I think some of this is the trouble with aging, but I am wistful and sentimental for hanging out.
I miss picking up the landline, calling a buddy and asking if I can come over. Without the internet, with no real video game console, or anything. Just show up, and talk to a person. I do not really remember much of the specifics of college anymore, but I know we walked all around Milwaukee and stopped in and just hung out with friends. Sometimes we just fell asleep on the couch, and woke up the next day and went about our business.
I wonder if this happens anymore. I sure hope it does.
Here is one of my favorite memories. We would go out on a friday night. Invariably one of a few things, like rock show, theatre (I lived with theatre majors), or seeing Jake play….then we had a couple of stops to make, and we ended up at Ma Fischers or George Webb. Then we either went out separate ways, or we went to someones house to hang out.
Now, I went to college at a time when there were not any video game systems. There was, of course, a moment between Atari and Intellivision, and Nintendo. I am not sure what happened then, but I know I have no member of video games from high school to post college, there were probably games, but just not for me.
But, we would go to peoples houses. Sit on couches. Talk about the world or whatever. At some points, Marquette students would gather and lament the workload of finals.
Then after college there were years where I did not have a cellphone, and people would just show up.
“Hey man, you want to hang out?” and you would either let them in, or not.
We would listen to music, watch movies, whatever. We were together. In the same space, with no screens to look at, and we would talk to one another.
In college, I learned what it was to be a conversationalist. You see, we had Dede in our house from time to time. And Dede was a conversationalist. She could, and did talk to anyone. And it was fascinating to watch how free it made her, and how it allowed her to connect everyone to everyone else. We all got bonded through Dede.
I wonder if we are still doing it, showing up at peoples house and talking, and sleeping over. I hope we are. I am sure that 50 somethings might not be doing it, but maybe they are.
I hope we are in the same physical space with other people, speaking to them.
This is still my life. Of course, my friends and I still make zines and mixtapes, too, so it’s not surprising that I guess we’re socially anachronistic, as well. Come down to Chicago and hang out with us sometime.