What Pastimes Are Fading/Failing With Aging Boomers?

[Bestwifeever]

Paint-by-number.

 

[Amethyst]

I guess it is for some! and here I thought it was a money-saving strategy.

Mowing is a pastime?

 

[Blue Collar Guy]

Paint-by-number.

OMG, My mother had them framed and hung up on the wall. She cherished them, it was done by my now deceased sister when she was around 11.

 

[ExFlyBoy5]

Mowing your own lawn? Me, my next door neighbor and an old ex-Marine up the street are the only ones left mowing our own lawns. I enjoy the mild exercise and just being outdoors, plus I hate to pay for something I can easily do myself. But judging by most of my neighbors, mowing your own lawn is beneath most people these days? Some say they don't have time, that's BS for most.

Maybe grass lawns will go out of fashion next...

When my last push mower died, out of curiosity I looked into what it would cost to pay someone to our lawn. I bought a loaded Honda mower and broke even after about 4 months...3 years ago.

Funny you mention this. How you noticed that the same people who contract out this simple work (housekeepers, too) are the ones that will try to install new tile or renovate a bathroom themselves to "save money"? I find it somewhat laughable. I can also say that the retired folks that live around me (and a couple of them aren't out of their 50's yet) mow their own grass and don't appear to have housekeepers coming in once a week. Funny how that works, eh?

Edit: Something else I notice. Since we live in a heavily wooded area, mosquitoes can be quite a nuisance. So, people will pay $50+ to have a service come out and spray every 4-6 weeks. I see people all the time on the neighborhood social site NextDoor looking for treatment services that are better than others. I have mentioned several times over that they all use the same chemicals and you can purchase them online and apply it yourself for less than $5 an application...but oh no...that takes time and energy. To this day, no one has asked me for the information on the website or chemicals that are used.

 

[braumeister]

Lately he's been collecting older 35mm film cameras and he likes to take a roll of pictures and send them in to be developed.

It's interesting how interest in those old cameras rises and falls in cycles. Once digital cameras got good enough, I decided there was no longer any reason to use film with its associated costs and inconveniences.

I put my 1971 Nikon (Photomic FTN) up for sale on Ebay and it sold to someone in Japan for far more than I had paid for it originally. That was back in the late 90s. Today it would sell for only a fraction of that.

 

[googily]

It's interesting how interest in those old cameras rises and falls in cycles. Once digital cameras got good enough, I decided there was no longer any reason to use film with its associated costs and inconveniences.

I put my 1971 Nikon (Photomic FTN) up for sale on Ebay and it sold to someone in Japan for far more than I had paid for it originally. That was back in the late 90s. Today it would sell for only a fraction of that.

I gave my beloved Pentax K1000 to an old friend a few months ago for a class he teaches on photography--he wants the kids to learn about SLRs and film photography, even if they eventually use digital. I felt like it was a worthy home for a camera that got a lot of use but was now gathering dust. (My Canon 80D runs rings around it.)

 

[Luck_Club]

Mowing is a pastime?

Not for me. Hated it as a kid, when I was the cheap labor of the household. I'd come in eyes looking like I had just smoked half of Colorado, and my nose was running more volume then Niagara falls.

My wife used to do it with a small lawn, but at 3 man hours a cut.... We can both think of better uses for our time then maintaining another engine.

 

[Luck_Club]

What's just about completely gone, and from fleeting observation shows no sign of coming back, is kids playing.

Going to a park, or just about anywhere, and playing.....without adults/parents organizing/directing/regulating, selecting who will play on what team at what time and where.....putting the kids in uniforms...being 'official'...and generally getting in the way of FUN!

I 'know' the parents 'mean well'; DW's SIL coaches his 5 year old daughter's soccer team............(Five year old kids need coaches?).......sheesh...from this old fart's perspective it'd be far better to let the kids make up their own game rules, choose their own sides, and sort out their own disagreements without being coordinated and classified.

This is a sad state of affairs. I thought it was my "area". However, I was back in the childhood neighborhood, where there were always kids playing in the street, riding bikes down the sidewalk, etc. Didn't see any.

