Today's Stream of Consciousness Sunday prompt is What are the stories of your life that you love to tell people when you have a chance? There's just a small problem with responding to that. Each of the favorite stories of my life standing on its own merit- out of context of the rest of my experiences- would probably just make me sound like a total weirdo. Or a drug addict. Or someone who believes in ghosts.
So, in the interest of keeping my Internet rep intact- I'm going in a different direction. This prompt made me think of my favorite kind of storytelling- the kind that rests on a shared nostalgia. This shared nostalgia usually involves complaining about how much things have changed.
They're rebuilding Coney Island. They've already dismantled most of the original boardwalk. Now there's talk of condominiums and premium shopping. Same with Fulton Mall. Everyone wants luxury, it seems. Or everyone wants the same, safe surroundings. The same vanilla box commercial spaces. The same mass produced skirt.
I remember when Starbucks first got really popular. People always used to say, You know you'll get the same cup of coffee every time you go there. Apparently, every Starbucks, every where in the world gives you the same, perfect blend. Apparently, that's a selling point.
Well that sucks, if you ask me. I don't want the same cup of coffee. I don't want to stroll by a seemingly endless stream of the same corporate clones- every time I go anywhere. What a bummer.
The favorite stories of my life happened in places that weren't like this.
Luckily, I still have some shots of the Coney Island that was.
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love the pictures as I too am drawn to nostalgia.
ReplyDeleteThe way things were is always a great prompt for shared story telling and shared complaining... even when they are not even true. Glad you still have pictures of the old Coney Island.
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