A long time ago, in a geographic location far far away, when I was a college student, there was this diner near the school. It was decorated like a 50’s diner, and served the faire that you would expect from such an establishment. Not astounding food quality, but it was fun. There was even a juke box. It was a great place to unwind and enjoy yourself.
I hadn’t really seen a place like that since, until we moved to New England two summers ago. The city in which we initially lived had such a diner downtown. I mentioned to Karen that I really wanted to stop in, because it would be really fun to go to a place like that again. After all, it’s a pretty unique experience.
And then, in our second apartment in that city, we discovered another such diner only a couple of blocks away. And then, when we moved about half an hour away to the town in which we currently live, we discovered another in the center of town. Turns out that, at least in our part of New England, retro-styled 50’s diners are all the rage.
I haven’t been to one here. Sort of don’t want to now. Mostly because they’re all the rage.
Contrast this with a place like Flying Saucer Pizza, which we tried last weekend, and that is a really cool and unique idea for a science-fiction-themed eatery (at least I haven’t seen any others in the area). It’s the sort of place that you recommend to your friends, because it’s unlike any other place that you’ve visited.
I suppose that where I’m going with this is that I really don’t like to do what everyone else is doing. In fact, if it’s stylish, trendy, or “what all the cool kids” are doing, I really have no desire to do it. On a cynical day, I would tell you that this is because of a herd mentality, because I don’t want to be part of a group following with no critical thought involved. In reality though, and in keeping with the positive vibe of my day, I think it’s more about my own personality flaw.
I just like to be different, man!
I sort of wish, for example, that Apple hadn’t gained the huge market share that it has, because it was a much cooler experience to carry an iPhone when very few people had one. Sort of like using a Mac still is, you were part of an exclusive club of sorts. I’ll continue to use one because it’s still superior to other phones, but when everyone has one…well, it just isn’t as fun.
We won’t discuss the secret fear that I hold of huge amounts of people becoming Whovians and forcing me to lose my joy in that program.
I think there’s something wonderful in being different, in defying easy categorization. Conformity is over-rated, and creativity flows from being a non-conformist. Still, the sour taste that doing what is popular leaves in mouth…it’s almost problematic.
Is this a pride thing? Do I need to mellow out in my old age? Should I follow the crowd more?
Nah. Being quirky is way too much fun…