 

[Idnar7]

Spend much of the summer at the lake and have not seen a water skier in years. All tubing, paddle boards and kayaks.


Horse shoes. There used to be a park near us that had 12 pits and leagues.


As others have mentioned film photography. I used to develop my own black & white photos. Now everyone with an I phone is a photographer. And with all the photo shop type software photography is a lost art.


I'm wondering if regular church membership is down. Among our group I don't think anyone attends weekly.

 

[Gumby]

I'm wondering if regular church membership is down. Among our group I don't think anyone attends weekly.

Based on my own church (UCC/Congregational), I would say most definitely that people are attending less.

 

[GravitySucks]

Not for me. Hated it as a kid, when I was the cheap labor of the household. I'd come in eyes looking like I had just smoked half of Colorado, and my nose was running more volume then Niagara falls.



My wife used to do it with a small lawn, but at 3 man hours a cut.... We can both think of better uses for our time then maintaining another engine.

I certainly wouldn't do it if allergies were an issue, but to me it's just a weekly chore that takes 40 minutes except for the monthly weed whacking the fence line.
One neighbor has a nice rider and mows his, his elderly neighbors and his friends lawn. He also will do vacationing neighbors. An extremely Nice guy who is the epitome of a good neighbor.

 

[garyt]

Maybe it is regional, but where I live I rarely see "pick-up" games occurring anymore. Going to a park/playground with a group of friends and either just playing among yourselves, or meeting another group and deciding to play against each other. In summer the baseball/softball fields and basketball courts seem rarely used most of the time.

Same here, no pickup games. That's all we did as kids. Too many leagues nowadays. I think the kids would be better off if the parents stayed in the car and just let the kids play by themselves.
We played "right field out" "pitchers mound out" whatever we had to do if we didn't have enough players. Plus nobody got stuck in rightfield. We just called out "I got short" and you were the shortstop. Then we'd trade mid game. Everybody got tons of action and lots of at bats.

 

[ggbutcher]

I gave my beloved Pentax K1000 to an old friend a few months ago for a class he teaches on photography--he wants the kids to learn about SLRs and film photography, even if they eventually use digital. I felt like it was a worthy home for a camera that got a lot of use but was now gathering dust. (My Canon 80D runs rings around it.)

Still have my Nikon F2 and lenses, circa 1975. Showed it to my granddaughter a few weeks ago; we're going to buy some film and see if the shutter is still calibrated.

There seems to still be a following for film photography; my co-worker's daughter took a high-school photography class where the first semester was all film, developing, and printing. I know a fellow who fixes and sells large-format vintage cameras, for which there is a bit of a market. I guess it's the same dynamic as painting; folks didn't stop doing that when chemical photography cropped up...

 

[Blue Collar Guy]

Based on my own church (UCC/Congregational), I would say most definitely that people are attending less.

2016 JUNE 25(12th Sunday) 2017
7,055.00 Collection $ 6,635.00
$ 3,144.50 Faith Direct $ 3,323.75
659 Attendance 625


Yeah attendance is down at my church. Just got these numbers out of my weekly bulletin

 

[GalaxyBoy]

Mowing is a pastime?

I would agree. While I was [-]slaving for the man[/-] working, I hired out my lawn mowing as I was constantly traveling and my precious time at home was worth more to me. Now that I'm blissfully retired, I'm actually glad to get out and mow, edge, weed, etc. for the fresh air and exercise. Not exactly a fun pastime for me, though.

My DF mowed his 2.5 acres on a residential riding mower until age 90. He loved it so much, I think it was kept him going so long.

 

[Bestwifeever]

I love mowing with our gas push mower. DH is the fancy schmancy gardener but I take no prisoners when it comes to the grass.

 

[Midpack]

I would agree. While I was [-]slaving for the man[/-] working, I hired out my lawn mowing as I was constantly traveling and my precious time at home was worth more to me. Now that I'm blissfully retired, I'm actually glad to get out and mow, edge, weed, etc. for the fresh air and exercise. Not exactly a fun pastime for me, though.

My DF mowed his 2.5 acres on a residential riding mower until age 90. He loved it so much, I think it was kept him going so long.

