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‘New wineskin, Same old wine’

So, I am taking a walk in this invisible space in my mind and in the subconscious land is a train wreck of chaotic realities that I would like to share. For starters, I am now almost convinced that I was born three centuries too late. That is not to say I am questioning the wisdom of He who thought it  wise to have me in this generation. Nevertheless, I don’t find it healthy to just ignore the social evolution that has, and still is, trundling our civilization.

Every day, I continue seeking and amassing knowledge on our history, on what could have been if technology had not showed up. And oftentimes, it is just like a good dream you wish to remember. The good old classical times. When relationships had one ultimate and apparent goal: marriage. Dinners were vibrant. Flowers were romantic and beautiful.  Patience was a virtue and so was purity. And there was this thing called the ‘gentleman caller’. ‘If a young man was interested in a young woman, he would follow the proper protocol of calling upon her, which meant that he would come to the family’s home and (hopefully) be welcomed into their parlor.

If he was invited back for subsequent visits, he would be free to come and call upon the young woman during hours specified by her parents.’ These restrictions loosened overtime, and came this thing called “going steady”. Apparently, couples publicized their decision to date in campus, when the man gave the woman an article of his clothing to wear, such as a jacket, sweater, or ring.”  Arguably the climax and pinnacle of proper dating. Good old times, I said.

 This was when effort was actually a thing. There was no google, so you had to look things up in books. Photos were a big thing. You take them with film, and you had to wait for them to be processed. No filters. If your eyes were closed or your face was rugged, well the moment was gone. No redoing it.  In fact before that, portraits were painted which was the original form of photography. And therefore people learnt to be themselves, who they really are. Appreciating the immaterial things of life and the little moments.

Those are the days when talking to people was by word of mouth and unavoidable. There was no google map or GPS, hence at some point you had to ask for directions. There were no mobile phones. Maybe if you were lucky, your home had a telephone shared with everybody in the house. For others, they will be waiting for the only telephone in the street to ring and hoping it would be ‘him/her’. That there, is effort and true show of interest and intention. Not this thing when you’re hanging out with you classmates and friends in school, you’re busy on your phone chatting with your friends at home and when at home at the dinner table, you’re doing the same with your friends at school; the modern day paradox. It is just unacceptable.

 And the fact that technology has always evolved and every generation has improved upon the technology the previous generation had given it, it is a draining imagination to think of what our kids and grandkids will be going through. At least our fore parents had real people to love and talk to. They breathed in, lived every moment and captured it with their minds and not phones. As of then, they loved people and used things and there is no doubt they lived the complete human life.

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10 Responses
  • Ednah Samba
    July 19, 2019

    Cool writing, outstanding creativity. The flow is interesting. ???????????

  • Effie Atieno
    July 19, 2019

    Woow?,this is awesome.I love your diction?n

  • Chess Estelle
    July 21, 2019

    Dinners were vibrant. Flowers were romantic and beautiful. Patience was a virtue and so was purity.
    I didn’t live in these days but I sincerely miss them. The kind of missing that’s a mixture of yearning for them and remembering them all at a go.
    Let’s just call it nostalgia
    I think confusion and hipocrisy wasn’t as present as it is today.
    Reading this makes me envision a beautiful hill far off, clothed with lillies, roses and all other flowers. I hear voices of people playing, chanting, screaming and laughing.
    I join in the laughter when I realise that their joy is solid and none of them is holding a phone to photograph for likes.

    • Babito Dishon
      July 23, 2019

      Wow! I totally feel your vibration. I hope this Bubble is still out here

      • Mugureh Njorogeh
        April 30, 2020

        This is simply exquisite. Taken my mind down a lane it’s never been to before. I don’t think I’m ever leaving that lane.

  • Sheizeardo
    July 23, 2019

    Awsome,,,awsome, awsome

  • Khimani
    July 27, 2019

    Very very good read ? ? ? so I’m not the only one who feels like they were born in the wrong century ?

  • Shauryne Sim
    July 29, 2019

    I don’t know what to say ….I really love the way you express your thoughts….the grammar itself is amazing, the flow of the piece fantastic…..
    Keep it up

  • Brenda Walela
    April 27, 2020

    Splendid! ??
    No phones to capture moments and take to record beauty, they had to live the
    moment, store by heart.

    This is quite amazing. I love the language. And I certainly agree with you on these thoughts ?
    Great piece!

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