Post #135462 by MaiTaiMafia-Old on Thu, Jan 13, 2005 10:43 PM

In my humble opinion, tiki is never going to be defined by pop culture the way it was in the post-WWII era. The world has moved on and those of us who enjoy it now do it for the same reasons it was originally created: it was escapism. Those brave souls returning from their wartime postings in the pacific wanted to bring some of it back with them. They escaped the horrors of that war in real-world tiki bars wherever they were stationed. They found release there. And because they were able to unwind and enjoy some happiness in those exotic settings, they re-created it as best they could when they came back home. I think we're all doing the same thing. This is a hobby for most of us- it allows us to be silly; to fantasize about a simpler time- some of us are old enough to remember and some of us are not but we all share in that same silly hobby. At least that's how it is for me. It puts me in a great mood! The world kind of melts away and I am able to relax and enjoy life better. And to echo some of what's been said here- just like any hobby, be it cars, dogs, whatever- this common interest brings us together to share. And not just tiki-related stuff either; tiki brings us together and once together we get the chance to learn about each other-not just what tiki mugs we each have, etc. If all we ever did was talk about tiki, we'd be bored out of our minds. Like others have stated here- I don't care what anyone else thinks about my hobbies, tiki or whatever- I do them for me. I count myself lucky to have met some pretty cool people here at TC that share this great escapist pasttime!!!