What Era? Here is mine

buflosab

Thought I would throw this out their.What Era would you like to or born into other than the era you were born or live in now? It can encompass the U.S.A. Or any place on earth.I would like to have been born in the 1930s,that way I would be in my 20s bye the 1950s.However with 3 caveats,no Great Depression,W.W.Two,and the Korean War looming over over my head.I would probably be a participant in the Beat Generation.Hanging out with Jack Kerouac,Neal Cassady,and Allen Ginsberg.Hanging out in coffee houses,engaging in political discussion,listening to Folk  music and Jazz.While under the radar,the 1950s was a time of sameness and repression,sounds like an exciting time to be engaged.Their it is my fantasy,What's yours?

Woodsman

Living in the NYC area with a driver's license in the late 50's enabled me to go into Greenwich Village to places like The Fat Black Pussycat and the Purple Dragon to hear some of my friends spout egregious poetry while drinking really bad espresso. My attire was a pair of Jeans and a Black Sweatshirt. Dates were the Village($3 includes$1 for George Washington Bridge)and a Moonlight Cruise on the Hudson via the Staten Island Ferry(20 cents round trip for two) Grand Total for night $3.20 plus fuel @ 19 cents a gallon. Not bad for a kid who came from very little. The Beat Generation suited me right down to the ground.

buflosab

Woodsman,  it sounds like you lived my fantasy liife , sounds pretty exciting.Thanks for the response and the information. Unbelievable you still remember the price of all those things you were able to do.

thebadgerpiper

I'm happy with the era I was born in. As an 80's baby, I grew up around the growth of the internet and video games. I also spent a lot of time outside, so I wasn't addicted to electronic entertainment.

If I had to pick a different era, I think I'd also prefer to be born in the 1930's so I could experience the 50's as a young adult. I've always been a fan of the 1950's and their look. And since pipes were much more accepted then, I wouldn't be regulated to smoking my pipe outdoors all the time.

judandhispipe

Without the Great Depression and World War II, there would probably not have been a Beat Generation.

ghostsofpompeii

I would have enjoyed living in the Victorian Era London - but not as a destitute member of society. If there was such a thing as middle class back then that would be fine. But it seems the films I watch depict either the upper class or the unfortunate dregs of society and not much in between. And I fear I'd find myself cast among the struggling masses eating rotten potatoes that had recently fallen from a cart. This fantasy must include a financially secure position in society where I could enjoy the better things in life, a nice gentleman's quarters with a sitting room parlor and personable landlady (like Sherlock Holmes), and the fashionable clothes of the era. It seemed like an interesting time to live, provided your station in life was better than most. 

In reality I'm pretty happy with the time I was born (the 1950s') but wish many of the family values and simpler lifestyles we had back then were still around. I'd be more than willing to forgo the computer age for the technology of the 50s' & 60s'. The older I get the more a return to Mayberry seems like a pleasant place to be instead of where I'm currently at.   

motie2

@ghostsofpompeii -- I originally had you pegged as Steampunk. I guess I was only slightly off.

buflosab

ghostsofpompeii,You sound like a sensible man.

PhilosoPiper

I believe I would have to say the 1920s. By that I mean that I would like to have been born 1900 and have got to be a young man during the 20s. There was so much happening, and so much changing in that era as far as industry, literature, art, etc. It would have been incredible to witness. I am a romantic, despite the ignoble nature of the director, I found myself resonating deeply with Owen Wilson's character portrayed in the movie Midnight in Paris. I don't have the romantic ideals for Paris per se, however, London, and New York City in the 20s are a siren call.

motie2

I lived it the way it came: Mid-1940's until today. Now, there were chunks along the way I would have preferred to have not lived through {Syntax / grammar atrocity, -10 pts.}, but I liked the times just fine. 

