Nostalgia: "It's not pining for the past, it's hoping for a future that goes 'back to the future’ “

One-fifth of all voters are aged over 65. I heard this on the radio the other day and if you include all those in their fifties, you have a sizable market for nostalgia.

The digital domain of everything is clearly not to the delight of everyone, and while we can't rewind the clocks, we can appreciate what is worth remembering.

Last week's blog on this subject provoked a couple of comments and  they moved me enough to tears and laughter to want to share with you.

Childhood naturally provokes powerful and, hopefully for most, positive and shared memories of what it was like then.

"We were all the same, we played in the streets every day until whistled home by dad for tea, where we all sat down together to replay the day," wrote Greg from Tuncurry NSW (a lovely retirement spot on the NSW mid-north coast).

Sadly perhaps he thinks the joys and freedoms of that era for the kids at least will never return. 

"I think kids today are missing out on a lot, it was a simple life back then, and overweight kids were a rarity, we were just too active. I know we must move on, but we have certainly left some great stuff behind that we'll never replace."

John from Queensland apologised for his typos, which I have corrected, but doesn't seem to say sorry for the more risqué past even if some of the comedy could not be shown on TV these days.

"They were seemingly safer, more wholesome, politically incorrect and humorously inoffensively offensive, e.g. Benny Hill, Dick Emery, Dave Allen, Love the Neighbour, Batman - the camp version, and even our humble Skippy," he says.

As kids, life was simpler and, by the sounds of it, more fun, although comparisons are tricky.

"We had a few basic rules to live by - be at school on time, be home on time (except if you had footy training or the like), do your homework (or at least make it look like you did your homework), but most of all... if the streets lights were on, then you were home!"

John pines for simple pleasures again like winding down a car window, using a key to unlock a car, or getting up from the lounge to change the TV channel! 

I, for one, could not agree with John more when he says of his nostalgia:

"It's not pining for the past, it's hoping for a future that goes 'back to the future’ where life’s pace slows a little, where we take a little time to smell the roses, watch the sunset, laugh with friends, live more harmoniously and less stressed, worry less about the almighty dollar and pay our creator (what or whomever you perceive such deity to be) fair dues for being part of this rollercoaster ride called life."

What do you think? Is there a market for nostalgia in your life?

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