Nostalgia come on in.

[Harter66]

A long time friend posed a question this morning, "why as we grow older do we spend so much time looking back?"

I had an immediate response but I was slow and others tainted my "to be sure the Reaper isn't too close" . There was great discussion about hiding in the past psychological conditions etc. It really took away from the pleasure of looking back.

So here's my chance !

What's your favorite "nostalgic/romanticized" memory?

I think that it has to be a Baja fishing trip. It was the last time I really spent time with my Grandfather. My boys were I think 5 and 10 and were fishing really hard with their grand and great grandfathers and dad 5 miles out into the Pacific when the drift hit the school of bass. 4 and 5 lbs on every hit . My grandfather hooked into about a 10# fish and was having trouble keeping the rod up off the gunnels and the youngest started pushing up above the cork and cheering him on . it only lasted a few seconds because his own rod was hit and headed for the ocean . So there we were 5 guys 5 rods all with fish on chasing a loose and the 5yo going "gramps you gotta keep the tip up you said so". Later on we drank a beer the boys "snuck" a few sips while the fish was frying. Glory days indeed.

Funny how every time I forget to include the sweat fest a the border coming home with those boys that looked like a couple of peroxide blond Mexican kids ,getting dumped off the bow into the bay because we got out of the channel and grounded the boat or the wrecked truck .

Your turn.

[quilbilly]

I was in my early teens bass fishing with my father on a lake in Southern California near Ojai on a very foggy morning. I was rowing and watching him fish with a cane pole. He was the master with that rig.

[Char-Gar]

As we get older, we spend more time looking back because there is more time to look back on.

[country gent]

Ever notice that its not the big trips things we really remeber but the everyday things little things that really were simple that we remeber the most. Looking back keeps us from making the same mistakes again and again.

[Col4570]

Some say that, nostalgia is a thing of the past.I often go back in time to my younger days when I was in the Merchant Marine.Good times Bad times all blend into powerful memories of the vast distances and the sights imprinted in my dreams.

[jcwit]

A Saturday evening at the local hardware store when I was in my early teens and listening to the old folks weave their stories from when they were young. Never knew if we would close the store at the 8 PM time or 11 PM after all the stories got told.

Forty/Fifty years ago in deer camp on a ranch in Sundance, WY, man the fun to be had.

Forty years ago Taking my Corvette to Vette shows.

These are just a few of my fond memories.

[Clay M]

I too love memories of my grandfather. He took up time with me and taught me a love for family and the land.I remember fishing with my grandfather and the wisdom of his words still ring true today..

As far as nostalgia , I like mostly Retro style stuff...Guns,guitars, amplifiers and cars and trucks..
Things from the 50's have a great appeal to me..

Spending time with family is perhaps something that has been lost in modern times.
What I have to show for in my life is not money, but family. That is how I chose to invest my time.

[square butte]

Friday night date night with the wife - Out to the green bins near Creston, MT with our weekly trash - to see who's thowin what away - and a good visit with neighbors - then up to Woody's for a couple of scoops of mint chocolate chip ice cream. We both have always been cheap dates.

[Clay M]

The other fond memories I have is my father teaching me to shoot and handload from the time I was six or seven years old..He took my shooting and hunting, always teaching safety as a top priority..Back then we handloaded more for economy than accuracy.If we wanted to shoot we had to reload ammunition..
I remember I gave him a hunting knife I won at the fair, and he brought his first deer by my second grade class to show me..
I remember learning to shoot using an old Win Model 62 pump .22LR .My dad always bought shorts because they were cheaper and we didn't have much money..
I still have that rifle today and there is not much finish left on it,but it is still my favorite squirrel rifle..
I remember sitting at the bench in 65 and helping my dad load for the .22 K hornet.. It was always a treat to get to shoot that rifle..
He taught me to shoot handguns using an old Colt Trooper with .38 Spl wadcutters,and later got me a Ruger three screw single six..
My father was the best.. A very honest hard working man that expected the same from me..
I truly feel like I grew up in the best time of America.. I am honored and bless to have been part of that experience..

[cga]

About 1967..............
I remember casting and loading my first bullets, for my .38 police positive when I was around 14. That thing spit out more lead from around the cylinder, than out of the barrel. If you can remember that old brown, fiber type, wheel bearing grease that came in dark green metal cans, that was my first bullet lube. Wiped on with my finger. Yep, it smoked some. LOL!

Many things I can't repeat. But those were the good ole' days.

