyed the classic TV shows. Classic meaning before my time. I know it makes my parents feel old when they are called classic. "I Love Lucy" is my favorite show. I loved the "Marx Bros" more than the "Three Stooges". I love some of the "oldies" music. However, I am noticing that some of the shows that I myself used to watch are ending up on Nick At Night. These "Classic" TV shows include "Roseanne", "The Cosby Show" and "Full House". WHEN did shows from the 80s and 90s become "Classics"? I must be getting old.

I even find myself extremely nostalgic and remembering a time when "I was your age.." that kids still had recess, and the computers we had were little square MacIntosh's that were black and white. During Halloween, we were handed out reflective stickers and most of the kids walked from door to door WITHOUT their parents driving them. A lot of kids walked in groups. I'm not sure of the safety factor on that one, but we had a great time and nothing ever happened. There was no school shootings and we didn't have to worry about losing PE OR Music. We could have both. We didn't have to choose which one benefited us better because of budget cuts. It was a great time in my life.

Although we had Nintendo and Sega Genesis and some other consoles back then, I still remember going outside often. We spent a lot of time swimming and riding bikes during the summer. It wasn't until the Internet really took off in '96-97 that I remember becoming a zombie of sorts, but that is a different story.

I remember when Cartoon Saturday meant CARTOON SATURDAY. The cartoons of the 80's and 90's were truly better than what is shown on TV today. It is true, that each generation claims that. However, it seems as though Cartoon Saturday has truly really virtually disappeared except for a few Nick Jr and Disney shows that are scattered about. We had shows like "Heathcliff", "The Snorks", "The Smurfs", "The Paw Paws", "He-man" and "She-Ra", "Kissyfur", "Gummi Bears", "Transformers" and so many others.

This was a time when Nickelodeon and the Disney Channel showed real, quality shows. It seems that the 80's and 90's were really when these two channels were in their prime. The Disney Channel showed The original AND the New "Mickey Mouse Club", "Kids Inc", "Adventures in Wonderland", "Under The Umbrella Tree", "Mickey Mouser-size", "DTV", (a collection of Disney Character clips set to popular music),"Danger Bay", "The Gummi Bears", classic Disney Cartoons like Mickey, Donald, and Goofy,(you know, the ones that you rarely see at all anymore except on Toon Disney on occasion. Which I think is VERY sad.)and Classic Disney movies such as "The Watcher In The Woods" and "Escape To Witch Mountain". Now the Disney Channel is full of Repeats of "That's So Raven", "Lizzie Maguire" and "The Suite Life Of Zach And Cody". "Hannah Montana" is kind of cute, but that is besides the point. Nickelodeon used to show classic TV shows like "You Can't Do That On Television", "Are You Afraid Of The Dark", "Round House", "Fifteen", "Welcome Freshmen", "Dennis The Menace", "Lassie", "Hey Dude", "Salute Your Shorts", "Count Duckula", "Eureka's Castle", "Doug", "Ren and Stimpy", "Clarissa Explains It All", and many other great shows. Now it only shows "Sponge-bob Square-pants" and "The Fairly Odd Parents" literally all day. They even closed down Nickelodeon Studios in Orlando, Florida a few years ago. Truly sad for me. On the same topic, remember when MTV and VH1 showed music videos?

Having a toddler, I watch a lot of Noggin and PBS Sprout. My son seems to enjoy and relate to "Dora The Explorer" and "Caillou". I have tried putting in DVDs of cartoons that I used to watch and he just isn't interested. They don't keep his attention for more than five minutes. So in all reality, as much as I would love to say that the TV shows and cartoons and music of my generation were better than the ones today, I can't. They were better for ME, of course, because it was my time, my childhood. I understand where my parents and elders were coming from now. As much as some of these weird looking cartoons seem pointless, the creators must know what they are doing, as it seems to keep our children's minds captivated. Maybe we need to stop complaining about the loud music and silly cartoons and shows and just let them have their fun. It is THEIR time now. Maybe we just don't want to let our time go. It is scary getting older. I just hope I don't start telling people how much my back aches and how they "can't possibly know what tired feels" any time soon.