LOOK BACK AND WONDER...

There's a paradoxical element to collecting old comics,

or, indeed, just about anything that reminds us of our past.  On

the one hand, re-acquiring something that we had as children or

teenagers brings that period in our lives alive again, and makes it

seem not so long ago as is actually the case;  on the other hand,

on rare moments, the realisation that we first owned something

over, say, 40 years ago, brings home to us just how much

water has passed under the bridge since then.

It's strange, therefore, to think that the very things that

bring us joy, or comfort, are the same things that can some-

times cause painful awareness of how fast our lives are racing
towards their inevitable conclusion.  At times I'll look at a comic

that I first bought in, say, 1968, and, in my mind, I'm back in the

house I lived in at the time, and long-deceased friends and family

are still alive, and favourite-but-long-gone shops are still open.

When one is 'in' that moment, it's exhilarating, but once the
moment passes (as it must), it can leave us all-too aware

that a huge gulf separates us from earlier times.

Most of the time I derive great satisfaction from owning

various items from my youth, whether they be replacements

or the originals, but, occasionally, I wonder if it might've been

better to leave the past in the past and instead focus on the here

and now.  When we spend our lives living in the past, it can dis-

tract us from enjoying the present as it unfolds, and 'though the

future will yet creep up on us all like a thief in the night, we can

keep half-an-eye out for its sly approach, and are, hopefully,

less likely to be as surprised - at least to the same ex-

tent - by its eventual and irrevocable arrival.

So what do you think, Criv-ites?  Do you believe that

life is for living, rather than just reliving, and that we should
anticipate the moments-to-come instead of reminiscing over

times that are gone?  Or can there be room in life for both?

      Let's hear what you think on the matter.      

Posted in: Cartoons