A Sense of History

At the moment, I am being a good Samaritan and temporarily housing a young actor who's working on a project of ours.   It is an interesting experience and my cap tips to anybody who has parented a 22-year-old.  For the first time ever in my life, there is both a snowboard and an XBox in my home.

Now the "kid" is mature in a lot of ways given he was a regular on a soap opera when he was a teenager.   But he got caught in a little bit of a housing crunch after graduating from UCLA and I couldn't let somebody I know live underneath the freeway.   

As a result, my guest room now looks a little like a frat house and, as I am discovered is a common trait with the younger set, nothing really has a sense of urgency until it is absolutely, absolutely necessary.

But the point of today's entry is not any of the above.   It's more about the discovery I am having about the sense of history the youth have today.   Essentially, it is zero.

To wit, a while back, I happened to be in the supermarket with him as he "liquided" up for the Friday night beer pong tourney.   Since it was right after the passing of Mary Tyler Moore, her picture was adorning the People cover on the magazine rack.   I dreaded the answer to my question but I had to ask it anyway.

Do you know who she is?

"Nope."

Checking into his temporary digs, I mentioned that my condo owner is the daughter-in-law of Shirley Jones.

"Who?"

I mentioned the guy who, for a long while, lived up on the fourth floor of this condo.   Don Knotts.

"Who?"

He used to be on "The Andy Griffith Show.

"What's that?"

My head hung lower but I had to keep up this streak.   I recited to him my top 25 favorite films of all time.  Classics from "The Godfather" to "Rear Window" to "Some Like It Hot."   He had seen one of them..."Jaws."

I moved to TV shows.   My revered and adored sitcoms.

The Dick Van Dyke Show.   Nope.

Mary Tyler Moore, Bob Newhart, Golden Girls...no, no, no.

All in the Family got a "what's that."

Now here is a young guy headed into what will probably be a strong career as an actor.  With absolutely zero perspective of the history of the industry he will be going into.

Is anybody teaching the past to the present?  I know my friends are, because some of their kids are really classic film buffs.   But is anybody doing in a university setting?   Anybody?

Okay, my favorite TV show of all time is I Love Lucy.   They had long since stopped producing new episodes before I saw my first one.

I didn't have to be around in 1939 to appreciate "Gone with the Wind.'

My parents weren't even born for the early years of Charlie Chaplin.   I still know he was a genius.

I never saw Babe Ruth or Jackie Robinson play baseball, but I know they were sheer greatness on the diamond.

Is this a good development with future generations?   Who's going to teach how to appreciate history of the arts and sports when we are gone?

The answer is one word.

Sad.

Dinner last night:   Chinese chopped salad.