RETRO DOUG

WHAT'S OLD IS COOL AGAIN!
I HAD AN INTERESTING THING HAPPEN last Saturday. I don’t quite know how this ranks on life’s big board of significant events – probably pretty low – but still I got a kick out of it.

In my nearly 70 years of living, I’ve only had two people comment on my watch. Yes, I said WATCH, that thing you wear on your wrist that tells time!

The first time someone commented was probably 30 years ago. It was a teenage girl who used to come see us at Crescent Beach Resort on Lake Okoboji.

As I was leaving the stage for a break, she intercepted me and suggested that I readjust my el-cheapo Casio watch so it wasn’t slid so high up my arm. I’m sure that young lady thought it looked dorky! (To this day I still wear that $10 Casio watch, and it’s always situated halfway up my right forearm.)

So fast-forward to 2018. Last Saturday on my way out to Algona to play the VFW, I stopped at Taco Tico in Mason City (great Mexican food incidentally) for a quick bite. As I was giving my order, the young lady behind the counter said, “I love your watch.”

I was surprised by the comment and reflexively looked down at my arm. There it was, my Casio in its usual spot – halfway up my forearm.

She continued, “I love those vintage watches. I have a couple myself.”

Still a bit off-guard, I replied, “Yeah, they run forever and keep good time.”

As I sat eating my taco burger, I thought: Vintage?! How ironic! Thirty years ago sporting a cheap Casio wristwatch high on one’s forearm would elicit a droll eye rolls from passersby; but now in 2018, it’s campy and vintage . . . and cool!

I’m such a fashion visionary!                         

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