Friday, August 3, 2007

Nostalgia Triggers

I don’t know about y’all but almost anything can trigger a nostalgia trip for me. It can be a smell, a song, seeing and holding something from my past, etc. It doesn’t matter. And there are two seasons of the year that trigger the greatest nostalgia: summer and Christmas. I’m probably not alone with that.

Lately, since my 5-year-old is growing up, my trips have been back to my own childhood. This summer has two very different trips. One, of course, is the 30th anniversary of Star Wars. That shot me back to the summer of 1977 (and 1978, a year early). The other is the realization that 20 years ago, I was preparing to go to college at The University of Texas at Austin. Hook’em.

There are times where I aim to trigger the nostalgia myself. In trying to figure out what to eat for lunch, I settled on McDonald’s and its wonderful sandwich, the Big Mac. Why is this an important milestone for me? Well, as I was a growing boy, Mickey D’s was the closest fast food restaurant to our house so we’d go there a lot. It was also on the way to our church. Back then, ordering a Big Mac and actually eating it was a goal I had. I can remember the first time I did it. My dad and I were going to an astronomy club meeting at the local high school. I was not yet a high schooler. I ordered a Big Mac, complete with its environmentally UN-friendly Styrofoam container, and I ate the whole thing. I even went home and told my mom. It was that big a deal.

Nowadays, of course, with the expanding waistline problem and the lack of physical activity to rival my childhood, I eat Big Mac rarely. But when I do go to Mickey D’s, I almost always order a Big Mac. And today’s Big Mac is especially tasty. And I'm ten-years-old again. And it's summer. And I'm smiling.

What are y’all’s favorite nostalgia triggers?

10 comments:

Unknown said...

It's funny that this is the last post that you have up considering it was a nostalgia trigger that brought me here.

I was perusing the directory of a alumni org to which we both belong and came across your name. That brought back a lot of memories.

"Apathy, Lethargy, Sarcasm"

Matt Jackson

Scott D. Parker said...

Matt! Yeah, it is funny. Just yesterday (8/22), I found my way to LHAB and then to LHB. I got to wondering: I wonder if Hell Week has started? Clicked on LHB and found out it started that very day...20 years since I first set foot on the 40 Acres. Then, I watched a little of the videos they now have. Things have certainly changed. I'm trying to convince my wife to come to alumni weekend this year and bring my nearly six-year-old son. I'll let you know. If they don't come, I'm feeling the need to return. I'll let you and others know.

Unknown said...

Still trying to see if coming this year is a possibility. I will probably come on Friday, but don't think that I'll be marching. The payoff for getting up early and sweating is getting to see people I haven't seen in a long time and getting to march through the tunnel. Considering the tunnel is not an option this year, and I can see the folks I want to see without actually marching, I think I'll come down for the weekend, but show up at The Posse or Scholz's on Friday and then get someone to clue me in on any plans for post-game activities.

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