Remember when...
By Mike Silva
For those of you who bask in nostalgia and refuse to acknowledge the difference in size of the rearview mirror and your windshield (guilty), this one's for you.
A somehow harmonious mix of nice and melancholy thoughts intertwine here to make you feel happy and crappy at the same time.
Another classic column, brought to you. I "remember when" I wrote this, and even that brings nostalgia. Enjoy.
I've always been described by those close to me as someone who puts in a lot of attention to detail.
Friday night, I realized why people have donned this title upon me.
Your Viewpoints Editor, Brandon Scott, along with your Sports Reporter, Lotis Butchko, and myself were at Shenanigan's for Fight Night. We were trying something new: live broadcasting of our usually pre-recorded and edited podcast, "The Houstonian Sports Show," via uStream.
Our commentary endeavors were interesting, and different, to say the least, but something small stood out to me.
I noticed Lotis, an ex-boxer and current MMA fanatic, staring at each fight with some sort of glimmer in his eyes. He was the most boxing-savvy of the three of us, and he gave easily the best commentary, but I did notice something about his demeanor.
He almost looked like he wanted to lace up the ol' boots and jump in the ring, just like old times. Like he could easily put down the microphone, step away from our makeshift radio booth, and throw on some gloves before going over the ropes.
He was nostalgic, plain and simple.
I could relate, though. There are tons of things I miss from the past.
Remember when we were younger, and it was a must to get home from class and watch Nickelodeon? Are You Afraid of the Dark, Ren and Stimpy, Rocko's Modern Life? All classics, to this day.
Or how about when we thought Sega Dreamcast revolutionized video gaming, and no other system could ever top it? That was forgotten once Playstation 2 came out.
What about all the fads that came and gone? Pokemon, Yo-Yo's, Pogs, Scooters, Power Rangers. I never got into that Yu-Gi-Oh business.
Remember when we all got a little bit older, and we would get excited about school dances? Which, by the way, we would go to and hear exclusively Backstreet Boys, N'Sync, and Britney Spears. I don't miss that part so much.
How about when Myspace came around, and it meant the end of the world when you weren't in someone's "Top 8?" Messages were just ok for me, but the best site was seeing those blue words that read "New Comments."
Remember when you would send/receive written notes from the opposite sex at school? Those made gloomy days suddenly much brighter.
But then things changed. We all got a little bit older, and the little things didn't matter as much.
Now, going to the movies is a last resort on a boring weekend, where in the past, going to the movie theatre was the weekend.
I only like to drive when I absolutely must, when in the past I would hop in the car and get away in the blink of an eye.
These days, I cherish seeing my family, whereas when I was a kid, I couldn't be more annoyed with my family, and it was all about hanging with my friends.
I guess the message I'm selling is to put attention to detail, and treasure the little things. We all look forward to the future or back at the past, without much regard to the present. An older friend of mine used to tell me there was a reason the windshield is so much bigger than the rearview.
True, I would say. But hey, we all get nostalgic, plain and simple.