What's So Good About New?

By Brenda Black

What's so great about new? Some of my favorite things are quite old. The Victrola®cabinet that belonged to my grandpa, along with my grandmother's sewing box, filled with every color of thread, reside in special places in my home and heart. I have a blue sugar bowl that sat on another grandma's kitchen table when I was very young and I love the old school desk where both of my children sat and learned to read and write. I have hand-me-down clothes and furniture that suit me just fine. I think if I took inventory, not much has changed in the past 20 years. The things I treasure most endure fads and outlast changing tastes.

Possibly, the next generation is getting the idea. This Christmas, all of the grandkids gave my folks one of the neatest things I've ever seen. It's a radio/CD/Cassette/MP3 player housed in what looks like an old fashion radio. Better yet, the top opens like a an old phonograph and actually plays records! Of course, they still have several “giant CD's”, as my son defined them, stacked in the cabinet of an old stereo. They've kept that retro unit for three decades because they can't find a newer model that plays their eight tracks!

We all took a trip down memory lane when Johnny Cash belted out “I Walk the Line” from the slightly warped grooves around a cumbersome .33. Then I was able to prove to the youngin's that I did indeed own a “Chipmunks” Christmas album long before they knew they existed! A few crackles authenticated the vinyl's technological era, but otherwise the circular songs rang true with respectable quality. Those old tunes sounded pretty good.

Of course, the new year is here, but it doesn't necessarily mean all things old must go. In our disposable society, too quickly we discard and replace just for the sake of something different. Hey, if it works – use it. I make coffee in a 40 year old coffee pot. Tastes fine and reminds me of my grandma every time I use it. Regularly, a room full of teenagers wrestle and crash on our living room couches that my husband and I bought as newlyweds. I must admit the cushions are getting thinner, but the frames are solid like the oak that adorns them. Dozens of friends and family have lingered longer with a comfortable place to kick back because of them.

The urge to purge the old and usher in the new has its limitations. Along with the antiquated doo-dads around my house, I plan to keep wonderful old friends I've had since I was two. I believe I'll hold to the old-fashion standards from a more innocent time in history. I hope to preserve good old movies and lots of pictures that mark our history. My goal every new year is to protect the lessons I've learned and apply them rather than ignore them. I hope to hold on to the moments that measure and mark time instead of rushing them into oblivion.

Remember – contemporary is only temporary. The things that matter last forever. In 2008, I encourage you to re-evaluate the worth of objects, people and time to insure you don't throw away the best things in life.