Once Upon a Time

I had this friend in my adolescence; dead now, overdosed in a Norfolk, Ne hotel room when he was 25.   Anyhow he had this way of looking at photos from the mid-20th century and remarking how everything was so much brighter back then, happier back then, the skies were not as bright now (the 1990's) because we were in darker times, unhappier times.  He had convinced himself that we were approaching the Christianish end-times.  He had a an overriding fascination with Satanism the occult and their secret massive powers over society. 

I knew it was bullshit myself, though I still humored him and enjoyed his company.  I knew it was a simple matter of cameras back then exaggerating brightness or something like that.  I actually listened to the words of "Kodachrome" after all.  Already I knew it was Paul Simon's best solo jam though I was not yet familiar with his whole catalogue. 

My friend lived with his grandmother at any rate.  He could have asked her at any old time if the skies were really brighter in the 60's.  But he didn't.  He knew it was an illusion deep down, or perhaps not all that deep.  He liked the idea of the world going to shit so rapidly as to effect the atmosphere within a human lifetime. As still-children then it was very much our world more than anyone else's and yet still he liked the idea of his world becoming so demonically awful.  Whatever he got out of this I couldn't tell you.  It does seem obvious, in retrospect, that he sincerely did find existence in this world to be disappointing; his own end-times would indeed be coming soon after all.  His grandmother is in her hundreds and still lives.  I wouldn't guess that she likes it very much.  I doubt that anyone much enjoys being over 100 very much at all.  She simply isn't ready to end the world yet.