tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9156334464585894857.post8994681584033337603..comments2023-10-25T05:30:54.507-04:00Comments on Oh Get A Grip!: The Seductive Charm of NostalgiaAshe Barkerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03390519279886657608noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9156334464585894857.post-81036252644880956492014-07-29T01:55:09.182-04:002014-07-29T01:55:09.182-04:00Sacchi, I hear you about the seductive power of th...Sacchi, I hear you about the seductive power of the era of WW2. My parents met in university just before the U.S. entered the war in 1941, and their wedding photos from 1944 show him in the uniform of a U.S. Navy lieutenant (boyishly handsome & shockingly young-looking - OMG, did they really send such young men to war?). My mother was never in the military, but for her wedding, she wore a blue suit that resembled a uniform, dressed up with a corsage. When I was growing up, my parents used to slow-dance around the living-room to "String of Pearls," a popular song of the 40s. So I've always associated that war with the kind of sexual intensity you describe. Jean Robertahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08805088081675965859noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9156334464585894857.post-75524442295079203712014-07-29T00:10:47.326-04:002014-07-29T00:10:47.326-04:00Spencer, the feminist movement has been through so...Spencer, the feminist movement has been through so many permutations and internal schisms that I'd just as soon not try to work my way through the tangle. I was so busy raising a family and managing a business that I pretty much missed the "second wave" and subsequent developments. It seemed so simple back when Betty Friedan spoke at my college saying things that seemed obvious, and even more significant was the example we had of women who had gone before us forging their way to prominence in science and the arts and all areas of academia. How could we not be feminists? But progress, and there has been progress, can bring complacence, and labels like "feminist" can be co-opted and denigrated. I still consider myself a feminist, but the closest I get to politicizing it is in contributing to progressive women running for Congress. Sacchi Greenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10801164916418570059noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9156334464585894857.post-38039000927018735302014-07-28T15:53:27.617-04:002014-07-28T15:53:27.617-04:00I like your analogy up top—I'm going to roll t...I like your analogy up top—I'm going to roll that one around in my head for a while. <br /><br />Weirdly, I often get nostalgic for high school despite knowing I was frequently miserable then. Your nostalgia for college makes a great deal more rational sense. <br /><br />I also like your point about imaginary nostalgia. There's plenty of seductive power to certain historical narratives, especially when they come without the complexity that must have been present at the actual time. Annabeth Leonghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07455191827664110878noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9156334464585894857.post-70268065293235594572014-07-28T11:42:06.739-04:002014-07-28T11:42:06.739-04:00Have to ditto Lisabet's comment about "No... <br />Have to ditto Lisabet's comment about "Nostalgia is to memory as fantasy is to fact." That line stopped me in its tracks. And the 'rose-colored glasses' bit worked just fine.<br /><br />While reading your excerpt, I was stunned by the number of quotable passages:<br /><br />-The young assume that they alone have explored the wilder shores of sex; or, if not, that the flesh must inevitably forget.-<br /><br />-Because my flesh has never forgotten--will never forget--Cleo Remington.-<br /><br />life pounded through their veins and bulged in their trousers and sometimes my body responded with such force I felt as though my own skirt should have bulged with it.<br /><br />-Humor is a frail enough defense against the chaos of war, but you take what you can get.-<br /><br />AW, hell. The whole thing could be used for promotion blurbs. Great, lyrical stuff, Sacchi!Daddy Xhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12927663248424944119noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9156334464585894857.post-78266898643688413732014-07-28T09:52:07.446-04:002014-07-28T09:52:07.446-04:00"Nostalgia is to memory as fantasy is to fact..."Nostalgia is to memory as fantasy is to fact." What a great summary! Except of course that memory is not at all guaranteed to be accurate. <br /><br />I've read at least one other story by you that took place during WWII. It was incredibly vivid and believable.<br /><br />Sometimes I'm nostalgic for the Victorian period. You can probably tell if you read any of my stories set during that era. Lisabet Saraihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05162514190572269660noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9156334464585894857.post-72247969348429006192014-07-28T04:00:23.569-04:002014-07-28T04:00:23.569-04:00Sacchi:
What a beautiful passage!
I get the part ...Sacchi:<br />What a beautiful passage!<br /><br />I get the part about being nostalgic for times in which you didn't live. They are untainted by reality. <br />I don't see any topic ahead about feminism. I would love to hear your thoughts on the past, present and future. Maybe you should just go off track on a future topic. Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15484640447109164744noreply@blogger.com