A pre-boomer’s look back to the future

Posted on December 23rd, 2010 by admin

Some say those 65+ long for the good old days rather than focusing on the here-and-now. Yes, New Seniors enjoy nostalgic moments, but we live in the present. It’s interesting, however, to think back to our youth and remember what was our science fiction has become reality in the 21^st century.

: Image by Idjpg via Flickr

Everyone in my house read the Sunday papers, we got two of them – that’s all that remained in Philadelphia by the time WWII ended. Each had a color comics section, which was the outside wraparound. It was easy to distinguish which paper was which based on the comics appearing above the fold. The Inquirer featured Dick Tracy and Blondie was the lead comic strip for the Bulletin. I couldn’t wait to get both sections and lie on the living room floor to read them before getting ready for church.

There were comics of all sorts. Some, like Li’l Abner and Pogo, were political in nature. I didn’t comprehend that until I got a little older. Others were basically a slice of life presented in a humorous way such as Blondie, Bringing Up Father (Maggie and Jiggs) and the wacky Smokey Stover. Action and adventure strips ranged from Prince Valiant to Smilin’ Jack to Ozark Ike to Joe Palooka. Many of these appeared in black and white form in the daily papers, so you had to read them every day to keep up with the stories.

Buck Rogers In The 25^th Century and Flash Gordon, which were similar but different enough for one to run in each of the two papers, are two that sparked my imagination. These futuristic stories not only explored outer space, they suggested some of the technology that is commonplace today. Color televisions that allowed two way conversations in real time. Wireless phones that fit on ones ear. Stun guns. And many other devices. Even Dick Tracy provided a look at the future with the two-way radio wristwatch, which has become an antique by current standards.

New Seniors saw scores of technical changes occur over the years. The advent of commercial TV to color to cable to satellite. Jet plane travel, including the supersonic Concorde. Computers that took up an entire floor of a building to the laptop PC. Cell phones that morphed into computers and are now known as Smart Phones. And, the entire space program, which was the father of many technological advances, went from a dream to reality in less than ten years.

As with technology over the years, the comics have changed as well. For one thing, there are fewer papers. Circulation is dropping. Newspaper readers are older; New Seniors are twice as likely to pick up the morning paper as someone under 30. The comic section has shrunk. Content is different, because there are more sources for information and entertainment today than in the past.

It’s no wonder that previews of things to come are no longer found in the comics, but those of us 65+ can remember when these strips were more than humorous. This gives a whole new meaning to the expression, “See you in the funny papers.”