Why "Mid Century Modern" ?

"Mid century modern" is the smoothly alliterative term used to describe a design movement that appeared circa 1936 and lasted until about 1965. I first heard the words used to describe Heywood Wakefield furniture (pictured.) They resonated with me. They sang to me. They also describe me and many of my whole generation.

We were born in approximately the middle of the last century. We are now either full-fledged members of the senior citizen fraternity or pledges knocking on the door. But it's the "modern" part that is telling. We will not get old. We age, certainly, and are grayer, fatter, and creakier and sometimes now "deader". But those of us who remain refuse to pull ourselves out of the stream of life to watch from the banks.

We'll reminisce about driving our first used Corvair and bore you with tales of our grandkids (and sometimes great-grandkids.) We'll also horn in on your conversations about Obama cabinet choices and Iphone versus Blackberry. There are getting to be as many of us on Facebook as there are on Medicare. We are not into "growing old gracefully."

We're the Peter Pan Complex on Glucosamine-Chondroitin. Sometimes we're a royal pain in the ass to the generations that just want to get on with writing their own history. I like to think, though, that like the Heywood Wakefield furniture, our smooth edges and the value we place on the organic and democratic over the artificial and formal, will keep us timeless. We have a certain optimism -- a kind of "best is yet to come" naivety -- that keeps us trying the new things and reinventing ourselves. Call it "immaturity" and "foolishness" or call it "hopefulness" and "courage". I'm sure you've figured out by now which side I come down on.