Post #784320 by Prikli Pear on Sat, Feb 24, 2018 9:54 PM

I didn't really mean to say I thought this was a case of "good old days" syndrome. But I do think it was a different environment then. The rediscovery of tiki was new, and while passionate, it was still small enough so that everyone knew everyone else. Or at least new someone who knew whoever was doing whatever with new mugs or art or something. It seems like there's more of a diaspora now, where a lot is still happening, but in more scattered pockets where the communication with other, like-minded fans of tiki isn't what it once was. Where new tiki bars open, but they're unexpected, arriving unheralded and backed by someone who may be passionate about tiki but not of this community, either by choice or ignorance. That personable, intimate element may be the biggest loss, even though friendliness and welcoming attitude remains.

Maybe I do feel like I've missed out on those days of close connections, but that may well be more of a factor of physical location, rather than temporal. California, as always, remains the epicenter of tiki, and it's not realistic for me to be a Wednesday night regular at the Tiki Ti, or Mai Kai, or share memories of the Kahiki. That's be Johnny-Come-Lately syndrome, I guess. :)