Technology brings end to nostalgia

In a time of improvements through technology and change, there are a few things that are hard to watch go by the wayside.

The abandonment of traditonal tickets for events is one I'm having a hard time letting go. I'm talking about tickets made of the coated paper with perferated stubs that are torn off upon entering the event. More and more movie theaters are using receipt printouts rather than traditional tickets.

At one time it was a big deal to save those movie tickets or concert tickets for years to come. It was a way of remembering the event and maybe even proving you attended.

Many airlines are even taking it one step farther and completely doing away with printed tickets. The companies are using electronic tickets instead. There isn't even a glossy paper receipt to show before bording the plane.

Recently I attended a Mariners baseball game in Seattle. I printed the ticket on a full sheet of paper before leaving home. It had a barcode to verify the ticket when you pass through the gate. There's no tearing of the ticket to leave a stub, only an electronic beep as it's scanned.

If there's one thing that can bring back nostalgia it is a baseball game. The famous players of the past like Babe Ruth or Hank Aaron. The peanuts, popcorn and Cracker Jacks.

But instead of holding onto my ticket stub for memory's sake, I'm left with a folded full-size sheet of paper. In fact it didn't make it past that night when I promptly tossed it out after the game.

I might not have saved the ticket stub for the rest of my life, but I would have at least saved it for a while.

I still have my ticket from when I went to the Rolling Stones concert last year. It's somewhere tucked in a drawer.

I've never been one to save tickets long-term in a scrapbook. I'm more likely to tuck them away and forget where I've put them. Until I go to clean out a drawer and find the ticket.

Finding that movie stub in your pocket when it's laundry day. It's a chance to stop for a second and remember that movie.

Even through I may not save them forever there is a sense of excitement looking at that ticket again. When I find those tickets from a concert or game, I remember that event. I remember the people who were there with me. I remember the fun I had.

It's a little sad to know that the days of savoring that memory with just a ticket stub are on the way out.

Heidi Desch is the reporter for the Hungry Horse News.