Retro-extremists? What are we called?

[PrettySquareGal]

This, hands down, is the single best comment ever posted in the history of the Lounge.

Coming from YOU, that's a real honor! Thanks.

 

[sheeplady]

To the fellow who said he calls himself "old man," I call myself an "old lady" despite the pejorative and unsexy connotations for a woman in 2012.

Growing up, old man/ old woman referred to your married partner, if you'd been married for a period of time and gotten comfortable as partners. My father and mother have referred to each other this way for YEARS, even when they looked in their 20s. Is this not common? To be honest, the only other time I've heard "old man" in that connotation is in the Joni Mitchell song.

 

[PrettySquareGal]

Growing up, old man/ old woman referred to your married partner, if you'd been married for a period of time and gotten comfortable as partners. My father and mother have referred to each other this way for YEARS, even when they looked in their 20s. Is this not common? To be honest, the only other time I've heard "old man" in that connotation is in the Joni Mitchell song.

Yes, I'm familiar with that usage, but when I use it on myself I mean a literal old lady as far as eating early bird specials, collecting doilies, watching Lawrence Welk while eating dinner on TV trays, fussing over details in my home, going to bed early, being old school, etc.

 

[LizzieMaine]

When I was growing up we had old ladies, such as PSG describes, and old bags. I'm more of an old bag myself -- someone who stays up half the night yelling at the Red Sox, calls the town office to complain about that halfwit snowplow driver who keeps filling in the driveway, and threatens grievous bodily on any little kids who shoot BB guns at her birdfeeder.

 

[PrettySquareGal]

When I was growing up we had old ladies, such as PSG describes, and old bags. I'm more of an old bag myself -- someone who stays up half the night yelling at the Red Sox, calls the town office to complain about that halfwit snowplow driver who keeps filling in the driveway, and threatens grievous bodily on any little kids who shoot BB guns at her birdfeeder.

What I like about both old ladies/bags is that we do what we want!

(I made my line into my sig.)

 

[Juliet]

Sad though it may sound, if you wait five years or so, 2012 won't seem quite so bad!

Worst thing is, I think you are right.

 

[AtomicEraTom]

This made me feel like an old man, as I'm sitting with my pipe and slippers listening to Lawrence Welk on Vinyl lol

Yes, I'm familiar with that usage, but when I use it on myself I mean a literal old lady as far as eating early bird specials, collecting doilies, watching Lawrence Welk while eating dinner on TV trays, fussing over details in my home, going to bed early, being old school, etc.

 

[PrettySquareGal]

This made me feel like an old man, as I'm sitting with my pipe and slippers listening to Lawrence Welk on Vinyl lol

Nice.

 

[1961MJS]

This made me feel like an old man, as I'm sitting with my pipe and slippers listening to Lawrence Welk on Vinyl lol

I don't know what to think here, I feel old (thirty years older than you), when I smoke cheap cigars and listen to Poison on CD in the car. No slippers and I overdosed on Lawrence growing up. He died twenty years ago today by the way, heard it on the radio on the way in. I did have a large cat, who was kind of mean to the other cats, and dogs too if they stole his raw liver.

Later

 

[Stanley Doble]

"At a writing forum, I was trying to explain about this kooky subculture of ours but was hard-pressed for one good word to describe it."

As it is a writing forum perhaps they would understand if you explained that we find the present tense and the past perfect?

 

[PrettySquareGal]

we find the present tense and the past perfect?

Nice!

 

[1961MJS]

"At a writing forum, I was trying to explain about this kooky subculture of ours but was hard-pressed for one good word to describe it."

As it is a writing forum perhaps they would understand if you explained that we find the present tense and the past perfect?

Hi Stanley

I think part of your problem is that it's not "kooky subculture of ours", it's actually "kooky subcultures of ours. We have the hat boys who like fedoras, we have the retro work-wear group, the vintage lifestyle group, the safari group, the pin-ups, and the vintage women's clothing group(s?) at least. Forgive me if I left somebody out. PERSONALLY, I ended up here looking up Safari or bush jacket, now I own like 10 hats.

One word: [huh]

Later

 

[LizzieMaine]

And that goes all the way back to the points raised in the very beginning of the thread -- there's no point in trying to come up with an umbrella term covering *all* "retro people," because it's not in any way a unified movement with common values and common goals. All any of us can do is try to define our own particular niches, and that was the only purpose of this particular thread.

 

[jamespowers]

And that goes all the way back to the points raised in the very beginning of the thread -- there's no point in trying to come up with an umbrella term covering *all* "retro people," because it's not in any way a unified movement with common values and common goals. All any of us can do is try to define our own particular niches, and that was the only purpose of this particular thread.

That is a good point. We are a niche group in many ways. I like most pre 1960s vintage---some more than others but most anyway. My niche is more vintage lifestyle and accoutrements.

 

[LizzieMaine]

Exactly. There are the people who are Just Here For The Hats, or the leather jackets, or whatever, and there are those of us who are here for the music and the movies, some are here for the cars and furniture, and there are those of us who try to have as little to do with modern culture as possible. We all have some intersection of interests, but we aren't all the same group.

Think of it this way -- all Methodists are Protestants, but not all Protestants are Methodists. All atavists are "retro people," but not all "retro people" are atavists.

 

[minkowski1552]

I like the people hear. I do not fit too well in your "subcultures" so I lurk mostly. But the people here remind me of when I was young, and stayed with my grandparents in the summer. Now that was retro and I loved. So I will lurk, listen to good stories and remember those good times. Thankyou.

 

[Stanley Doble]

Hi Stanley

I think part of your problem is that it's not "kooky subculture of ours", it's actually "kooky subcultures of ours. We have the hat boys who like fedoras, we have the retro work-wear group, the vintage lifestyle group, the safari group, the pin-ups, and the vintage women's clothing group(s?) at least. Forgive me if I left somebody out. PERSONALLY, I ended up here looking up Safari or bush jacket, now I own like 10 hats.

One word: [huh]

Later

First, that was not my statement. I was quoting the post that started this thread off. This was because several pages had gone by and I wanted to be clear what I was responding to.

Second, it was supposed to be funny. Present tense and past perfect tense are grammar, it was a play on words.

 

[St.Ignatz]

I've heard geek, nerd, dork and some that were down right rude. It's nice to see that there are actually considered ways to address our interests.
Tom D.

 

[jamespowers]

I've heard geek, nerd, dork and some that were down right rude. It's nice to see that there are actually considerate ways to address our interests.
Tom D.

Well, I could list about the three hundred useful comebacks I have used to those terms too.

 

[William Stratford]

"What do you call the way that you are dressed?!"
"An adult"