📼 My Childhood is Somehow for Sale - Analog is in.

Gen X, Analog Comebacks & Summer Slowdown Soundtracks

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🎵 Side A: Have you noticed? Our 80s childhoods are everywhere—on eBay, in retail stores’ retro aisle, being rediscovered by Gen Z influencers who treat cassette tapes like ancient scrolls. Gen X is hot right now. And not just ironically.

We were the mixtape generation. The last to grow up offline by default. And now? The culture is remixing us: our Walkmans, our Trapper Keepers, our neon windbreakers, our patience. Stranger Things certainly brought our music and basement decor to the forefront. Still, as many of us are turning 50, GenX and our rebel nature and feral running around till all hours spirit is all over social media.

I own five rotary phones. Not because I’m chasing kitsch. Because I love them, they’re sculptural, functional, and quietly defiant. You had to sit down to make a call. And stay there. There was a presence in that. I use them as props to film TikTok videos, often asking people to “make a call” to our representatives. And my Summer project is to see if I can convert one to work in my non-landline setup condo.

And now, “dumb phones” are in—for kids, for parents, for sanity. A quiet rebellion against endless scrolling. A movement back to making time, not killing it. This month I’m reading about more and more groups of parents in states across our country are getting landlines for their kids, I’m seeing posts that kids are calling and Facetiming again so they can see each other and are jettisoning texting because you ‘can’t tell a good story that way’.

“In the past few years, interest in old-school technology has been rising, driven partly by desperate adults seeking smartphone alternatives for their kids. Fairs peddle “dumb phones” to parents of tweens. On Reddit, one parent shared that they’d gone “full ’90s,” with a desktop computer installed in the living room, a Nintendo 64, and a landline. In March, after a Millennial mom posted on Instagram about getting a home phone for her kids, she received scores of comments from parents saying they’d done the same—or planned to soon.” - from “Get your kid a landline - The Dumbest Phone Is Parenting Genius - by By Rheana Murray in The Atlantic

I still have my Sports Walkman, my Zune (which is a time capsule of the 2008-2012 era), and I still love listening to an album from beginning to end on my record player. No skips. No algorithm. Just a story told in sound.

Perfect albums: Purple Rain by Prince, A Funk Odyssey by Jamiroquai, That’s the Way of the World by Earth Wind and Fire, Songs in the Key of Life by Stevie Wonder, Tapestry by Carole King, Ray of Light by Madonna, Blue by Joni Mitchell, Who’s Next by The Who, Naturally by Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings and every John Boutte, Henry Mancini or Herb Albert album, yeah I got a thing for trumpets. And I could go on and on.

Next to my Xbox? An original Atari console. Not for irony—for balance. A reminder of more straightforward mechanics and clearer wins. I love playing Kaboom, Pitfall, Enduro, and Frogger.

Board game shops and arcades are being renewed as community anchors - they are cropping up all over the country and the world. You can find them in most towns, and more are opening up. A place to meet your friends, bring your kids, and relax with snacks, adult beverages, mocktails, board games, old school arcade games, and pinball machines. They are great ones in every town; they are usually decorated with Dungeons and Dragons posters, Star Wars helmets, and owners and shopkeepers who love their community. Meetup is also an excellent platform for joining groups for game nights. Big props to my partner, Wade, and his crew (Dean and Rebecca) for reigniting my love for board games.

Lost Star Game Shop, Gig Harbor, WA

The Missing Piece, West Seattle, CA

Off the Shelf Games, San Diego, CA

5 best in Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA

Quiet or ‘silent’ reading hours in establishments in big cities and small, a no cell phone zone where you can sit, not be bothered, and read along with others who need that moment too, and want to do it socially and not at home. These experiences are also emerging in cities all over.

“The trend reflects a growing post-pandemic need to connect in person while also being mindful of social batteries. Data provided to USA TODAY from Eventbrite shows a 223% increase in silent book club events from 2023 to 2024, particularly in cities such as Chicago, Indianapolis, New York City, Seattle, and Atlanta. But there are hundreds of locations all around the world – you can find one near you on the silentbook club interactive map.” - The anti-book club, book club: Why people are loving silent reading events

I post a lot about bookstores and libraries, as I love them too, and believe that they are also a cornerstone of our communities.

Analog is having a moment, but for me, it never left.

I love mail. I always have. I have collected stamps since I was a kid. I was a pen pal to both of my grandmothers. I wrote letters to friends and family from every place I’ve traveled. I still send postcards when I travel—and apparently, a lot of them. My mom just gave me a box with over 200 postcards I’ve mailed home over the last 30 years. My handwriting. My stories. My stamps.

That’s more than nostalgia. That’s legacy.

The U.S. Postal Service? I ride for it. It’s the OG social network. One that runs rain or shine, connects rural areas to urban ones, and never asks for your data. USPS is celebrating 250 years of service. I have made it known for years that I would love to be the Postmaster General. I do not want to see the USPS go private, and I would love that job - but that is another post for another day.

There’s power in the pause. In choosing media that doesn’t surveil you. Vinyl. Film. Letters. Real connection—delivered slowly, intentionally.

So maybe it’s not that my childhood is for sale.

Maybe the world’s finally catching on to what we always knew:

Some things are better when you can’t fast forward through them.

🎶 SIDE B: Slow Down — Summer Mix Tape Tracks for the Soul

Here are a few analog-inspired ways to slow your roll and turn down the algorithm this summer. Consider them tracks to add to your personal mix tape of mindfulness:

📝 Track 1: Send a Postcard
Pick one from a museum gift shop, a gas station, or your stash. Mail it to someone you love—just because. Bonus points if it arrives before you do.

📞 Track 2: Use a Landline (if you can find one!)
Call someone the old-school way. No multitasking, no speakerphone. Just the sacred art of voice-to-voice.

📻 Track 3: Make a Real Mixtape—or a Playlist With a Theme
Side A: Joy. Side B: Rest. Add liner notes if you’re feeling extra. Share it with a friend or two, just like back in the day.

📚 Track 4: Visit Your Local Library or Indie Bookstore
Slow browsing is its own kind of therapy. Let your curiosity wander without pop-ups or ads.

📷 Track 5: Use a Film Camera or a Disposable
Remember the magic of not knowing how the photo turned out? Relinquish control and rediscover surprise.

📮 Track 6: Write a Letter
One page. One pen. One envelope. Trust me, it means more than a “like.”

🕹️ Track 7: Play an Old-School Game
Board games, card games, Tetris on a Game Boy—whatever gets you out of scroll mode and into play mode.

✨ Track 8: Sit Still
That’s it. No productivity, no podcast, no pressure. Just sit. Daydream. Watch clouds. Exist.

🎥 Track 9: Transfer the Memories

A few years ago, I took all the VHS tapes that we had and used a service called Legacy Box to move them to digital. VHS tapes are now in the ‘breakdown’ phase. If you don’t do this soon, they will disintegrate.

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Add these to your summer soundscape. Let slowness be the vibe. Let connection be the currency.

If you’ve got a rotary phone, a Walkman, or a drawer full of postcards?
You’re already halfway there.

Press Play. And pass it on.

Joy is resistance. Rest is strategy. Play is protest.

Empathy makes us human; action makes us warriors.

Grateful you’ve let my words find a place in your day.