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Yesterday I was surrounded by people in the 50's era. 1959 to be exact. Everywhere I looked there were pencil skirts and cardigans and overcoats and curly fancy hair peeking out of delicate hats. It was quite fascinating.
In case you are wondering...no I didn't find a workable time machine and take a trip. I was on the set as an extra in a movie being filmed locally. It was fascinating.
My girlfriends who were with me mentioned they could fit nicely in that era as far as fashion goes. Everyone always dressed up and looked classy. The men as well. Top hats and suits. Very nice.
It was also fascinating to see all it takes behind the scenes to make a movie. I was especially intrigued in the hair and makeup department. Those hairstylists had to think on their feet! They had to create the 50's look in minutes on 100's of people with every kind of cut, having never seen those people before. And the interesting thing was, women didn't have long hair back then. The longest they wore it was shoulder length. So every woman (including us "extras") with long hair had to have it put up, usually in tight buns (wish I always had "tight buns" ;) with hats. Like I said...Fascinating.
Sitting in that crowd of done up women and men in the hockey rink, waiting to do my part (which was to stand up and cheer for a hockey team during a big play), it got me thinking. (Surprise, surprise ;)
As much fun as it was being teleported back in time, I felt thankful for the period we live in. The medical field (along with natural therapies) have come so far since then. Using external insulin was still fairly new compared to what we know now, (it was discovered in 1922 and has been modified many times since) and the methods of controlling diabetes were not as developed. I would definitely not have my insulin pump. And penicillin was only discovered in 1945 so was also in it's baby stages. I could go on and on about how things have changed but the list would be endless. It does though, make me excited for the future.
Would I be alive today if I lived in 1959? Not necessarily. Maybe, but probably not. At minimum, my quality of life would be vastly different.
So, it was great to travel back in time for a day, but I am thankful to be alive in 2011.
And who knows? I may be able to experience the best of both worlds...
Can you ever go wrong with a pencil skirt? :)