I love mowing with our gas push mower. DH is the fancy schmancy gardener but I take no prisoners when it comes to the grass.

I won't go so far as to say I love it, but I love saving $1,000/year doing it myself. Yes a great mower costs about $600, but my last one (John Deere) lasted more than 20 years, so $30/yr plus $5/yr for gas...

 

[Revlefty]

Spend much of the summer at the lake and have not seen a water skier in years. All tubing, paddle boards and kayaks.


Horse shoes. There used to be a park near us that had 12 pits and leagues.


As others have mentioned film photography. I used to develop my own black & white photos. Now everyone with an I phone is a photographer. And with all the photo shop type software photography is a lost art.


I'm wondering if regular church membership is down. Among our group I don't think anyone attends weekly.

Speaking from my side of the pulpit, yes, attendance is down. And it is down in the churches where my friends preach, too.

 

[Amethyst]

And yet...megachurches are a thing.

A Catholic church in my community has undergone a real boom in the last 10 years and is getting close to mega-church-hood. To the basic old stone church, they have added on new church wings, a school, and a funeral home...the whole cycle of life.

Speaking from my side of the pulpit, yes, attendance is down. And it is down in the churches where my friends preach, too.

 

[JoeWras]

I love mowing with our gas push mower. DH is the fancy schmancy gardener but I take no prisoners when it comes to the grass.

Glad to hear it! When I ER, I'm looking forward to more of that kind of work.

One of my first posts here when I joined was mentioning I look forward to having time to do more housework, like vacuuming. That post was not well received. Something about vacuuming got under the collective members' nerves. But mowing is OK!

But seriously, there is a real trend of hiring out for stuff previously done routinely: mowing, housework and MAKING COFFEE.

I really look forward to experimenting with making coffee different ways, instead of just mailing it in like DW and I do now. Hey, at least we make it (rather, the auto drip makes it via a timer) and we don't spend $5 per cup and then complain that we can't find money to save.

 

[Breedlove]

Here is something for the car guys , do you remember Hot Rod magazine and the Old Rat Fink !

 

[GravitySucks]

One I never see anymore.
Teenage boys restoring beater cars to running order. Between 16 (15 if you had a Dad that would give you the garage or driveway room) to 18 or 19 we had cars that required constant tinkering to keep running or to pass a minimal safety inspection. If you were lucky enough to have a good running car then you'd spend you time getting it fast.

 

[eytonxav]

Here is something for the car guys , do you remember Hot Rod magazine and the Old Rat Fink !

Yep, Big Daddy Roth.

 

[Car-Guy]

Here is something for the car guys , do you remember Hot Rod magazine and the Old Rat Fink !

Hot Rod magazine was my favorite back in day... Along with Motor Trend and Car and Driver. Liked them better than Playboy mags... Well almost...

Funny thing is, the cars I have from back in those days "still" look great or at least can made to look great. Enough said I think.

One I never see anymore.
Teenage boys restoring beater cars to running order. Between 16 (15 if you had a Dad that would give you the garage or driveway room).

Garage.... , I didn't have "no stinkin" garage until I was in my late 20's

 

[6miths]

Our 32 year old son is into photography and mostly uses digital cameras. Lately he's been collecting older 35mm film cameras and he likes to take a roll of pictures and send them in to be developed. They email him when the film is developed and send him high resolution scans. The prints come later in the mail if he wants them.

Someone mentioned model rockets. We did that with our sons when they were in elementary and middle school. Even I enjoyed that hobby! We bought the kits and painted our rockets and assembled them. We had an assortment of "engine" sizes (sorry, It's been a while and I don't remember the term). We would take them to a nearby school property that had plenty of empty space. Half the fun was having the kids run off to find the rocket after it landed.

My 18 year old DS came out the other day with an old Minolta in hand and asked if it were a 'film' camera. Was my first 35 mm camera which I had lent to a buddy who had it for about 20 years and gave it back a couple of years. My son asked if he could have it one day. Some things run in cycles.

My elder DS to this day says that the best birthday party he ever had was when we got all his friends together and launched Estes rockets for the afternoon. This was maybe 15 years ago. It is always fun to see the young rediscover activities.