I’m not going to write about how things were “when I was a kid.” Don’t you hate it when adults would tell you how good you had it because of how much harder things were when they were young? Instead, I want you to think about how different your childhood would have been with the technology that we have now.
Probably one of the most obvious changes would have been the telephone. “You would have had a phone in your pocket, and it could take pictures.” To a kid today, that statement wouldn’t have an impact. But think about all the times in your past when you could have taken a picture if only you would have had a cell phone in your pocket.
That means that on August 21, 1966 in St. Louis, I would have been able to take pictures of myself and 3 other kids climbing over the fence of the new Busch Stadium. I’d have pictures of the crying, screaming girls in the pouring rain watching their favorite band playing on the field. I would have pictures of the Beatles—on my phone. I would have videos of all the bands that played that day, the Cyrkle playing “Like a Red Rubber Ball,” and the Ronettes playing “Be My Baby.” I would have been able to go home and put everything on my computer and then post it on YouTube.
I would have pictures of the time five of us climbed over the fence of a private club next to the cemetery to swim in their pool. Then, when the lights were suddenly turned on, quickly climbing back over, jumping into the car and barreling through the cemetery’s iron gates when the guys from the club tried to block us in.
I would have pictures of when I hitch-hiked from St. Louis to San Francisco with a friend that I haven’t been able to find for years. Pictures of the restaurant in Texas that refused to serve us because of our long hair, ‘cause we “looked like a couple a girls!” I would be able to see the nice girls in Frisco that asked us if we were “looking for a good time.”
You know what? After writing this post I realize that I do have pictures, in my head. And maybe they’re better that way, because they somehow seem more precious, because no one else will ever see them.
If you could go back to any event in your past and take a picture, what would you take a picture of?
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