REVIVALS
When you bring something “back” you have to be sure it is actually better than it ever was before. It hasn’t changed. But, you have.
You have changed because of what it was to you have grown, matured a bit in some mysterious manner because it nurtured you in some way you may not ever remember that it did so. It can be the same, but you will have changed.
If you plan a revival of anything that gave you enough memories of it to merit a re-run, you must be sure to bring it back better than it ever was in its former life. Any attempt to bring it all back unchanged will not work.
In periods of inactivity things may stay rather constant, but we change and the aura which makes up our sphere of living changes as well. To bring back something which no longer fits the circumstance under which you expect it to take root and thrive, is a futile thing to attempt.
If you are going to revive something, accept it in keeping with them which your present world and you, yourself, have been altered.
There are hosts of examples to illustrate the concept, too.
When it was decided to restore Colonial Williamsburg,Virginia the concept was not one which merely dressed up what was left – a string of rather dismal looking, sagging somewhat ramshackle homes and shops along an narrow street with the Wren Building of W&M college as the keystone of it all at one end. That is not what we revived; not exactly what was brought at all. There was enough of many of the old buildings remaining under the earth in manuscripts forms to suggest – not the way they were, necessarily; not exactly what they were, but what they should have; might have been, and what the could have been at that time when Williamsburg was in its halcyon days. Look at them today and you have to agree that, Williamsburg never looked do good as it does today. At its peak as the Middle Plantation’s gem Williamsburg”s structure were impressive. It was the capital city of the Royal Colony but it never looked as beautiful as it does . The today is open, with wide, expanded streets, trees aplenty, paved walkways, and most impressive of all – the use of – a wide spectrum of colorful, high-quality paints! Unusual talents turned loose with adequate financial backing brought about a magical change,. Special artistic talents. Modern materials, and serious dedication above and beyond the usual calls of employment ...all these and many other sterling qualities transformed the Old into the New; Sores of homes and shops, inns, ordinaries, and a host of artifacts from Colonial times were reclaim. They were improved,to ...not changed,rally,but different ...more like the old timers wanted them to be than they ever were in historical times.
_Other sites have been restored. Much that has fallen into disuse has been revived to live and be again.
And, not just architecture either. Music has the same quality. To revive a musical comedy proves to be a difficult task if one attempst to bring it back as it was in it’s original time. It must be brought back better than it was before. Done in the exact styles pop, popular at the time of its original run will doom it to failure. The" ‘attitude” the “feel” must be retained, but the outward t ouches may well vary because you, the hearers have changed.
To successfully restore and revive an old public building or an historic church, one had best include in the plans a skillfully concealed air-conditioning system and adequate heating. Rest room must be provided. Pews had best be cushioned as well. The new generation may want to remember the way people before them lived but few of them want to live under normal conditions of that by-gone era. Historic structures , too, are best brought back better than they were before.
Right now ,after a long time in recessional business cycles, we are co constantly talking about the revival of prosperity. Far too many people seem to think that means turning back the clock to a time when full-employment. Is thought to have existed. Of course, there never has been such a time. Even in the best of good times we, as a nation, have about five million people who cannot work, choose not to work, don't need to work, or can't decide what they wish to do who remain idle, for a wide variety of so-called reasons.
We are seeking the revival of the spirit of good times times, day to day cares,troubles, worries and concerns. We are the changed factors, not Time or History . We expect things today; we strive for different rewards. We accept assistance in strange ways and look to political parties to solve our personal problems in some miraculous manner. To simply long for “the good ole days which never were” is a futile, foolhardy dream.
Today is different from yesterday. You are different from the person you were an hour ago. Oh, the change may be slight ...so fragile you can't pin it down, but, rest assured it is there. It will always be you - the restorer - who is in absolute charge. Any mistakes will be retained to be dealt with as your responsibility alone. As President Harry S. Truman is said to have said: “If you can't stand the heat, get the hell out of the kitchen!”
Revival is not for the the namby-pamby novice. On the contrary, it demands creativity of the highest order allied with making man's world what it can and should be rather than what it has been.
A.L.M. July 17, 2003 [c 996wds]
