Post #2185 by Swanky on Tue, Jun 11, 2002 11:05 AM

This is very true of many things we may now take for granted. I try not to.

I have been saying to Kiliki for a while that we are living in the dying age of the 50's. Here in Knoxville, there used to be an AM/FM "oldies" station that played Sinatra, Dino, Perez, Alpert, etc. Then the FM was taken over by a pop station. Then we got a second AM station playing this stuff. And then the oldest AM station went to talk. Now we have one AM station playing what we think of as classic oldies. Denny, Baxter. They play some Manilow and Barbra too, but not so much.

Well, I am so glad to hear it because I know it's days are numbered. Not too many people under 50 listen to this station and the number of people over 50 gets smaller every day. What's "oldies" will very soon not be from the 50's, but the late 60's and 70's. The sounds of the 40s and 50s will disappear from current culture along with the people who remember WWII.

The googie will go away as decisions are made to either restore or tear down. Tearing down being the cheaper, easier option and land being valuable. That, and finding people who think it's nice to eat in an old diner rather than thinking it's just old and worn out.

The 50s culture we all love here is dissappearing in our generation. In a real short time, the people who lived when Googie and Polyensian pop were active will all be dead and so will their memories and knowledge, and so will all the places that may now cater to them.

You think it's hard to find this stuff now, in 10 years, it will be impossible.

So I listen to the oldies staion every day and try to seek out their advertisers and support them while I still can.

And I go to events and buy things and try to put as much money as I can into the event so that it can keep happening. Nobody is really making much money off this stuff. they do it because they like it and if they stop being supported, they won't bother any more.

So be awake and considerate. Don't take these Drive-Ins and diners and polynesain events for granted. Actively do what you can to make sure they will continue to be there year after year or they won't be. You can rest assured that if you take it for granted, it will go away, and afterwards you will regret it. We must be proactive. There is still this culture out there, but not for long without people like us who love things of another time.