Today’s Nostalgia

First off I would like to say hello to the RetroJunk.com community. I’ve been lurking in the background for a few months reading some great articles, and feeling that ache in my chest that comes with any true nostalgic moment; whether it has been a memory brought back by the mention in an article of a show I had totally forgotten existed, watching the intro to a favorite childhood cartoon for the first time in a decade or two, or seeing the screen shots of the ghosts of video games past. I’m grateful for this site, and all the wistful treasures of memories it contains for me.

I have wanted to write an article for RetroJunk.com for quite some time, but could not decide on a subject. Then something hit me the other day when I was watching my 6 year old son completely engrossed in his Saturday morning cartoons. He is living his future nostalgic moments, and I have a chance to live them with him.

Nostalgia is a word that originally meant a sickness for a home believed to be impossible to return to. In modern vernacular it refers to a sentimental yearning for the happiness of a former place or time. We are drawn to places like RetroJunk seeking the feeling of a much simpler and carefree time before we became responsible adults worrying about bills or work responsibilities, and each new year gave us a little more cynicism. In our memories we remember how much better our T.V. shows were when we were young, or how much more fun the old games were compared to today’s. That sentiment is reflected in almost every article on RetroJunk regarding Saturday mornings, and our favorite childhood pastimes. While for us the old shows and games are better and more entertaining, the majority of our children generally thinks they are boring and outdated when they get a chance to watch or play the blasts from our pasts. We may not see anything special about today’s entertainment, but our kids are enjoying it none the less.

Therefore, I have made it a point to sit down with my kids on Saturday morning and enjoy the feeling of familiarity this weekly tradition brings back to me. Do I really like the new shows? Eh, a few are tolerable, but most of them could disappear with out my giving them a second thought. The ones I like the most are the new ones that are not trying to remake the classics, such as, "Avatar the Last Airbender", or "Chaotic"



Then there are the ones that just piss me off, like "Loonatics"!

But whether I like them or not is of no importance. What is important is that I relish every moment of watching my children enjoying their childhood. It is my own personal living window into the past; watching my younglings sit around in their bed clothes, eating cereal, and tuning out the real world while hours of animators hard work plays across the boob-tube in 30 minute segments.

My kids will grow up one day into adults with all of the stresses and responsibilities that are required of a productive member of society, and these shows and games that they are growing up with will be the comfort of childhood they seek out during their nostalgic moments. The theme song from a favorite video game they played on the arcane game systems of their youth, will dust off their memories in the exact same way that our childhood gems do for us. They will write up articles for their favorite retro site featuring memories from the 2000’s, 2010’s, and 2020’s with the same disdain for whatever current entertainment trend is making them feel their age, as we do for our current pop culture. I’ll be laughing at them as they poke fun at my grandchildren’s cartoons telling them how much better their shows were back in the day. The beautiful thing is, I will have those memories to share with my kids because I made it a point to pay attention to those moments in their lives every chance I got.

Now, I know that this article is written for parents, or any one who cares for small children, and I guess the whole point of it was to enjoy them while they are living the part of their lives that we come to this site to remember and share with others who have the same need to recapture the feelings of a time without responsibility.

I promise my next article will be in the form of a trip down memory lane (or a really detailed bash on the Loonatics…bleh!) for all of the Retrojunkies looking for more traditional articles.

Thank you for taking the time to read my first article.


Peace and God bless,

Paul