Charles

I would choose the Victorian Era through the Jazz Age.  I love the architecture of the Victorian Era as well as the etiquette and styles of that period.  I would also fit in with the Jazz Age as I am one of the few people who still dress in three piece suits complete with fedora on a daily basis not to mention that my house was built in 1924 and is nearly in it's original form.  The great depression and prohibition would be welcomed in my world as I would be one of the guys running a speakeasy.  In today's time, a lot of what I do borders along those periods so it would be easy for me to slide back in time.

buflosab

That sounds exciting Charles,the women were also coming out of their shell so to speak.Thank you for.contributing.I didn't really think I would get much of a reaction when I first proposed this question,boy was I wrong again.

ghostsofpompeii

@buflosab Don't let my comments fool you ... I'm far from a sensible man. Just ask anyone who knows me.

buflosab

Well let me put it this way,my impression is your a decent human being. I think that's true.

jim102864

Hmm.  Well, I'm presently glued to the Netflix series "Turn:  Washington's Spies" which is about the development of a spy network working for George Washington and the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War.  I've often fantasized about smoking a clay pipe before a roaring fire, drinking grog in a pewter mug, wearing a funky tricorn hat and bs-ing with the boys for hours on end in the local tavern.  I was born in the same town as Benedict Arnold.  Washington supposedly slept there too in several still-standing homes.  My elementary school was named after a town resident who signed the Declaration of Independence, and the Mohegan indians and their history are also everywhere. Several other well-known types from the era lived in that area (Nathan Hale for one).  I love history and would have loved to have met some of the VIP's of the day.  Though I still live in Connecticut, I no longer live in Norwich but I think it's the history that was all around me when I was growing up that influences my thinking about living in another era and the Revolutionary War era in  particular..

buflosab

Great post jim02864,sounds like you have history in your blood.Must be great to live in an area that has so much history.Thanks for participating.

Watchmaker61

For me I would have liked lto have been born in the late 1880's like all my Grandparents, they lived through so much.

xDutchx

My choice would have to be being born around the turn of the 20th century, about the time Theodore Roosevelt was President. Then go on to make my mark running moonshine in the Appalalachian Mountains at night, finally finding fame and fortune on the NASCAR tracks.

PappyJoe

The romantic side of me says "during the age of sailing ships." The brain side of me says, "What? Are you nuts? Life was too hard back then."
Honestly, I was born in 1953, survived the 60s, missed going to Vietnam when the Coast Guard decided to stop sending people straight from bootcamp two weeks before graduation, and survived 21 years 9 months of active duty. 

I am actually happy with the time period I have lived in.

KA9FFJ

I would like to have lived in the 50s. Although I was born in 48, I wish I could have experienced the 50s as an adult. Think about it: You could smoke your pipe anytime, anywhere and no one would have given it a second thought. The economy was booming and life, in general, was good...

Now, unless you're lucky enough to have a man cave (which I don't) you're hard pressed to find suitable locations to light up...

Corey562

Well I guess the 50 would be nice I sit and listen to my pops talk about it and yea I can see myself in the 50's

motie2

<<and life, in general, was good...>> For some folks......

pwkarch

I suppose if I had to choose my favorite ERAS (yes plural) were the late 50's / early 60's, and then the late 60's thru the 70's. I had a great childhood, son of lower middle class parents, grew up in a 'neighborhood" with lots of friends and playmates. Went to High School (Regional) one town over, and developed good friendships there as well. I played every sport I could spell (such as hialieah, see I can't spell it) and to this day I LOVE the sport of Baseball having played and coached for many years. The late 60's saw me back from years of an adventure called The US Navy, were I made rank and really grew up and I am able to look back on it with fond memories and pride. When I got home I purchased a real sportscar and a Motorcycle and started my real adult life. Crazy clothes, crazy music, crazy hours and tons of time trying to finally 'find" myself. As it turns out a small very pretty girl and I somehow found each other which changed my life forever.

The 70's saw me fall in love with my wonderful wife (43 years next week) with whom we had 2 wonderful children, have driven us crazy in their youth, and have blessed us with 6 wonderful Grand Kids.

Bottom line is I would not change ANY of that for all the money in the world. God has truly blessed me going on 7 decades now, and everyday I pray that he extends my lease on life here.