Roger Marolt writes a terrific column in the local newspaper. He recently speculated about whether Aspen has hit its peak, and he suggested that our best years are behind us. Come on. We all know what he’s talking about. The most common refrain in Aspen is that “It’s not as good as it used to be.”
I have my own theory about this perception. Of course, to some extent it’s true. However, I believe that it has more to do with the changes in our ourselves and our population than anything that can be measured on the absolutely “good or bad scale.”
Aspen may not be as good as it used to be, but the truth is that we aren’t either. Many of us showed up in this town 30 or 40 years ago as young turks all filled with piss and vinegar. We skied, we partied, we hiked and biked. Ok…we can still hike and bike and ski, but our ability to party, to be candid, “ain’t what it used to be.” Look around. We all got older. Remember what your mom and dad used to do when you were a kid? Yep. They reminisced about “the good old days.” Of course my point is that every generation has it’s rose-colored view of “the good old days.” We do too.
Secondly, we have attracted a different type of visitor to our town. The ski bums and hippies have been replaced by the affluent tourists and second home owners. Not surprisingly, the town has changed to fit this new demographic. My guess is that the 70 year olds sitting in the Music Tent think Aspen is just great. They probably don’t give a hoot about the fact that the old ski bums aren’t having as much fun as they once did. Heck. Everyone in this town always complained about the people that came after them
My guess is that the Ute Indians didn’t really love the silver miners. The left-over Silver Miners weren’t thrilled to see the Austrians invade town. The Austrians hated the hippies. The freeze-dried hippies despised the Hollywood types, and the Hollywood types…well…who cares about them anyway. So what’s my point? It’s simply that just because we loved the “good old days,” doesn’t mean that Aspen is a bad place today. It doesn’t even mean that it’s not as good as it used to be. It just means that the town is evolving and changing. It always has. Hello! McFly!
Jerry Bovino wrote an interesting blog about Aspen “not being as good as it used to be.” I don’t know if that is accurate but one of the truisms of life is that people always want things to stay the same and, since things never stay the same, those people are constantly disappointed and frustrated. A corollary to wanting things to stay the same is the belief that things “used to be better.” That is, before the regrettable change, things were better. The papers and radio are filled with articles and commentary about “things were better when I was a kid” and “things were better before this town got so big” or “things were better before the most recent immigrants got here.” Clearly Aspen is not immune from that theme. It always makes my laugh when I hear people say that things aren’t as good as they used to be. Sometimes it is true but many times I think it is just a reflection of a dislike of the dreaded “change.” Wouldn’t we all be happier if we accepted that change was inevitable and then moved forward from there rather than spending our mental energy wishing for the impossible — for things to stay the same.
Jerry Bovino wrote an interesting blog about Aspen “not being as good as it used to be.” I don’t know if that is accurate but one of the truisms of life is that people always want things to stay the same and, since things never stay the same, those people are constantly disappointed and frustrated. A corollary to wanting things to stay the same is the belief that things “used to be better.” That is, before the regrettable change, things were better. The papers and radio are filled with articles and commentary about “things were better when I was a kid” and “things were better before this town got so big” or “things were better before the most recent immigrants got here.” Clearly Aspen is not immune from that theme. It always makes my laugh when I hear people say that things aren’t as good as they used to be. Sometimes it is true but many times I think it is just a reflection of a dislike of the dreaded “change.” Wouldn’t we all be happier if we accepted that change was inevitable and then moved forward from there rather than spending our mental energy wishing for the impossible — for things to stay the same.