The return of the Drayton Valley Wildcats after a lengthy hiatus has got me thinking about other fixtures of life in the 1990s that I’d like to see make a comeback. Here’s a quick rundown in no particular order.
Landline telephones: Boy, do I miss these. Nowadays when you try to call someone you have no idea what they might be doing. You could wind up talking to someone who’s on the golf course, mowing the grass or (worst case scenario) doing something you’d rather not think about in the bathroom. Back in the 90s you didn’t have to worry about any of that. If they were doing those things they wouldn’t answer your call because they either weren’t home or couldn’t get to the phone. A few months ago I had a not very successful telephone interview with someone I later discovered was multitasking by pushing his grandson on a swing as we talked. It wasn’t a great interview and I’m sure the child would have appreciated grandpa’s undivided attention rather than sharing it with that bald guy from the paper. I’m always appreciative when people take the time to talk to me, but the old way was better.
The Drayton Valley Elks Hall: I loved going to events at the Elks Hall. It was big enough to host a good size crowd, but small enough to still feel quite intimate. Plus it was only a four minute walk from my house; six minutes if I stopped at 7/Eleven for a 99 cent hot dog. No need to wait for a cab if I fancied a couple of drinks. I was the master of my own destiny.
George W. Bush: Poor George. Back then we thought he was pretty much the worst US President imaginable. Boy, did we have a lot to learn.
Classified ads: The classifieds used to be a staple of any newspaper. They were the place to announce your engagement, sell your old bicycle or ask if anyone had seen your lost dog. They were low cost to the public but a solid revenue generator for the paper due to the sheer volume of advertisements. That’s almost all gone online now, mostly to large US based social media companies. That’s a real shame, because the move has pushed some community papers out of business while scams, which papers used to be pretty good at weeding out, continue to proliferate. Still, the online stuff is free to advertise as long as you don’t mind surrendering your personal data to a faceless corporation, so nobody seems to care much.
Record stores: Browsing the albums in a record store was one of life’s great pleasures. There was always new stuff arriving and you never quite knew what you might find. Looking for music online is simply not the same. Now I come to think of it, there was even a record store in Drayton Valley in the old Derrick Mall, which I also miss.
Smoking in restaurants: Just kidding. That was pretty gross actually.
