Monday, August 27, 2007

An eerie vision of the future

I was visiting one of the women from our church in the nursing home yesterday. Each room has a calendar of special events going on during the month. On Sunday afternoons, they have "Old Time Radio" in the lobby/common room. I assume that means that they play recordings of old radio shows for the residents. Pretty cool! I almost stayed around just to see what they were going to feature. (I have a fondness for old radio programs.)

Then, the black curtains of horror closed in around me! I began to realize that--in some distant future--folks my age in nursing facilities might be subjected to reruns of "American Idol" or "Wife Swap" on the pretext of reliving the "good old days"!

3 comments:

hmsnow.novelist said...

Just picture it-- oldies stations playing marathons of Brittany Spears, Beyonce, and 50 Cent to misty-eyed seniors who now like their music loud just because they can't hear it anymore. I get all choked up just thinking about it...

Allen's Brain said...

I, too, gag at the thought of it.
All those senior citizens with piercings and tattoos bejeweling their wrinkles!

Of course, I laugh at stations who play 80s music (1980s) as "oldies." It's not really nostalgia, it's more like nastalgia: recalling the pop culture of your childhood with horror and/or derision.
It may not be a word, but it should be.

The Ironic Catholic said...

Geez, Allen. Thanks for ruining my evening. A truly scary thought.