Old Things Are Best

I'm a traditionalist. I don't like change. So I'm going to be honest when I say that this post, and my opinions on this topic, are really pretty biased. I don't want to see print newspapers disappear. Just like I don't want to see every bookstore shut down, movie theatres go out of business, and restaurant have to install a wifi router to keep business up and running. Despite the fact the Professor Chyi mentions that most people find her theory "hard to swallow," I agree with her, and I hope she is right. Here's a little story, albeit a little cheesy, to show you why. My grandpa spent his entire career in the publishing business. His last 20 years were spend as a consultant to Outdoor Life and Sports Afield magazines. He loved the outdoors and he loved to write. His job was perfect for him. My grandpa developed lung cancer in the late 1980s. He was only in his mid 60s. It was during this time that he wrote this piece. It was never published during his lifetime, but when he passed away from the cancer in 1993, Guns and Ammo magazine published it in his memory. A man in his final years of life reflected back on his time and came to one conclusion: old things are best.

"Old things are better than new things. They may not perform better, but they are nicer to own; they are friends. My Randall knife, while not my oldest, is a prized possession, not for any monetary value that it might have-but because we’ve done a lot of fun things together in the past 30 years.

My oldest knife was “requisitioned” from the arms chest of the Tacloban Shore Patrol during WWII. Six months ago, I gave it a new handle of leather rings. It, too, provides memories.

I have two pairs of old leather bird boots, which date back to when they cost $18.00 to $20.00; big money then. Believe it or not, I still have fond memories of my first pair which were bought before the war, and carried me into the fifties. They were prime examples of what a cobbler could do if he really cared about old and good boots. They were from L.L. Bean, as is one of my current pairs.

Old wool deer pants are better than new ones only because you can look at the various repairs and bring back memories.

Old deer hunting friends are better than new ones. They took the test of time and passed. Old deer hunters are better than young ones. They know more and their hearts and legs make them move more slowly.

Old rifles are better than new ones, and, in the area, I must personalize the statement, for I have only had my current “old” rifle for one season. It’s a custom-stocked .308 built on a Sako action. The bluing has worn off due to it having been in and out of countless scabbards.

It previously belonged to Warren Page marksman, hunter, and Field & Stream writer. I’d like to think that it was one of his favorites because of its worn condition. It weights under seven pounds, with sling and scope. I can’t tell you all the places it has been, or the stalks or excitement it has witnessed.

However, I can tell you that on my back it has gone to four different states and accounted for three whitetail bucks. In time it will earn a place alongside my Randall as a source of retrospective good memories.

Old hats are better than new hats and everybody knows that. I brought mine home from the Pacific. Its previous owner, an Australian, gave it to me after punching me in the nose. I had, in company with an MP, walked into a bar and immediately found myself on the floor-for no particular reason other than being an American with a Shore Patrol band on my arm.

My old Aussie hat bears the inscription “Denham & Horgrove Ltd. Atherstone, 1943″ on the band. The felt is about 1/4” thick, and the brim keeps the rain off my glasses and the snow from going down my neck. Other than being practical and irreplaceable, it’s a best hat because it is old.

I have lot’s of good old things; old compasses, shirts, and two mended pairs of my father’s long red underwear. All these things give me warmth and comfort.

Someday you will get older and you, too, will be a best thing." - James R. Pierce Sr. 

So what does this have to do with Professor Chyi and the Ramen Noodle Theory? Well really, everything. I love the frankness of my grandpa's writing. He doesn't try to sugar coat that his old things "may not perform better" than the new things. This is just like the paper products we use today in comparison to the technology and online platforms they are up against. When it comes to performance, surely the paper products don't stand a chance. But as my grandpa talks about, it's not always about just the performance. Based on Professor Chyi's research, people obviously agree because they continue to use hard copies of newspapers in lieu of the much more advanced online options. So in summary, I think both the interview with Professor Chyi and my grandpa's article give us all something to think about. What matters to us when it really comes down to it? I hope we come to the same conclusion my grandpa did, I know I have!