I used to be a big fan of nostalgia. Over the years, however, my opinion has shifted and I wrote in Cypress Walls that "I doubted that such longing for the past is healthy." I was reminded of this as I read Truck: A Love Story on a business trip to Toronto this week. The book's author, Michael Perry, loves nostalgia and it's a theme that prevails throughout his memoir as he writes about his relationships, his hobbies and his quirks as a single man in his late 30's, wondering if he'll ever find a lifelong partner.
It's not that I don't savor good memories and appreciate what I've learned from the bad ones. Plus, it's impossible not to look back at times, but at this point in my life, I don't want to get bogged down watching "I Love the 80s" reruns on VH-1. There's too much on the horizon...like tomorrow evening's NFC Championship game between the New Orleans Saints and the Minnesota Vikings.
Perhaps being a lifelong Saints fan subliminally factored into me rethinking this notion. As anyone who shares my affection for the team understands, there really isn't much over the last 43 years that we would want to cherish. Sure, there have been a few good seasons, but generally, the "Aints" have notoriously been the most snake-bitten franchise in the NFL. This, of course, culminated four and half years ago when Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans and the Superdome. After being farmed out to Baton Rouge and San Antonio for the 2005 season, I thought the Saints would move to a bigger city far from the Gulf of Mexico.
Thankfully, that didn't happen. With a new coach and a new quarterback the team almost made it to the Super Bowl in 2006. Tomorrow, they will have another shot though this time they will play before 70,000 people screaming "Who Dat?! Who Dat say Gonna Beat dem Saints? Who Dat?!" all night long.
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