[Brett Ross]

7 years old and begging my dad to let me shoot his 20G single shot. He finally relented, proceeded to set me up than stood back to watch it knock me on my butt (He knew it would) I jumped up and begged to do it again. He laughed about that until the day he died. I still have that old single and it still kicks like a mule.

[bikerbeans]

Thanksgiving dinner at my great-aunt Eula's house when I was young. Eula was the best cook I have ever known and one of the best people I had the pleasure to meet.

BB

[MaryB]

5:30 AM on the lake in the morning fog. Loons calling. My entire family was up that weekend and we had 5 boats in the water in a slant formation trying to find the walleyes I was in the lead boat setting the speed and looking back it was neat seeing my entire family doing something we all enjoyed. Wisps of fog swirling around as as boats went in and out of view, the holler fish on from my mom in the front of my boat...

[beroen]

I am pretty young early prime and I find myself thinking about things I have done in the past how much fun it was. then I find myself thinking Damn you better make sure you enjoy every minute of what your doing right now because 10 years from now your going to be wishing you could do it again.


I took a break from construction when I was 22 to go be a wildland firefighter for a bit I found myself in nacogdoches Texas picking up pieces of the space shuttle for 2 months. The cook crew was a catering company out of Tennessee there was this gorgeous blonde with the most beautiful southern twang/drawl (I hail from ca Oregon border) she told me she had never been to a rodeo before (I for the life of me couldn't figure how a gal that sounded like that had never been to one) anyway I took her to her first rodeo and we spent a lot of time together those 2 months.

This may not be my favorite memory but it is up there

[blackthorn]

4 or 5 years ago at Christmas I got a blank-page book from my Granddaughter, along with a request to write down some of the stories she has heard over the years. So---I set out to comply. It soon became apparent there were more stories than space in that book so I got on the computer, opened a word document and started out. By the following Christmas I had accumulated a pretty good sized document that set out my life history, what I know of my ancestors (adopted) and a lot of the memories from the past. I had the document printed and spiral bound and had copies made for each of my boys along with a few spares. I was both surprised and touched when my three step kids also wanted copies for themselves. Since doing that project, several times I have thought of things that should have gone into that book, and I wish that I had kept some kind of journal over the years. So---to those of you who are young enough to benefit from this, I recommend you keep some sort of journal where you write down the things that stand out (good and bad) in your life. Maybe some day your Granddaughter/Grandson will ask this of you. Think of what we lose when a loved one passes.

[Harter66]

Blackthorne,
I have all of my great Aunts diaries from about 1960 until just a few days before she passed . It was interesting to note that I was 6 weeks old before she knew I was a great nephew. The day I was born she was in Wolfsburg Germany picking colors for her brand new 1966 Carmen Gia. I started a journal once but like you I ran out of pages with know history and dog stories. I have had a pretty full life at just 48,but there is so much left to live.....

[Clay M]

I like looking back..I guess it gives my life stability,and love for those who worked so hard to make my life great..My father loved to travel and he took me to 47 states..not including RI Hawaii,and Alaska.
I learned a deep love for the North West..Montana,Idaho, and Wyoming.Yellowstone NP is probably my favorite place on earth..

I also like looking forward. The past is gone and is a treasure in our memories..
I look forward to time with my son and other family members..I believe the best years of America are behind us,but that can't stop me from enjoying what time I have left..
I have lived a blessed life,and for that I am truly thankful..I have had the chance out own and shoot many guns..Some I wish I had kept.Like a Colt Bisley in .38/40 We all make mistakes and I let many slip through my fingers..
I guess I am fortunate my dad was a shooter and an expert marksman..

[Clay M]

I like looking back..I guess it gives my life stability,and love for those who worked so hard to make my life great..My father loved to travel and he took me to 47 states..not including RI Hawaii,and Alaska.
I learned a deep love for the North West..Montana,Idaho, and Wyoming.Yellowstone NP is probably my favorite place on earth..

I also like looking forward. The past is gone and is a treasure in our memories..
I look forward to time with my son and other family members..I believe the best years of America are behind us,but that can't stop me from enjoying what time I have left..
I have lived a blessed life,and for that I am truly thankful..I have had the chance to own and shoot many guns..Some I wish I had kept.Like a Colt Bisley in .38/40 We all make mistakes and I let many slip through my fingers..
I guess I am fortunate my dad was a shooter and an expert marksman..

[Love Life]

Sitting on a rock watching the sun go down and feeling the temperature drop. Cold mountain air from 14, 242 ft elevation. Learning I can't fly. My daughter busting my nose with her forehead. Many more.

[Newtire]

As we get older, we spend more time looking back because there is more time to look back on.

Well put Char-Gar.