All New Things Old

by Phil Goldstein | North Forty News

My musical tastes are stuck in the late ‘60s and early ‘70s. As far as I’m concerned, the state of popular music went all downhill after Led Zeppelin took us up that “Stairway to Heaven” in 1971.

The car I still drive regularly is 35 years old. It’s a money pit but has more panache than most new cars, plus I get a good workout cranking the windows down and up.

My favorite timepiece is my grandfather’s 110-year-old pocket watch, which still works perfectly. I value it more than I would one of those gizmos everyone else wears, which apparently exercises for you in addition to merely keeping time.

If I want to birdwatch, I use my 1943 U.S. Navy binoculars. The war department surprisingly shipped them to my (same) grandfather following World War II after he unabashedly wrote and reminded them that in 1942 he had donated the ones he got during World War I to the war effort.

I often wear a 50-year-old jacket, a gift from a college friend. And it’s a copy of a 100-year-old garment.

My briefcase is a 1964 U.S. Postal Service leather mailbag.

For writing important stuff, I favor a fountain pen, the kind where you fill it from an inkwell, not cartridges. But for simple notes, nothing beats a good old Ticonderoga #2.

My drum kit is a classic, out-of-production model, but if it was good enough for Kevin Malone of Kevin and the Zits (see The Office), it’s good enough for me.

And for my reading, I prefer historical works to what passes for enlightening fare these days. Relatedly, I understand why today’s youth is not fond of studying history since there’s a lot more of it now than when I was in school.

Get the picture? I don’t like new things until they get old.

Phil Goldstein writes Tales from Timnath periodically for North Forty News. Phil is a 12-year Timnath resident who proudly serves the Town of Timnath as chair of the Timnath Planning Commission. Phil is finally using his journalism degree after getting sidetracked 49 years ago. The views expressed herein are Phil’s only. Contact him with comments on the column or suggestions for future columns at [email protected].